Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Dodgers (39-26) and Philadelphia Phillies (32-31) are both chasing the first-place teams in their respective divisions heading into a key three-game series starting on Monday at Chavez Ravine.
And as usual, the Dodgers opened as strong -185 home favorites on the baseball betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com for the opener against the Phillies despite Tony Gonsolin making just his second start of the year (how the moneyline works).
Phillies vs Dodgers | OddsShark Matchup Report
Gonsolin (0-0, 5.40 ERA) struggled mightily with his control in his first outing of the season last Wednesday at the Pittsburgh Pirates, walking five batters and giving up one run and two hits in only 1.2 innings of an eventual 2-1 victory. Last year, he went 2-2 in nine games and walked seven in 46.2 innings, so Los Angeles is hoping that was an uncharacteristic performance.
Philadelphia will counter with Spencer Howard (0-1, 4.61 ERA), who has made three starts and appeared in six games overall in 2021. The 24-year-old righty went 2.1 innings last time out versus the Washington Nationals back on June 5, surrendering one unearned run and one hit with two walks and two strikeouts in a 5-2 win. He has not allowed more than three runs in any game this year, and his team ended up winning in each of his last two trips to the mound.
The Phillies are riding a four-game winning streak into Dodger Stadium overall after taking a pair of games over the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees at home, with the UNDER going 3-1 at online betting sites. That positive run has moved them within three games of the New York Mets for first place in the National League East, although they have gone a disappointing 11-19 on the road.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers have suddenly won five of their last six games to pull within one game of the San Francisco Giants for the lead in the NL West after taking two of three from the Texas Rangers at home. They have seen the OVER go 3-0-1 in their previous four as well, with those games averaging nearly 11 runs.
This may be a high-scoring series too considering the recent history between these two teams. The OVER is 3-1 in the past four meetings and 6-3-1 in the last 10 dating back to 2018. But factor in the starting pitching matchups, and there could definitely be some offensive fireworks.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles will send Julio Urias (9-2, 3.56 ERA) to the mound against Philadelphia’s Zach Eflin (2-5, 3.89 ERA) before Clayton Kershaw (8-5, 3.39 ERA) takes the hill opposite Zack Wheeler (4-3, 2.29 ERA) in Wednesday’s finale. Urias has been involved in a lot of high-scoring affairs, with the OVER going 10-2-1 in his 13 starts. The OVER is also 10-4 for Kershaw in his 14 outings.
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