Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Dodgers (65-44) earned a split with the Houston Astros earlier in the week thanks to a strong debut from new addition Max Scherzer on Wednesday, improving to 3-3 in their last six games against American League opponents.
Now the Dodgers will try to take care of the AL West’s Los Angeles Angels (55-54) starting on Friday night as big home favorites on the MLB odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com in the opener of a three-game set at Chavez Ravine (how sports betting works).
Angels vs. Dodgers | OddsShark Matchup Report
While the Dodgers have split their past six games versus AL foes, they had won four of their previous five before that after dropping two of three to the Angels in Anaheim between May 7 and 9. Prior to that series, the Dodgers reeled off six consecutive wins against the Angels, with three of those coming at home. The teams have split the last 30 meetings dating back to 2015.
The Dodgers are listed as -200 favorites at online betting sites for the first of three games with David Price (4-1, 3.55 ERA) heading to the hill opposite Patrick Sandoval (3-5, 3.38 ERA) of the Angels. They figure to have a strong edge in Saturday’s matchup as well with Julio Urias (13-3, 3.40 ERA) facing Jaime Barria (2-0, 4.12 ERA) along with Sunday’s finale between Walker Buehler (11-2, 2.16 ERA) and Reid Detmers (0-1, 12.46 ERA).
Price and Buehler are coming off losses in their last starts, so it will be interesting to see how they perform as they continue to chase the San Francisco Giants for first place.
The Angels enter this series on a three-game winning streak, yet they are still 10 games back in their division. Not only that, but their best player this year Shohei Ohtani is not scheduled to go to the mound again until next Wednesday, so the Dodgers will be fortunate to miss him. Ohtani is hitting .308 against them though with two doubles and three strikeouts in 13 at-bats.
They just took three of four from the Texas Rangers in a road series that ended on Thursday, outscoring them by a 19-8 margin. In their previous four games, they were outscored 14-4.
Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for analysis on this week’s top games. As well, the OddsShark Computer serves up daily MLB picks for bettors