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February 2012 MLB Events

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ALCS Game 4 Betting Odds and Preview
2010-10-19

Sportsbook.com betting odds: New York -153, Texas +143 Total: 9.5

After being shut down by Cliff Lee on Monday, the Yankees rest their Game 4 hopes on the shoulders of A.J. Burnett (10-15, 5.26 ERA). Tommy Hunter will get the start for Texas (13-4, 3.73 ERA). So far the baseball betting public at Sportsbook.com is split as 51% of the money is on the Yankees.

Burnett’s disappointing season has been well documented. The right-hander has struggled with his control for the better part of the 2010 season and was left out of the ALDS rotation. As a result, Burnett hasn’t pitched since October 2. His last three starts of the regular season were ones to forget, as he went 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA.

The Yankees have lost five of Burnett’s past six starts and went 13-20 (.394) in games he started this year. He’s pitched fairly well in his career against Texas, going 4-2 with a 3.45 ERA in 11 starts. In 2010, he went 1-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three starts against the Rangers.

Hunter comes into the matchup after taking the loss in Game 4 of the ALDS against Tampa Bay. He went four innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out seven. Hunter started the season on fire, winning his first nine decisions before finishing out 4-4. Texas has dropped three of his last four starts. Hunter faced the Yankees only once this year, a September 11 matchup against Burnett in Arlington. Hunter gave up two runs over five innings as the Rangers prevailed 7-6.

This MLB betting trend found at Sportsbook.com points towards the Yankees as being the value bet.

Play Against - Road teams (TEXAS) - with a starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.300 or better on the season-AL, starting a over rested pitcher who is working on 7 or more days rest. (72-33 over the last 5 seasons.) (68.6%, +38.7 units. Rating = 3*).

With the most generous baseball dime lines in the business, it is no wonder everyone bets on baseball at Sportsbook.com.

MLB: Crazy-good pitching matchup in Colorado Thursday
2010-07-08

Thursday’s Major League Baseball betting board boasts some interesting starting pitcher matchups, none more scintillating that that in Colorado, where the aces of the Rockies and Cardinals will square off in a matinee. It’s Ubaldo Jimenez (14-1) for the hosts and Chris Carpenter (9-2) for the visitors. What makes this even more interesting is that both pitchers come off arguably their worst outings of the season, and will look to turn it around in their final starts before the all-star break. Jimenez is a -140 favorite according to oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com, but most of the key betting info indicates that is an overpricing.

For all the momentum the Colorado Rockies have heading into their series finale with the St. Louis Cardinals, their best player is lacking in that area. All-Star pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez tries to regain his dominant form and help the Rockies sweep a three-game set from the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon.

The Rockies (46-38) have rallied in dramatic fashion for both their victories in this series. After erasing a six-run deficit with a nine-run ninth inning Tuesday, Colorado gradually wiped away a 5-0 fifth-inning deficit to win 8-7 on Chris Iannetta's leadoff homer in the ninth Wednesday.

Colorado's surge could continue if Jimenez (14-1, 2.27 ERA) reverts to form. The right-hander has struggled in his last three outings - giving up 17 runs and 19 hits in 17 2-3 innings - after a phenomenal 14-start stretch to open 2010 in which he conceded 13 runs in 101 1-3 innings.

Jimenez, in fact, may have endured what likely will be his worst single inning of the year Saturday. San Francisco reached him for seven runs in the third, but the Rockies bailed out their staff ace by rallying to take a lead before eventually losing 11-8. Jimenez allowed five hits and walked four in six innings, but he still has a personal eight-game winning streak.

Despite his recent woes, a victory would make Jimenez the first pitcher to have 15 wins by the All-Star break since David Wells did so for Toronto in 2000. Greg Maddux was the last NL pitcher to accomplish the feat back in 1988 with the Cubs.

Jimenez is 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA in four starts against the Cardinals (45-39).

Chris Carpenter (9-2, 3.16) looks to help the Cardinals avoid the sweep. The right-hander had a personal five-game winning streak snapped Saturday when Milwaukee tagged him for eight runs and nine hits in three-plus innings of a 12-5 defeat, pushing his ERA up nearly one-half run following his worst outing of the year.

Carpenter did not get a decision in his only start against the Rockies last year despite limiting them to one run in seven innings. He is a phenomenal 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA in five outings versus Colorado, going 1-0 with a 0.63 ERA in two starts at Coors Field.

