It looks to be a mismatch this weekend when the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are playing the best baseball in the NL and lead the West Division, make their only visit of the season to Cincinnati, a team which has fallen on hard times and, as a a result of their latest series, currently stand last in the NL Central. MLB lines for Dodgers vs Reds put LA ahead for the Friday’s series opener. Los Angeles ends a 3 game series today against the Cleveland Indians, which they’re currently winning at 2-0. For the Reds, it’s been a terrible few days. They’re coming off a 3 game series against the San Diego Padres and they were swept in each game.
LA Dodgers at Cincinnati Game Preview & MLB Lines
When: Friday, June 16, 7:10 PM ET Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati Probable pitchers (away/home): Alex Wood/Tim Adleman TV: MLB Extra Innings Stream: MLB.tv Radio: Los Angeles / Cincinnati Opening MLB Lines: Dodgers favored by TBARECAP: @kikehndez‘s pinch-hit homer lifts #Dodgers in 6-4 win against Indians. #LetsGoDodgers
: https://t.co/3jRrMGayzi pic.twitter.com/fkyTpHSg6l — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 15, 2017
Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 31°C/88°F
- Humidity: 46%
- Precipitation: 7%
- Wind: 5 mph S
- Cloud Cover: 34%
- Type of Stadium: Open
Why Bet On LA Dodgers?
Taking into account the MLB lines, how good has Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger been? He’s your clear NL Rookie of the Year favorite and is starting to get NL MVP buzz. On Tuesday, Bellinger homered twice in a win over Cleveland. He now has 18 dingers and wasn’t even with the big club at the start of the season. Making those two homers vs. the Tribe even more impressive were that they came off tough lefty relievers in Andrew Miller and Boone Logan. Neither pitcher had given up a homer previously this year. Bellinger is back as the Dodgers’ primary first baseman with Adrian Gonzalez returning to the disabled list as a result of a back injury, therefore, he’ll stay off the squad for 10 days. In addition, Gonzalez landed back on the DL earlier this week with a herniated disc in his back and he could miss a while. This is Gonzalez’s second stint on the DL this season after avoiding the DL in his first 13 seasons. He spent nearly two weeks on the DL in May while recovering from soreness in his right elbow. The 35-year-old was removed from Sunday’s game against the Reds after six innings because his back “locked up on him,” manager Dave Roberts said.How Bad is Gonzalez’s Injury?
Roberts described Gonzalez’s herniated disk as “degenerative,” although a team spokesman later clarified that the medical staff did not use that word to describe it. Roberts declined to provide a timetable for Gonzalez to rejoin the starting lineup, besides saying he was “hopeful” Gonzalez could recover by the All-Star break. Gonzalez is hitting .255 with one home run, 11 doubles and 23 RBIs in 49 games for the Dodgers in 2017. It’s lefty Alex Wood (6-0, 2.01) on the mound. Wood allowed three earned runs, five hits and no walks with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision last Saturday against the Reds. It wasn’t Wood’s best outing, but he also did not walk any batters while keeping a zero in the loss column for the season. He has allowed just 15 walks and one home run across 53 2/3 innings. The combination of Wood’s 31 percent strikeout rate and 68 percent ground-ball rate are what is leading to his success.
Why Bet On Cincinnati?
First of all, Thursday’s off day for the Reds came at a good time because two of their starters are banged up and thus in question for Friday, hence the latest MLB lines for this matchup. Center fielder Billy Hamilton was held out of action Wednesday due to thumb discomfort. Hamilton has acknowledged that he feels pain every time he makes contact, and if the situation doesn’t improve by the weekend the Reds will likely have to place him on the disabled list. Hamilton is batting just .238/.290/.302 in 59 games this season, though he does lead all MLB players with 28 stolen bases. One player who’s been especially relevant is Shortstop Zack Cosart, who has been the team MVP and is leading the All-Star voting at his position, sat Tuesday and Wednesday with a quad injury. Cosart leads all players at that position in batting average, hits, triples, HR (tied with LAD’s Corey Seager), extra-base hits, total bases, RBI, slugging, on-base percentage, multi-hit games and hitting with RISP (.381). Most noteworthy, he ranks among the Major League leaders in WAR.Will Tim Adleman Pitch on Friday?
It seems like it’s not 100 percent yet but it should be Tim Adleman (4-2, 4.34) on the mound here. Probably because he pitched at the Dodgers last Sunday in a no-decision and allowed two earned runs and five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over five innings. At one point, Adleman had thrown 61 pitches, which consequently ended at only 33 strikes. Bellinger hurt him for a two-run homer in the second, and in the fifth Chase Utley clubbed a solo shot to center that Hamilton just missed on a leap at the fence. But Adleman also stranded runners in scoring position in the first and third innings, and left another runner on in the fourth. He had just a two-run margin most of the time, and didn’t relinquish it. In his last four starts, Adelman is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA with 3 quality starts. On May 26 at Philadelphia, he didn’t allow a hit after Andres Blanco’s first-inning single and retired 21 of his last 23 batters (2 BB), including a streak of 16 straight snapped by Blanco’s walk leading off the seventh inning. He became the first Reds pitcher to earn a win in which he went at least 8.0 innings and allowed no more than one hit, within his first 20 Major League starts since 1999 (Ron Villone, 5th & 9th starts).Recent MLB Betting History
LA Dodgers
- Won – June 14th @ Cleveland / Score: 6-4 / MLB Betting Odds: +122, Total 8.5
- Won – June 13th @ Cleveland / Score: 7-5 / MLB Betting Odds: -172, Total 7.5
- Won – June 12th vs Cincinnati / Score: 9-7 / MLB Betting Odds: -169, Total 8.5
- Won – June 11th vs Cincinnati / Score: 5-4 / MLB Betting Odds: -218, Total 8
- Won – June 10th vs Cincinnati / Score: 7-2 / MLB Betting Odds: -200, Total 8.5
Cincinnati Reds
- Loss – June 14th @ San Diego / Score: 2-4 / MLB Betting Odds: +120, Total 9.5
- Loss – June 13th @ San Diego / Score: 7-5 / MLB Betting Odds: +103, Total 8
- Loss – June 12th @ San Diego / Score: 3-9 / MLB Betting Odds: +159, Total 8.5
- Loss – June 11th @ LA Dodgers / Score: 7-9 / MLB Betting Odds: -218, Total 8
- Loss – June 10th @ LA Dodgers / Score: 4-5 / MLB Betting Odds: +201, Total 8
