The Los Angeles Dodgers will be in search of offense on Saturday night when they battle the resurgent Atlanta Braves in the second game of their weekend set back home in the comforts of Chavez Ravine.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Don’t look now, but the Braves are tomahawking their way to victory. Freddie Freeman’s ninth home run of the season in the bottom of the 11th saw the Braves walk-off against the NL West leading Giants on Wednesday put them in position to possibly snare back-to-back series wins for the first time this season. Still, Atlanta has been nothing short of a money pit for baseball bettors with the club coming out victorious in just 16 of their first 52 games for a -$1319 overall return on investment.
The Dodgers currently find themselves trailing San Francisco by 4.5 games for the top spot in the NL West. The club only sits two-games over .500 after dropping two of the first three to the Cubs and staring at a series loss with a rookie toeing the bump for them on Thursday afternoon. Even if they do drop the finale, a 3-4 road trip through New York and Chicago isn’t too shabby. This game against the Braves could be a great spot for them to finally claw over the breakeven point at home where they’ve dropped better than five units for $100 players.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Absolutely nothing about the Braves pitching staff gets you excited. The starting staff owns the league’s No. 16 ranked ERA, while the bullpen’s 4.48 ERA is good for the league’s No. 25 ranked unit. Offensively, it gets even worse with their 3.19 runs per game average No. 29 and their .612 OPS No. 30 – the worst in the league! That means every starter that tows the bump has to go all out just to have a shot at a win.
Mike Foltynewicz has been pretty decent since getting the call. He’s 2-2 with a 3.51 ERA and has shown swing and miss stuff while not hurting himself with free passes. Two of his four road starts have also been of quality, so he could show well here against a Dodgers offense that’s been lacking of late.
Los Angeles has thrown 28 quality starts to date which ranks them No. 10 in that stat category. Clayton Kershaw is the main reason why, but Japanese import Kenta Maeda has added a few of his own and will have a great shot of throwing his first since May 6 in this spot.
Though he’s taken some giant steps backwards since bolting onto the MLB scene in April, he’s still one of the proven commodities within the Dodgers starting rotation and must step up against a Braves offense he should dominate. In order to do so however, he’ll need to turn the page on his poor showings at Dodger Stadium where he’s gone 1-3 and owns a 4.08 ERA.
LIVE BETTING
Should Maeda go the minimum six innings or more to log the quality start he so desperately needs to get back on track, it would put LA in an excellent position to win this game should Dave Roberts be forced to go to his pen.
The Dodgers own a bullpen ERA of 3.38 and have a lockdown closer in the form of Kenley Jansen to close it out should the game get to that point. Atlanta doesn’t have the caliber of relievers to fall back on, and it certainly doesn’t have a 9th inning guy cut from the cloth as Jansen.
Live betting the Dodgers with a late lead should be money in the bank.
QUICK PICK
Now I get that Atlanta has stunk out loud, but it’s been playing a more confident brand of ball of late and will no doubt try to continue putting its best foot forward throughout this series. Maeda has been absolutely nothing to write home about of late, but this will be the worst offense he’s run up against all baseball season.
Still, I like this Foltynewicz kid and I expect him to be more than up to the challenge of competing in historic Dodger Stadium for the first time in his career. With that, I’ll be taking a stab with the Braves on the run-line, and will hope for the game to be tied or Atlanta to be winning in the late innings so I can then fire back on LA on the readjusted live betting line.
MLB Odds: Dodgers 5, Braves 4
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled for Saturday, June 4, 2016, at 10:10 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium.
