Dodgers Look to Retain Division Lead with Pirates on Deck
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Los Angeles Dodgers Series Preview
Maybe getting far out of town is the best thing that could happen to the Pittsburgh Pirates (56-58) right now after being swept at home against the San Diego Padres despite carrying leads into the ninth inning in two of the games.
They’ll take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (66-49) at Dodger Stadium to start a 6-game road trip. Pittsburgh trails the New York Mets by 4.5 games for the last wild card spot while the Dodgers hold a slim 2.5-game lead on the San Diego Padres in the NL West.
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Oddsmakers have made Los Angeles a -205 favorite with a total of eight in game one. Let’s start our Pirates vs Dodgers series preview with a quick look at all three games from a betting perspective.
Game One
- Mitch Keller (Pit) 10-5, 3.20 vs Jack Flaherty (LA) 8-5, 2.80
This is a terrific pitching MLB match-up and man-for-man should favor Keller who has been everything Derek Shelton has asked him to be this season, but as long as the Pirates bats are being factored in, we don’t have a moneyline that reflects how good both starters are.
- The betting public isn’t fazed by Keller’s 10 wins with 90% of the money on the Dodgers to go with 91% of the tickets. This has pushed the number up from -170 to -205 at some spots.
Keller should be plenty rested after throwing four innings of shutout baseball against the Padres in his last start, but then the rain came and Shelton decided that Keller’s night was finished.
Over his last five starts, the former all-star has allowed seven earned runs and 20 hits in his past 29 innings (2.17 era). For his efforts, Keller has just one win and four no decisions.
Flaherty will be making his second start after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Detroit Tigers.
In his debut the Burbank, California native allowed five hits, no earned runs, one walk, and seven strikeouts in six innings, guiding the Dodgers to a 10-0 win against the Oakland Athletics.
Our MLB best bet for today’s game is to bet the under eight with both pitchers expected to go deep.
Game Two
- Paul Skenes (Pit) 6-1, 1.99 vs River Ryan (LA) 1-0, 1.72
Another big stage waits for the Pirates phenom Paul Skenes as he tries to stop the bleeding on the Pirates season.
Over his previous five starts, Skenes has allowed seven earned runs in 33.2 innings (1.87 era) and should have had a better fate than 2-1 in those games had it not been for a bullpen who are still trying to put the puzzle pieces together.
In Skenes’ 14 starts, opponents are hitting just .202 in 2024 and .203 over his last three starts.
The Dodgers will be showing off their young pitching prospect when River Ryan takes the ball for Dave Roberts.
Ryan will be making his fourth start of the season after helping the Dodgers to three straight victories after allowing just three earned runs in 15.2 innings of work.
Like Skenes, the Dodgers have been careful with his innings so expect Ryan to work through the fifth before handing it over to the pen.
This is a match-up of the future MLB leaders in pitching but we think this game will go over the total because the Pirates’ bullpen can’t be trusted and if the Dodgers make Skene’s labor through five innings, we may see the Bucs’ sketchy pen earlier than expected.
Jackson Merrill had WORDS for Paul Skenes after Padres’ win 😳 pic.twitter.com/1KmPdtzKte
— FAX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFAX) August 8, 2024
Game Three
- Bailey Falter (Pit) 5-7, 3.87 vs Tyler Glasnow (LA) 9-6, 3.54
Bailey Falyer has been much better than people expected at the beginning of the season, so much so that some can’t believe he’s still in the rotation.
Over his last four starts, the former Team USA product has allowed five earned runs in 14.1 innings (3.14 era) while giving up 15 hits.
Tyler Glasnow was a fifth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011 and spent just under three seasons in the ‘Burgh before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018.
- With the Pirates, Glasnow was 3-11 with a 5.79 era. Since leaving the Bucs, Glasnow is 36-22 with a 3.28 era.
Before the season, Glasnow was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and and has been decent for most of the season until his past five games where the California native is 1-1 with a 6.00 era.
Despite his recent troubles we always tend to wager on the better MLB team in the last game of a series and this will be no different.
Take Dodgers if you’re comfortable with the price. That is our free MLB picks for this weekend’s Pirates vs Dodgers series preview write-up. We wish you all the best with your picks and parlays this weekend.
For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
