The Marlins find themselves in a perfect underdog spot at Dodger Stadium.
Florida Marlins at Los Angeles Dodgers
Florida gets set to play the second game of a seven-game road trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers, picking up a 6-5 victory last night at Dodger Stadium. The Marlins have won two straight games, after losing seven of their previous nine contests. Florida currently leads the 2010 series 3-1 versus Los Angeles and has won nine of its last 12 games in Los Angeles. The team is still just 19-20 following a win this season, but the total is a cash-making 26-12 O/U and 115-83 O/U the last three years. If tonight’s game goes over the total, expect Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez to be a main player. He is batting .434 in 13 games at Dodger Stadium, which is the highest batting average among all active players (min 50 plate appearances).
Marlins starting pitcher Chris Volstad is 4-7 with a 4.45 ERA in 16 starts this season (-780), with the club dropping three straight contests with him on the hill. The right-hander is 2-3 with a 5.72 ERA in seven road starts, issuing 20 walks and the same number of strikeouts in 39.1 innings. Volstad is making his fifth start and appearance against Los Angeles, going 2-2 with a 3.76 ERA (-20). It will mark his second start against the Dodgers this season, falling in the season opener 7-3 by allowing three runs (two earned) and five hits over 6.1 innings. His last win over the Dodgers came on July 26, 2009, at tonight’s venue and has tallied a 2-0 record and 3.21 ERA in two starts in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles has an MLB-best 23-6 record within its own division, but still continues to struggle when playing outside the NL West. The team spotted the visiting Marlins a 6-2 lead through three innings and its comeback ended up falling just short. “I thought we were going to win this game, but baseball is like that,” said shortstop Rafael Furcal. The Dodgers are 4-10 against the NL East this season and are facing a team that is 13-7 at their park since 2004. The team still has a great opportunity of putting together a great run, as 13 of its next 17 games are at home, where the team is 24-16 this season (+100).
Dodgers starting pitcher Vicente Padilla is an even 2-2 with a 5.05 ERA in seven starts this season (-340) and coming off a 8-2 road victory over the San Francisco Giants. In that outing, the right-hander allowed just a single run and three hits over seven innings. Padilla has made just two starts at Dodger Stadium, posting a 1-1 record and 3.21 ERA (Even), with opponents batting just .196 against him. He will be making his 19th career appearance (13th start) versus the Marlins, posting a 4-5 mark and 3.22 ERA (-130). He has limited Florida hitters to a .210 batting average. He has gone 10-2 with a 4.03 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) versus the National League since the start of the 2008 season.
Bettors will focus in on the Marlins perfect 6-0 record as a road underdog of +150 to +175 (+960), which is impressive due to the team being 16-19 in this spot the last three years (+680). Los Angeles offers little resistance to playing the traveling Marlins, with a 7-5 mark as a home favorite of -150 to -175 (-110).
