Dodgers Vs. Athletics 04/05/21: Odds And MLB Betting Trends
Matt Beaty, 2021 Spring Training
Rick Scuteri/USA TODAY Sports

Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)

After losing their season opener last Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers (3-1) rolled to an easy series victory against the Colorado Rockies as huge road favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com in each game. Now the Dodgers visit the winless Oakland Athletics (0-4) next for the first of three games beginning on Monday as solid road favorites again with Dustin May making his first start of the year.

May (3-1, 2.57 ERA in 2020) earned the fifth and final spot in the Los Angeles starting rotation, and he will try to become a more consistent pitcher in his second MLB season following an up-and-down postseason a year ago that saw him struggle at times. The Dodgers opened as -155 chalk (wager $155 to win $100) with him going in the opener, and they will be even bigger favorites as Clayton Kershaw and Trevor Bauer follow him on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Oakland’s Frankie Montas (3-5, 5.60 ERA in 2020) will also be getting the call for the first time this year opposite May, and he will attempt to earn his team’s first victory after getting swept by the Houston Astros. The Athletics were outscored 35-9 in four games, with the OVER going 4-0 at online betting sites.

While Kershaw (0-1, 7.94 ERA) suffered the lone loss for Los Angeles in his first start, he will be poised to rebound opposite Oakland’s Chris Bassitt (0-1, 5.06 ERA) in the second game. The three-time Cy Young Award winner surrendered six runs – five earned – and 10 hits in 5.2 innings of an 8-5 loss at Coors Field before the Dodgers won three straight by a 21-13 margin.

Bauer (1-0, 5.68 ERA) enjoyed a mostly outstanding debut in his first start for the defending World Series champions on Friday, no-hitting Colorado for six innings en route to an 11-6 rout. However, the team’s prized free-agent signing ended up allowing four earned runs and got only one out in the seventh before departing with 10 strikeouts. The reigning National League Cy Young winner will oppose Jesus Luzardo (0-1, 9.00 ERA) of the Athletics in the series finale.

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