There is a fairly strong FoxSheets Super Situation indicating that the edge in this battle of the aces could go to Carpenter. Take a look:

• Play Against - Any team (COLORADO) - with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 2.70 or better on the season (NL) against opponent with a starting pitcher whose winning percentage is better than 80%. (39-19 since 1997.) (67.2%, +20.3 units. Rating = 2*)

The StatFox Power Ratings show that St. Louis should be a -105 favorite, not an underdog, so the value really seems to be on that side of the line.

Carpenter has proven to be a good stop gap for his team on the road when dealing with defeat:

• CARPENTER is 54-31 (+22.7 Units) against the money line in road games after a loss since 1997. (Team's Record) The average score was CARPENTER 5.6, OPPONENT 4.1 - (Rating = 1*)

Still, the Cardinals ace will need to slow a Colorado offense that has pounded out 83 hits in the L6 games while leaving 79 men on base.

Game start time is 3:10 PM ET from Coors Field.

MLB: Betting System shows Tampa Bay breaking cold stretch
2010-05-27

It was bound to happen; Tampa Bay (32-15, +9.2 units) is officially in their first slump of the year, having been swept at home by Boston in three games. The Rays’ “Sox” homestand continues and they will look for much better outcomes against the team from Chicago. In the first of the 4-game set on Thursday, Tampa plays as a -177 favorite according to Sportsbook.com, and is backed by a powerful betting system.

The Rays offense has been the culprit of their failures, touching home plate just four times against the Red Sox and have scored more than four runs only once in their last six tries.

Tampa Bay has fallen to third in the American League in runs scored in part because their team batting average is now seventh (.256), with players like B.J. Upton slumping (batting .146 in his last 23 games).

Starting pitcher Jeff Niemann (4-0, 2.54 ERA) would certainly appreciate an offensive lift since he has yet to register a win at Tropicana Field this season despite 2.95 ERA in his four starts. Though Tampa Bay has scored 19 runs in Niemann’s starting assignments at the Trop, 14 of those runs have come after he’s been taken out of the game, giving him no decisions. At least the Rays bullpen continues to excel with 3.41 ERA and 82.4 percent save percentage.

Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox (20-26, -9.6 units) wish they had the kind of problems Tampa Bay has. Guillen’s club has not hit all season as evidenced by .240 batting average (13th) and ranking 10th in the AL in runs scored (4.2) and on-base percentage (.316).

Guillen might be a little testy coming into this four-game series having been tossed from yesterday’s win in Cleveland. The Sox skipper is also tired of witnessing tonight starting pitcher Gavin Floyd (2-4, 6.31) not pitching up to capabilities.

“He is not a kid anymore (referring to Floyd), he’s not a guy we need to teach or be careful what he is going to do, how many pitches he’s going to throw,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. He has stuff to win 20 games; it’s about making him believe that.”

Floyd does have good numbers in a couple areas with a better than 2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio (43-19) and has only been taken deep four times in nine starts. His downfall has been a combination of leaving the ball up in the zone and catching too much of the plate, being tagged for 66 hits in 51 1/3 innings.

The Rays opened as -165 money line favorites and the morning line has them up to -177 at Sportsbook.com. Has the word on this superb system gotten out?

Play Against road underdogs with a money line of +125 to +175, with a mediocre AL team batting average of .260 or less, against a club with a good bullpen (ERA <=3.75), whose starting pitcher gives up one home run or less every other start.

Betting against teams like the Pale Hose in this spot has been profitable with 43-9, 82.7 percent record the previous five seasons. Tampa Bay usually responds well to poor pitching performances like yesterday with 13-2 mark in home games after allowing nine runs or more over the last three seasons.

Rays’ pitcher Niemann has enjoyed excellent success against below average competition and is 18-4 pitching against a team with a losing record since last year. (Rays Record)

For the skeptical sports betting participant, this should be the knockout punch –Manager Joe Maddon’s squad is 18-0 at home after scoring four runs or less three straight games since 2008.

MLB: One more in Minnesota ought to do it
2009-10-06

What is the deal with baseball teams not being able to determine a winner after playing 162 games? In the entire history of Major League Baseball, there has only been eight previous one game playoffs to determine a division or league winner, however this will be the third in three years when Detroit travels to Minnesota. The Twins, who’ve rallied furiously over the last few weeks to catch the Tigers, are a heavy -165 favorite, but the betting action has been split fairly evenly thus far at Sportsbook.com.

