Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami Marlins Betting Preview
Saturday features a National League matchup of west versus east as the Los Angeles Dodgers (87-37) take on the Miami Marlins. This will be the second game of a three-game series and will be played at Loan Depot Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:10 pm ET.
Los Angeles took the first game on Friday 10-6 in 10 innings. David Price picked up the win in relief despite giving up a run in an inning of work.
Offensively, the Dodgers had 16 hits, including two home runs by Mookie Betts. On the night, the right fielder went four for six with four runs batted in and three runs scored.
Andrew Nardi took the loss in relief after giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits in just an inning of work. In total, the Marlins used eight pitchers in the extra inning contest.
All of the scoring was done in the first inning as Jose Ramirez had an RBI groundout to score Steven Kwan. Outside of that, the Guardians had six hits, led by Amed Rosario with two.
On Saturday, the Dodgers are the favorites despite playing on the road. They are -205 to win while the Marlins’ moneyline sits at +172. The runline features Miami +1.5 (-106), and the over/under for total runs is seven.
Dodgers Continue To Be Baseball’s Best
At 87-37, the Los Angeles Dodgers not only have the best record in the National League, but they have the best record in all of baseball.
Currently leading the division by 20 games, the Dodgers will look to pick up another win on the road Saturday, where they are 42-21 on the season.
Making just his second start of the season, Saturday will be righty Dustin May. In his first start since Tommy John, he picked up the win against the Marlins on August 20, going five innings, allowing just one hit and striking out nine. He will look to replicate that performance in a rematch with Miami.
Despite the dominant season the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara is having, there are several Dodgers who have had success against the righty in their careers. Cody Bellinger (.400, HR, 2 RBI), Austin Barnes (.667, 3 RBI), Freddie Freeman (.318), Max Muncy (.500, HR, 5 RBI), and Trea Turner (.348, HR, 4 RBI) have all had success against him.
Over the last month, Max Muncy has been one of L.A.’s hottest hitters. In that span, he leads the team with seven home runs while hitting .279/.375/.605.
Alcantara Making Cy Young Push
With the Miami Marlins 26 games back in the NL East and 13.5 in the Wild Card, the postseason seems like it is out of the picture this season. Despite the frustrating season, the Marlins still have something to play for as their starting pitcher, Sandy Alcantara, is pushing for the NL Cy Young Award.
At -260, he currently has the best odds to win the prestigious award. In 25 games, he is 11-6 with a 2.19 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and he has 157 strikeouts in 176.2 innings.
Alcantara struggled in his last start against the Dodgers back on August 21. In the loss, he allowed six runs on ten hits in just 3.2 innings. He did strike out five in that span, but the Dodgers were all over him.
In his start prior to that, he threw seven scoreless innings, so he will hope that his last outing was just a blip that he can bounce back from.
Offensively, Miami ranks just 27th in the majors in scoring as they are averaging 3.66 runs per game. Their best offensive player has been Jesus Aguilar, who is hitting .236/.286/.388 with a team-leading 15 home runs and 49 runs batted in.
The Most Value Is With Marlins On The Runline
With how amazing of a season the Dodgers have had, it is hard to bet against them winning at this point. The problem from a betting standpoint, though, is that there is no value in taking them at -205.
With the over/under set at just seven, this is expected to be a low-scoring affair. While Sandy Alcantara was roughed up against the Dodgers in his last outing, expect him to be better Saturday night pitching at home.
While taking the Marlins at +172 is enticing, the best combination of value and chances of winning is in the runline. Hope that Alcantara pitches well enough to keep this close and take Miami at +1.5 (-106).
