The Padres came from a one-run deficit in their season home opener on Sunday to beat NL West rival Los Angeles who will aim to get things back on track after a disappointing performance from its newly-upgraded bullpen.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will kick off the domestic portion of the Major League Baseball season at Petco Park on Sunday night.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in last place and fading, with the worst record in the National League West Over the last 10 games.
To me the San Diego Padres are one of the most counfounding teams out there. With the names they have on their roster they should probably be among the worst teams in the Majors but they are hanging in there at just below .500.
With the Braves struggling the Nationals have closed some of the gap in the National League East. They are now down down just a game in the division despite the fact they have struggled over the last five against Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.
The Padres may have won yesterday to break their losing streak but they are still struggling greatly this season. They are already 6 games back in the standing of the N.L. West standings and will need more than just fire in their bellies to overcome.
The offense has been much less impressive as they have are the 4th worst team in the Majors in runs scored so far, a real disappointment given they were supposed to have a revamped lineup and the seeming return to form of OF Carl Crawford.
San Diego was picked to finish dead last in the NL last season, but a surprising start that lasted all the way to All-Star break renewed hopes that this team could possibly still return to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
The Padres are assuredly out of the race and will be using the second half to season some youngsters and make some decisions for next year.
While the Los Angeles Dodgers are struggling, the San Francisco Giants have been playing some terrific baseball of late.
Tonight’s Game 1 match up in this series is one between 2 teams heading in different directions, as the Mets have won 2 straight while the Padres have lost 3 in a row.
The Dodgers sit six games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League West, but Matt Kemp is on the disabled list and many wonder if they can keep winning.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres Mets MLB Betting Preview
Starting Pitchers: Los Angeles (Harang) vs. San Diego (Volquez)
Date/Time: May 17, 10:05 p.m. EST
MLB Gambling Odds from BetOnline
Moneyline: San Diego (-125) Los Angeles (+115)
Runline: Padres -1.5 (+180) Dodgers +1.5 (-210)
Total: 6.5
San Diego is just 14-24 on the season, and they are already 10.5 games out of first place.
The Padres did take the first game last night. Can they take this game behind their Ace Edinson Volquez?
The Dodgers offense really had been revolving around Matt Kemp, so it was a major problem when he went down with an injury. Andre Ethier is also having a terrific season, and now even more pressure is going to fall on his shoulders. Ethier leads the team with 34 RBI’s, and he is hitting .301. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Bobby Abreu was cut loose by the Angels earlier this year, and he’s getting lots of playing time for the Dodgers. If Abreu can become a solid contributor that could really help the Dodgers chances. Aaron Harang returns back to San Diego to pitch against his old team in this contest.
Edinson Volquez started the season a little shaky, but he has been very good of late. He has only allowed more than three runs once this year.
He led the Padres to a win over Roy Halladay and the Phillies in his last start. Volquez walks too many batters, but he has been able to get away with it because he is keeping the ball in the ballpark.
San Diego’s offense averages just 3.26 runs per game. Yonder Alonso has been a bright spot for the team so far this year, and he may be a guy they can build their team around in the future. Cameron Maybin and Orlando Hudson are both struggling mightily, and this team needs them to pick up their production.
The Dodgers offense isn’t good at all without Kemp in the middle of the order. Volquez should fare well against Los Angeles this time around.
MLB Free Pick: Padres ML
Although the Los Angeles Dodgers had an “almost” NL MVP winner and a Cy Young winner in 2011, that’s pretty much all they had. Amid the continued ownership turmoil, the team made very few acquisitions during the offseason to better their 82-79 third place finish.
Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.
Hard to believe, as some of us still have VERY cold temperatures outside, that the Boys of Summer are almost back. But it’s true; teams have started reporting to 2011 Major League Baseball training camps and it’s time to start our team-by-team baseball gambling previews for the year.
Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.
