The Dodgers send one of the best daytime pitchers in baseball to the hill in facing off against the NL Central-leading Reds.
Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers
Cincinnati had its season-high seven-game win streak snapped in Saturday’s 8-5 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The Reds lead is now 3 1/2 games in the NL Central race with the Cardinals grabbing a victory over the Giants. “You get spoiled winning,” Baker said. “When you’re winning a lot, you think you’re going to win every game even though you know you’re not.” The club is 4-4 on the West Coast this season, but is still a dismal 17-36 on the West Coast over the last five seasons, which included a 12-game losing streak at today’s venue. Cincinnati has compiled a 22-11 record since the All-Star break that gives them the second-best record in the majors over that span. The Reds have also produced a 14-2-1 mark in their last 17 series. It’s important to note the team is just 8-11 when playing winning opponents in the second half of the season (-330).
Los Angeles has lost nine of its last 10 road games and is suffering through a five-game losing streak away from Dodger Stadium. In those five games, the offense is managing to average just 1.8 runs and hit for a .156 combined average. The club hopes to build off of an eight-run outburst in the homestand finale against the Nationals. “Today was a good day,” manager Joe Torre said about Sunday’s output. “But we need more contributions from the guys in the middle. The Dodgers are in the middle of a 10-game stretch against opponents from the National League East (2-1) and have posted a 10-13 record against the division this season. Los Angeles if 5-4 this month (-100) and 32-35 in August over the last three seasons (-1,580). The Blue Crew has compiled a solid 8-4 record on the road with a money line of -100 to -125 (+360), which differs greatly from the 22-30 mark the last three years in this situation (-1,160).
Washington took two of three games against the Dodgers in a three-game series in the nation’s capital back in April 23-25, limiting them to five runs over that span. The Nationals suffered a 8-4 defeat to the Diamondbacks last night, as they commited three fielding errors that led to four runs. “Obviously, we played sloppy,” said third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. “We need to clean that up.” With 109 games in the books, the team’s 48 wins to date easily surpasses the 36 victories they earned at this point last season. Washington has struggled on the road as of late, posting a 10-31 mark outside of the DC area since May 13. The Nationals are 20-38 overall on the road (-790) and the total is 25-29 O/U in those games. Don’t forget to bet this team during August, going 31-33 over the last three years for a surprisingly healthy profit (+1,140).
New York stumbles into a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers after losing 4-3 in 14 innings on Wednesday and getting swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Mets are dismal 19-30 on the road this season (-930) and have fallen 6.5 games back of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves. New York is 3-10 in its last 13 games and 8-16 over its last 24 games. Offensively, the team has been held to four runs or fewer in 12 straight games, as the club has compiled a 3-9 record over that stretch. In their last seven games, the Mets have managed to score first just once, with the team being 9-28 when the opponent draws first blood. Expect a possible bounce back performance in tonight’s change of venue, with the team being 5-3 after three or more consecutive losses this season (+340) and 26-19 in this spot the last three years (+1,240).
