The Dodgers are suffering through another period of injuries that eventually might end the team’s playoff chances.
Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers
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).
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San Diego picked up an exciting 5-4 win over the Florida Marlins on Sunday in the series finale at Petco Park. The Padres lead the division by 1.5 games over the second-place San Francisco Giants and their pitching staff leads the majors with a 3.25 ERA. “We’re a confident group,” said infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. “The last couple of days have been a little crazy.” The club has the best road record in the National League at 28-20 (+1,440), joining the Giants and Reds as the only teams playing over .500 away from their home ball parks. San Diego is an even 4-4 on the road when the total is 7 or less (+200) and the total is 2-5 O/U in those games. The team has posted a 4-3 record over the last seven games due to limiting opponents to 3.1 runs per game and a .181 combined average.
Los Angeles looks to avoid being swept in this three-game weekend series, after dropping a 2-1 contest on Saturday night to the Giants at AT&T Park. The loss was the Dodgers’ fourth straight, leaving them seven games behind first-place San Diego and 5.5 games back of today’s opponent in the NL Wild Card race. “All we’re doing is digging ourselves a deeper hole that we’re going to have to come back out of if we expect to do anything,” manager Joe Torre said. The team was shorthanded on Saturday due to the trade of Blake Dewitt, Andre Ethier going home to see the birth of his second child and Manny Ramirez still on the disabled list. Los Angeles is 9-7 when playing on Sunday this year (+70) and 37-33 on this day the past three seasons (-160). The club is still 26-15 at tonight’s venue since the 2006 season and have a solid 25-12 record against the division (+1,320).
Los Angeles managed to win Tuesday’s opener despite being held to five hits and only collected four in Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. “Unfortunately, when you are not scoring a lot of runs, you’re putting a great deal of stress on the pitching,” manager Joe Torre said. The Dodgers have still won five of seven contests and sit six games back of the Padres in the division. The club is a dominating 25-9 against NL West opponents (+1,630), which is by far the best intra-division mark in baseball. Los Angeles made a move just before last night’s game, acquiring outfielder Scott Podsednik from the Kansas City Royals. He’s among the major league leaders with 30 steals and batting .379 during a current 15-game hitting streak. The Dodgers are an even 13-13 in day games (-190) this season and the total is 10-14 O/U in those contests.
