The only game to start after 8:15 p.m. ET around baseball on Wednesday is a potential World Series preview: Dodgers vs Athletics. L.A. is a solid MLB betting favorite behind three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers get to add the DH.
Oakland is 45-0 when leading after seven innings and is the only team in the majors that has not lost a game when leading after seven. The A’s are 53-0 when leading after eight innings. They last lost when leading after eight on July 27, 2017, in Toronto. Oakland ranks second in the majors with a .270 batting average in the seventh inning or later but are hitting .237 over innings one through six, which is fourth lowest.
On Monday, the A’s acquired RHP Mike Fiers from the Tigers for two players to be named later or cash considerations. The two sides were discussing a possible deal before last week’s trade deadline, but they were ultimately able to get something done via the waiver process. Fiers has enjoyed a nice year for Detroit, posting a 3.48 ERA and 87/26 K/BB ratio in 119 innings over 21 starts.
Fiers makes his Oakland debut here. Fiers left Detroit’s 7-4 win over Cincinnati last Wednesday with a left lower shin bruise. Fiers was hit by a comebacker off the bat of Mason Williams in the top of the second inning. Fiers was able to finish that inning, but Drew VerHagen relieved him to start the third. X-rays were negative.
How to Bet Dodgers Athletics MLB Odds & Game Info
In a 3-2 win Sunday, the @Dodgers got 3 2/3 scoreless innings from the bullpen. In a 4-2 win Tuesday, they got the same. https://t.co/mses1KXnM9
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) 8 de agosto de 2018
- When: Wednesday, 10:05 PM ET
- Where: Oakland Coliseum
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Clayton Kershaw/Mike Fiers
- TV: MLB Network
- Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: TuneIn
- MLB Odds: Los Angeles Dodgers -155 / Oakland Athletics +145
Why Bet on LA Dodgers?
L.A. entered this quick two-game series off losing two of three over the weekend at home in a World Series rematch with Houston. The Dodgers visited Oakland early in the season and split. L.A. won the opener 4-0. Chris Taylor and Corey Seager hit back-to-back homers off Sean Manaea, in the first inning, and Matt Kemp later added a dinger. The A’s won’t have to worry about Seager this time as he had arthroscopic surgery on his left hip Tuesday. Seager is already three months into his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers are expecting the shortstop to be ready to go for the beginning of spring training. The Dodgers were routed in the second game in Oakland 16-6. Khris Davis, Matt Chapman and Jed Lowrie each went deep, and the Athletics pounded out 21 hits. The last time a Dodgers staff yielded 20 or more hits was July 25, 2015, against the Mets at Citi Field. Dodger backstop Yasmani Grandal has been a force at the plate since the beginning of July, slashing .350/.475/.738 with five doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 17 RBI, while drawing 19 walks against 20 strikeouts in 26 games. During that span, he leads the Majors in on-base percentage, while ranking among the best in the big leagues in batting average (3rd), slugging percentage (2nd), OPS (1.212, 2nd) and home runs (T-9th). Since being acquired on July 4 from the Reds, right-hander Dylan Floro has been solid for the Dodger ‘pen, going 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA (3 ER/10.2 IP) and has held hitters to a .114 average (4-for-35). It’s ace Clayton Kershaw on the bump here. Kershaw (5-5, 2.55) allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven across six innings to earn the win Thursday against the Brewers. Kershaw received plenty of run support — the Dodgers had scored 10 runs by the end of the sixth inning — but didn’t need it to earn his fifth win. He generated 15 swinging strikes with a total of 67 of his 98 pitches finding the strike zone. This start marked Kershaw’s sixth consecutive quality start, during which he has gone 4-1 with nine earned runs and 35 strikeouts across 38.1 innings. While he has struck out a relatively disappointing 9.5 batters per nine innings across 95.1 innings this season, his ERA (2.55) and WHIP (1.07) is excellent. This season, Kershaw has allowed five homers to left-handed batters; in the past two years, he’s had reverse splits, being more effective against righties.Why Bet on Oakland?
On Tuesday, the A’s activated INF/OF Chad Pinder from the 10-day disabled list. Pinder missed just 10 days with a left elbow laceration. He’ll go back to starting regularly against lefties and filling in versus righties when needed. To make room, the team optioned INF Franklin Barreto to Triple-A Nashville. Barreto may have spent the last two months of this season as a regular if not for Oakland’s surprising surge into contention. He’s hit .246/.270/.508 with four homers in 61 at-bats. The A’s are batting .279 (120-for-430) over the last 12 games with 72 runs scored (6.0 runs per games) and 55 extra base hits (31 doubles, five triples, 19 home runs). Overall, rank third in the American League in doubles (218) and extra-base hits (385), tied for fourth in home runs (150) and fifth in runs scored (532), slugging (.430) and OPS (.751). They are last in the majors in steals (26), stolen base attempts (44) and stolen base percentage (58.8%).
Oakland is 45-0 when leading after seven innings and is the only team in the majors that has not lost a game when leading after seven. The A’s are 53-0 when leading after eight innings. They last lost when leading after eight on July 27, 2017, in Toronto. Oakland ranks second in the majors with a .270 batting average in the seventh inning or later but are hitting .237 over innings one through six, which is fourth lowest.
On Monday, the A’s acquired RHP Mike Fiers from the Tigers for two players to be named later or cash considerations. The two sides were discussing a possible deal before last week’s trade deadline, but they were ultimately able to get something done via the waiver process. Fiers has enjoyed a nice year for Detroit, posting a 3.48 ERA and 87/26 K/BB ratio in 119 innings over 21 starts.
Fiers makes his Oakland debut here. Fiers left Detroit’s 7-4 win over Cincinnati last Wednesday with a left lower shin bruise. Fiers was hit by a comebacker off the bat of Mason Williams in the top of the second inning. Fiers was able to finish that inning, but Drew VerHagen relieved him to start the third. X-rays were negative.
Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Dodgers are 5-1 in Kershaw’s last 6 starts vs. American League West
- Dodgers are 39-12 in Kershaw’s last 51 starts vs. a team with a winning record
- Under is 4-1 in Kershaw’s last 5 interleague starts
- LA is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
- LA is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of LA Dodgers’s last 11 games
- Oakland is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing LA Dodgers
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oakland’s last 6 games