This is turning out to be quite a 24-hour period at the Metrodome, with Brett Favre facing his old team and Vikings fans in full throat going up against the North Division rival the Green Bay Packers. This is followed up on Tuesday with AL Central rivals Detroit and the Twins having to settle their differences in the diamond.

The Twins and Tigers finished with identical 86-76 records; however there is no doubt who has the momentum. Minnesota closed the season 16-4, which included four victories over Detroit to force a second straight 163rd game. Besides playing exceptional baseball, the Twins will have the home field advantage, which is as intimidating a place in baseball when the place is packed. Officials in Minnesota decided to pull back the upper-deck outfield curtain to expand seating to more than 50,000 fans for the game. Tickets sold out within minutes. The Twins are 48-33 on their home field this season

"Every pitch," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, "will be a roar."

The Tigers could use a roar of their own, winning four times in last 10 games to find themselves in this predicament. Subtract the 12-5 win over Chicago on Sept. 26 and the Detroit offensive has tallied 3.1 runs per game to finish the season. From a matchup standpoint, not many strong points for the Tigers to rally around with 7-11 record vs. Minnesota this season (the reason the game is in Minneapolis), including a 2-7 record when playing under the roof.

Playing in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and 50,000 screaming Twins fans is part of the reason the Tigers finished 35-46 on the road this year. Manager Leyland is hoping the bats wake up, with his club is 24-11 having lost three of their last four games this season.

What a spot for a rookie pitcher, which is what Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.40 ERA) faces. Porcello closed strong with a 2-1 record, not allowing more than three runs in any of his last four starts. The down side for the right-hander is 0-2 mark, with a 6.30 ERA in two starts at the Metrodome.

Sportsbook.com has Minny as -165 money line favorites with total Un8.5. Scott Baker (15-9, 4.36) has the assignment for Ron Gardenhire and likes the setup. “There's no way to go around the fact that we're playing in the Dome and not in Detroit," said Twins right-hander. "I think we've seen in the past how well we play in front of our fans and how much it can affect the outcome of the game. We're all very excited to be here at the Dome."

Minnesota is 24-7 in home games with an on-base percentage of .360 or better over their last 15 games and they are 24-7 when Baker starts as a favorite of -125 to -175 over the last three seasons.

For totals players, the side might be an indication of how to bet the total. The Twinkies are 14-5 OVER at home with a hot bullpen whose ERA is under 3.00 the last 15 games this season. Detroit on the other hand is 16-6 UNDER as an underdog of +125 to +175 in 2009.

Don’t look to history to leave many clues, with the home team 4-4 in play-in games. First pitch is 5:07 Eastern on TBS and possibly the winner is told by the line. Detroit is 30-59 as a road underdog of +100 or higher over the last two seasons and Minnesota is 76-40 as a home favorite of -110 or higher in the same time span.

The winner gets the Yankees in New York on Wednesday to start ALDS.

StatFox Power Line – Minnesota -139

MLB: Betting Quality Pitchers after bad outing
2009-07-21

We have all been there as sports bettors, an attractive wager has been made on the team ace and he’s shelled and gone by the fourth inning, causing wagering accounts to decline. You understand as baseball bettor, the good pitchers are going to get beat, but when they are battered like the heavy bag at the gym, that is more gut-wrenching. After taking such a loss, is it a good or bad idea to follow up with that same pitcher in his next start?

The first order of business was to determine what makes a quality pitcher in 2009 and decided a minimum of 10 starts had to be made, with a personal winning percentage of 60 percent or higher. This pitcher had to be active or not injured, since it would do us no good to follow somebody who wasn’t pitching to begin with.

A bad outing was determined to be five or more earned runs in a single start. There were a couple of instances where particular hurlers fit the criteria in surrendering five or more runs with one or zero being earned. The argument becomes where to draw the line, thus settled on five earned and disregarded everything else.

Of course many of the names are quite familiar, like a who’s-who in baseball with Tim Lincecum, Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, Johan Santana and Felix Hernandez to name a few all making the list. As always, confounding pitchers have big years out of nowhere. A Matt Palmer from the Angels, Tim Wakefield, Matt Cain, Scott Feldman and Kevin Slowey all pop up unexpectedly. Even discarded Jason Marquis, who is baseball’s first 12-game winner, finds a home in Colorado of all places.
In trying to learn how top notch hurlers would pitch after being cuffed around, the categories were broken down into favorites, underdogs and pick, with the end result of the game, not the pitchers record what we were seeking.

