Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Dodgers (37-25) completed an important three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road Thursday and return home to Chavez Ravine as heavy betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com versus the Texas Rangers (24-39) in their sixth interleague series of the season beginning on Friday (how sports betting works).
The Dodgers are 7-5 in 12 games against American League teams so far this year, and they will open the three-game set with three-time National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw (7-5, 3.66 ERA) toeing the rubber on Friday night.
Rangers vs. Dodgers | OddsShark Matchup Report
Los Angeles opened as a -252 home favorite for Friday’s matchup at sports betting sites, as Texas will counter Kershaw with the struggling Mike Foltynewicz (1-6, 4.75 ERA). The former Atlanta Brave has not registered a victory since earning his only one of 2021 back on April 27 over the Los Angeles Angels. He has suffered losses in three of his past four starts and gave up five runs and eight hits in 3.2 innings at the Colorado Rockies on June 3.
Meanwhile, Kershaw is one of the rare pitchers who has walked away with a decision in almost every outing (12 of 13) this season. However, he has lost in each of his last two trips to the mound, surrendering 10 runs and 15 hits in 12 innings with four walks and 15 strikeouts.
As usual, the rest of the series pitching matchups bode well for the Dodgers on Saturday and Sunday too with Trevor Bauer (6-4, 2.40 ERA) and the unbeaten Walker Buehler (5-0, 2.56 ERA) scheduled after Kershaw, respectively. Los Angeles figures to be comparable favorites opposite Atlanta’s Kolby Allard (1-2, 3.41 ERA) in the second game and Dane Dunning (2-4, 4.26 ERA) in the finale.
The Dodgers have performed much better at home with a 19-10 record compared to 18-15 on the road. The same can be said for the Rangers, who are an abysmal 9-23 away from home compared to 15-16 at Arlington. Texas is coming off a 4-3 victory against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday that ended a three-game losing streak, and the team had also dropped 12 of 13 prior to that win. In addition, the Rangers are 1-13 in their last 14 games versus National League opponents.
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