Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks Odds
| Dodgers Odds | -275 |
| Diamondbacks Odds | +225 |
| Over/Under | 9 (-115 / -105) |
| Time | 4:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
How dare the Dodgers lose a game.
After falling to the Diamondbacks on Saturday, the Dodgers slipped to two games back of the Giants, who obviously won once again, in the NL West.
This means L.A. will essentially need to win out to have a good chance at avoiding the wild-card game with only seven games remaining in the season. Can it pull one back against Arizona and avoid dropping an important series to a bad team? Let's get into how to bet this one.
Dodgers Turn To Urias
Regardless of your opponent, it's very hard to win a baseball game with just five hits. That was the story on Saturday night as Zac Gallen absolutely shut down this Dodgers offense en route to a victory. The top of the order, which had done so well on Friday, was stopped in an instant, and Max Muncy went 0-for-4 just as he was starting to show signs of life at the plate.
It didn't help that Clayton Kershaw didn't have it early, either. On Sunday, they'll turn to another lefty in the talented Julio Urias. While he is a lefty, which is the preferred handedness of the Diamondbacks' hitters, Urias has been outstanding all year long, and particularly in the second half.
He's pitched to a 2.25 ERA in 12 starts, striking out 66 in 68 frames and allowing just four home runs. He's once again been one of the best pitchers in baseball in hard-hit rate (30.2%) and walk rate (5%), and is a tough matchup for just about any team out there.
Urias is coming off a tough outing in Colorado, allowing four earned runs, but he did recently dominate Arizona. In three starts this year against the Diamondbacks, Urias is 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA, striking out 20 hitters in 16 2/3 innings. He's 6-1 with a 1.77 ERA in his career against the Diamondbacks.
Diamondbacks Will Need Offense To Step Up
It hasn't been a week to write home about offensively for the Diamondbacks. ln the past seven days, they've hit .224 with a 79 wRC+, grading out as one of the worst lineups in baseball. Yet in the last few days, Arizona has turned it on, taking down the Braves and Dodgers at home and playing a tight game against LA on Friday.
It's hard to predict what's coming next from Arizona, but as long as Ketel Marte keeps hitting good things can keep happening. The Diamondbacks' keystone, who is objectively the best bat in this lineup, was 3-for-5 on Saturday with a round-tripper against Kershaw.
The Diamondbacks will turn to 24-year-old Humberto Mejia on Sunday in what will be his fourth career start. Things haven't really gone well for the right-hander so far; he's pitched to a 7.20 ERA in 15 innings giving up far too many line drives and getting rocked when dealing his fastball. Hitters are 11-for-22 off of Mejia's fastball this year with two homers and five extra-base hits.
Dodgers-Diamondbacks Pick
Against the fourth-best fastball hitting team, Mejia should be minced meat. Los Angeles may be sporadic at the plate, but it is still the fat superior side and one which will have a lot to play for here.
Urias' fantastic numbers against the D'backs this year also have me encouraged, considering Arizona has done almost all of its damage against southpaws. It doesn't seem like much can stop the Dodgers from stomping the Diamondbacks here and I'm comfortable laying the two and half.
Pick: Dodgers -2.5 (-115)
