2012 Los Angeles vs Philadelphia Betting Preview
A couple weeks ago the Dodgers were running away with the best record in baseball and the National League West, but they’ve hit the skids a bit lately.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB Betting Preview
Starting Pitchers: Los Angeles (Kershaw) vs. Philadelphia (Worley)
Date/Time: June 4, 7:05 p.m. EST on ESPN
MLB Gambling Odds from GTBets
Moneyline: Los Angeles (-170) Philadelphia (+150)
Runline: Dodgers -1.5 (+140) Phillies +1.5 (-160)
Total: 6.5
Los Angeles still has the best record in baseball, but the team has lost 6 of their last 7 games.
The Phillies are in the cellar of the NL East, but they are just 3.5 games out of first place in that wildly competitive division.
Clayton Kershaw, the NL CY Young winner from 2011, will look to put an end to the Dodgers skid in this game. Kershaw has been pretty good this year, but he hasn’t been quite as dominating as he was last year. Kershaw allowed 5 runs in his last outing, so he’ll be looking to bounce back here.
The Dodgers have the fourth best team ERA in baseball at 3.27. Matt Kemp re-injured his hamstring last week, and the team misses him in a big way. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
The Dodgers lineup has several guys who are having career years right now, but without Kemp it is hard to imagine this team continuing to pile up the runs.
Philadelphia actually has the fifth best batting average in the majors. The Phillies problem has been coming through with clutch hits with runners in scoring position. Carlos Ruiz is doing big things while Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are absent from the lineup.
Ruiz is batting .371 with 8 homers and 32 RBI’s. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino are having very poor seasons thus far, and those two really need to get it going for this Phillies offense to meet its potential. Vance Worley doesn’t get talked about too often, but he is a very solid pitcher. Worley has an impressive 3.07 ERA this year.
This will be his first start since coming off the disabled list, so the Phillies might be a little cautious with him.
The Dodgers badly need a win, and I think Kershaw is due for a big bounce back game. Look for the Dodgers to win a tight one.
MLB Free Pick: Dodgers ML
