San Francisco vs Los Angeles MLB Betting Preview
The Giants have won 2 straight and are in 2nd place in the NL West and even though the Dodgers are coming off a loss they are 10-2 at home this season and their starter for tonight in Ted Lilly has an ERA below 1.40. MLB lines have the Dodgers as the home favorite tonight.
Venue/ Stadium: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
Time/Date: 10:10 PM EST Monday, May 7, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: Giants +125 / Dodgers -149
Over/Under: OFF
San Francisco Giants vs. L.A. Dodgers Preview
In their last games the Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 while the Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs 4-3.
This season the Giants have an O/U record of 12-15 with a run-line W/L record of 15-13 and the Dodgers have an O/U record of 12-14 with a run-line W/L record of 16-12.
The Dodgers have beaten the Giants in 5 of their last 7 games.
Barry Zito (1-0, 1.76 ERA) takes the hill for San Fran tonight and in his last outing only gave up 1 run in 3 innings of work in a no decision against the Marlins. Ted Lilly (3-0, 1.38 ERA) goes for the Dodgers and in his last start he was solid going 6 innings giving up 2 earned runs in a win over the Rockies.
Lilly has not given up more than 2 runs in any of his 4 starts this season, but is 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA in 4 starts against the Giants while he has been in L.A.
Zito is off to a good start for the Giants, which he has not done since coming to San Francisco, but he had a career high 7 walks in his last start and is 0-3 with a 3.05 ERA in his last 7 starts facing the Dodgers. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
One big question in this game is will Matt Kemp play? He has a minor hamstring injury and he may get some rest tonight, which would snap a MLB best streak of 392 consecutive games played. Kemp ranks 3rd in NL in batting average, 2nd in RBI, and 1st in HR. If he cannot go it will be a big blow. However, L.A. still has Andre Either, who leads the NL in RBI.
Even though the Giants’ offense only rank 18th in the Majors in runs scored they are better than they have been in the last few seasons. Angel Pagan is on a 20-game hitting streak and during the streak he is batting .315 with 4 homers, 7 RBI’s and 11 runs.
The Giants may need a good outing from Zito, as their offensive leader in Pablo Sandoval, who leads the team in HR and RBI, is on the 15 day DL with a hand injury.
In some betting trends for this NL West match up the Giants are 5-1 in their last 6 games vs. a left-handed starter, 2-7 in Zito’s last 9 starts vs. a team with a winning record, and they have an Under record of 5-2-1 in their last 8 games.
The Dodgers are 24-7 in their last 31 home games, 7-3 in Lilly’s last 10 home starts, and they have an Under record of 4-1 in their last 5 home games.
Jason’s Pick: Even without Kemp I have to go with the Dodgers since Zito is coming off a bad start and Lilly has been solid all season.