The Los Angeles Dodgers will try again to win their first World Series title since 1988 in 2019 and it all starts with Opening Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon. These are two teams heading in opposite directions. The Dodgers have made back-to-back Fall Classics, but fell to the AL team. They’re well equipped to get there again. The D-Backs, however, traded away Paul Goldschmidt this winter, signaling a reboot if not a rebuild. Can Arizona surprise with a road win or will the Dodgers get out of the gate in the win column?
First pitch for the game between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers is scheduled for Thursday, March 28, 2019, at 4:10 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. The matchup will be shown on ESPN.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Odds Analysis
The Dodgers and D-Backs are division rivals who have played some meaningful games head-to-head over the last few years with both teams in contention.
Arizona figures to regress a bit this year, making these games a bit less meaningful. The Dodgers will try and take advantage of the easier schedule as Arizona has given them fits the last few years. The D-Backs were 11-8 against L.A. each of the last two years.
This year, the Dodgers certainly have the advantage, at least on paper. The pitching matchups may be a bit more even, particularly on Thursday’s season opener with Greinke on the mound, but the offensive advantage is clearly in the Dodgers’ corner.
L.A. outscored every other team in the NL last year and scored 111 more runs than the D-Backs and that was when Arizona had Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock. The Dodgers now have Pollock and Goldy is in St. Louis.
Arizona showed in May what the team looks like without much production from Goldschmidt as the All-Star first baseman was slumping and it wasn’t pretty. The Diamondbacks were outscored by every other team in baseball that month.
Arizona’s lineup does not look pretty without Goldschmidt or Pollock. Eduardo Escobar and David Peralta are the stars of the offense now with Jake Lamb and Steven Souza Jr. key middle of the order bats despite both producing sub-.700 OPS seasons last year.
This spring, Escobar and Peralta have both struggled while Wilmer Flores—the Mets’ castoff—has been the best hitter for the team.
On the Dodgers’ side of things, a number of them have shown success in their careers against the D-Backs’ starter, including a couple home runs apiece for Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager.
Speaking of Seager, he’s set to return to the lineup at short after his injury last year. He effectively replaces the loss of Manny Machado. Pollock is now in the outfield in place of Yasiel Puig. Otherwise, this team is largely the same as the one that led the senior circuit in runs scored.
This spring, Austin Barnes has thrived as he gets set to take on a larger role behind the plate. Most of the key players are swinging well. Seager hasn’t gotten too many at bats, but has looked good in limited appearances. Justin Turner is raking at a .488 clip. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson have been a bit cold this spring, but L.A.’s certainly looked better at this dish so far this March than Arizona.
Probable Pitchers
Zack Greinke gets the opening day start for the D-Backs to open his 16th major league season. The veteran right-hander remains one of the premiere arms in the game.
He’s got a 3.39 career ERA and has won at least 15 games in eight of his last 10 seasons. Last year, he was 15-11 with a 3.21 ERA in 33 starts. He also eclipsed 200 innings for the fourth time in five years. In an era of short starts and openers, he’s still one of the game’s bulldogs.
The veteran has exhibit good command throughout his career and again produced a solid strikeout to walk ratio last year, leading to a 3.71 FIP and 1.079 WHIP. He did allow 28 home runs though, his highest total of his career.
The righty is going into his fourth season with the D-Backs and has faced the Dodgers—his former team—quite a bit, posting a 7-5 record and 3.77 career ERA in 15 starts against L.A.
Typically, the other side of an opening day matchup against the Dodgers would feature Clayton Kershaw, but the elite southpaw is injured and unable to start the year with the team. Instead, another lefty will get the ball with Hyun-Jin Ryu being tabbed for the Opening Day start.
Ryu took the ball for the Dodgers to start the NLDS last year and delivered an exceptional performance against the Braves, going seven scoreless. He wasn’t quite as good in the NLCS or World Series, but the lefty still had a very good year in 2018. In the regular season, he made just 15 starts, but went 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA and 1.008 WHIP. His FIP suggests he got a bit lucky, but he still exhibited great control and struck out 89 batters in 82.1 innings of work.
Three of his 2018 starts came against the D-Backs. He didn’t have a decision in any of those starts, but pitched well, allowing five runs in 12 innings though he did walk more than he usually does. Still, he worked out of trouble.
Ryu has made 13 career starts against Arizona with a 3.77 ERA and 3-3 record. He’s been a very good pitcher in his big league career. The issue has just been staying healthy. For now, he’s healthy.
Live Betting
The D-Backs will have to try and get to Ryu in this game before it becomes a bullpen game. Arizona has a strong pen, but L.A.’s pen is a lot deeper this year with Joe Kelly setting up Kenley Jansen. Both Kelly and Jansen have pitched well this spring, combining to allow three earned runs in 12.2 Cactus League innings.
Ahead of those two, Yimi Garcia and Pedro Baez also look to be in midseason form.
Arizona, meanwhile, has named Greg Holland the closer. The move allows Archie Bradley to slide into a more versatile role where he has thrived the last few years. With those two along with Yoshihisa Hirano, Andrew Chafin and Yoan Lopez amongst others, this pen should be—in theory—pretty strong.
It’ll be worth watching Holland if he gets into a save situation, however. He struggled last year after signing late and rushing to the big leagues with the Cardinals. He looked better in a setup role when moving to Washington.
Holland’s a proven closer in his career, but he has had some issues this spring and was very slow to come around last year. He may take some time to get in a groove and that wouldn’t bode well for Thursday.
MLB Pick
Greinke is getting up there in age and he’s not the same pitcher that hurled a 1.66 ERA for the Dodgers in 2015, but he’s still been a 15 win, 200 inning, and 3.20 ERA pitcher each of the last two seasons. Given his solid showing this spring, he should still be considered a top of the rotation arm.
Look for Greinke to toss six solid innings before yielding to the bullpen. He’s unlikely to go deeper than that right out of Spring Training. The 35 year old ace will give his team a chance to win, but the offense will be suspect against Ryu and a strong Dodger pen.
Look for L.A.’s offense to scratch across a couple against Greinke and add on against the pen on their way to road win in what ultimately figures to be a low scoring affair.
MLB Odds: Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 2
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!
