The Monday night matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers has plenty of storylines for an early season tilt between non-division foes. The biggest is the return of Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to LA. Both players were jettisoned by the Dodgers to clear room in an overcrowded outfield.
The Dodgers also get their ace back with Clayton Kershaw scheduled to make his first start of the season after missing time with a shoulder issue. So many sub-plots caught the attention of ESPN, which will broadcast the game live from Dodger Stadium.
This MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers will be held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California at 10 p.m. ET on Monday, April 15, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
We'll have MLB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 Major League Baseball season.
MLB Betting at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
Puig got more hits on the Pirates during a recent melee that earned him a suspension than he has at the dish all season. It’s been a team-wide problem however that was remedied by a visit from the woeful Marlins. The Reds broke an eight-game losing streak and showed signs of an offense by scoring 21 runs in the three-game sweep. Cincy scored 21 runs total in its first nine games and was blanked four times.
It was an opposite scenario for the Dodgers, who started red-hot winning eight of 10 with a crushing offense. The bats were silenced in a four-game sweep by the Cardinals. Still, oddsmakers are going to give the advantage to LA on the MLB betting lines.
Probable Pitchers
A rare Friday off day and an injury to Sonny Gray has played havoc with the Reds rotation. They haven’t officially announced a starter for Monday, but it would be Luis Castillo’s turn to take the hill. Building off a solid 2018 season when he went 10-12 with a 4.30 ERA in 31 starts, Castillo has been filthy this year.
Castillo blanked the Marlins on two hits with eight Ks over 7.0 innings in his last start earning his first victory of the year and dropping his ERA to 0.92. He’s issued more walks ( 8 ) than hits ( 5 ) and opponents are batting just .082 against him.
Kershaw is ready to make his season debut after a pair of minor league rehab starts. The three-time Cy Young winner was sidelined early in spring training with a sore throwing shoulder, but he looked sharp hitting 92 mph for Double-A Tulsa on Tuesday.
Manager Dave Roberts said he doesn’t anticipate any restrictions for Kershaw, whose return is good news after the club put Hyun-Jin Ryu on the injured list. Kershaw was 9-5 in 26 starts last year and his 2.73 ERA was his highest since 2010.
Key Stat
The acquisition of Puig and Kemp was designed to give the Reds a more diverse and potent offense. That hasn’t been the case through the first two weeks of the season. The former Dodgers each have five hits through the team’s first 12 games for a combined batting average of .145 with one home run and eight RBIs.
Puig had a two run double in a 5-0 win over Miami on Thursday in his first game back after serving a suspension. Kemp has the only homer between the two, jacking one out of the yard in the same series with the Marlins. Kemp has fanned a team-high 14 times with at least one whiff in 10 of the 11 games he played.
Free MLB ATS Picks
The Reds had an offensive spark in a three-game sweep of the Marlins. But it is the Marlins and it’s tough to call them a Major League club. Facing a three-time Cy Young winner will be a different story, though we can’t predict how Kershaw will fare after missing time with an injury. If he wasn’t ready he wouldn’t pitch, so I expect Kershaw to be on top of his game. And Castillo has been nasty so far. I do believe the Dodgers will score enough to back Kershaw and get the win.
MLB Betting Odds: Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Cincinnati Reds 1
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!
