The Los Angeles Dodgers played much better ball at the back end of their eight-game road trip than they did on the front end of it, which has to give bettors some confidence going into Sunday Night Baseball against the Chicago Cubs.
ODDS ANALYSIS
It's good for the Dodgers to be back at home, where they’re 42-20 for the year. They're 69-56 on the season and are praying to hold off the Giants in the NL West. Bettors are still out 13.73 units on the season.
Chicago is 73-52 and playing some of the best baseball in the bigs. This was a team with a losing money mark just a few weeks ago, but now, it is up 10.80 units for the duration of 2015.
PITCHING MATCHUP
The last time a Cubs pitcher posted 14 consecutive quality starts was back in 1992, and Greg Maddux was the man who did it. Jake Arrieta, who is sitting on 13 in a row, can put his name into team history if he completes a quality start in this one.
Arrieta boasts a 0.54 ERA in August, the best month in a season which could end up being really sneaky when it comes to the Cy Young Award.
Alex Wood isn't being asked to do a lot here with the Dodgers. He hasn't pitched more than 6.1 innings in a start with his new team yet, and he hasn't been spectacular in any of those outing.
The lefty has led the team to a 2-3 mark in those five starts.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Especially after the last couple games, the little streak we've been on, I think you start to really get the sense of urgency Kersh was talking about. The fact that it's August now, teams are in the hunt, playing good or bad baseball – middle to the end of August, it's kind of go time." – Dodgers starter Alex Wood on the sense of urgency the team needs to have just to get into the postseason
SITUATIONAL BETTING
Situational baseball has nearly killed the Dodgers of late. They've needed to go through most of their bullpen night in and night out late in games, and even Kenley Jansen hasn't been throwing at an elite level.
Jim Johnson continues to be a gas can out of the pen, and there's no end in sight to his awful outings.
PROP TALK
Have a week, Kris Bryant! The kid from Vegas has four homers and 11 RBIs in his last eight games, and he is batting .433 in that stretch. It's tough to fade any batter against men at the back of the LA rotation, and if Bryant keeps this up between now and Sunday, he'll make for great prop betting on Sunday Night Baseball, too.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
If the Dodgers were working better together as a bullpen, we could buy into them in this game. Instead, even if Wood does go six strong innings, we just don't trust that the relievers can keep LA in it, even at home.
Arrieta should come up with another big outing to again silence the suddenly inconsistent Dodgers bats, and that will be enough to lead the Cubbies to victory.
Chicago 4, Los Angeles 2
The baseball betting odds for this Sunday game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this televised baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will start at 8:08 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 30, 2015 at Dodger Stadium. You can watch the contest live on ESPN.