When a pitcher is tattooed (possibly poor word choice in today’s world) and favored in next game, his record is well above average, but not a great help to the sports bettors. The pitcher’s team is 33-21, 61.1 percent, not bad, however not the best bet one could find at +3.9 units of profit.

How would a capable thrower of the horsehide do when the game could go either way with a money line of -105? It turned out to be about as expected with 6-5 record and squeaking out a slight profit.
Where the real money can be found, is when this pummeled pitcher takes the mound as an underdog in next start. Most baseball players could tell you the spread of a football game or even basketball contest before they would know the money line on a game they were playing. In many cases, the pitcher is likely to know he has to bare-down more off a substandard outing and would have a sense what his team needs based on opposing team and opposition pitcher.

In this spot the underdog chucker is 19-9, 67.8 percent and baseball bettors pick up a sweet +16.35 units.

When you add all the numbers together, the total arrives at 58-35, +21 units. The 62.3 percent winning percentage is nothing special, which is not that far above the minimum requirement. Nevertheless, place our roughed up delivery man in the miscast role of underdog and watch him deliver a profit worth crowing about.

MLB: Tampa Bay tries to get up after being flattened
2009-05-26

It will be a Memorial Day the Tampa Bay Rays won’t soon forget, for almost all the wrong reasons. The day had begun nice and quiet enough with manager Joe Maddon being given a three-year contract extension and the team itself was feeling pretty good about itself as had they won seven of 10 and starting to resemble the club that won the AL East last season. That all changed quickly though, and now the Rays must attempt to get back up off the mat when they face the Indians again on Tuesday night. Get the latest line on tonight’s contest on the LIVE ODDS page.

Though Tampa Bay had lost 13 games in a row at Cleveland, they were starting their prized possession from the minor leagues, David Price. The Indians had done little right this season in losing 28 of first 45 games and were ready to be had again after the Rays had built a 10-0 lead thru four at bats.

The first sign of trouble for Tampa Bay actually occurred the day prior, as second baseman Akinori Iwamura will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his left knee, trying to turn double play.
Price must have been too fired up or something else, but he lasted just an 3 1/3 innings, throwing 100 pitches, allowing fours hits, two runs, along with six strike-outs and five walks.

The Rays bullpen, which has not been nearly as successful at last season, gave up a couple more runs, still, the bottom of the ninth started with Tampa Bay holding 10-4 lead. Faster then you could say Devil Rays, Cleveland started hitting the ball hard and received more free passes than a group going to a Taylor Hicks show. New closer Jason Isringhausen walked three batters in a row and gave up solid single to Victor Martinez, who drove in runs six and seven to cap the rally and provide winning margin of improbable 11-10 triumph.

Professional athletes are trained to let yesterday go and focus on next game, but it’s not often you blow 10-run leads, including six-run gaps with three outs to go. That left the Rays at 23-24 (-5 units) and they are 10-25 after four or more consecutive Overs. Matt Garza (4-2, 3.41, ERA, 1.154 WHIP) will be the starting pitcher in charge of trying to turnaround Rays’ fortunes. The right-hander has had as much success in Cleveland as his team, with 0-3 record and 6.12 ERA in his previous five starts near Lake Erie.

Sportsbook.com has Tampa Bay as -120 money line favorites and Garza and Tampa is 2-9 as a road favorite of -110 or higher over the last two seasons. In fact, the Rays are 4-13 as visitors when the money line is +125 to -125 in 2009.

Cleveland (18-28, -11.1) hopes its good fortune will continue, since they need a winning streak to match success against Tampa Bay to get over .500. Carl Pavano (4-4, 6.10, 1.500) will be entrusted with trying to keep streak alive and has pitched better of late winning four of last five. Though Pavano allows a lot of hits ( 62 in 48 and 2/3 innings), he’s minimized damage giving up more than two walks once in last eight starts and just three home runs in same time frame. The right-hander has been about what you could hope for as fifth starter.

The Indians have not enjoyed any success after big offensive output, with 0-11 mark after scoring eight or more runs and are 1-10 after 15 or more total runs were scored.

This American League contest will be televised in local markets starting at 7:05 Eastern, with the Tribe seeking 15th consecutive win over Rays, despite 12-24 record against RH starters this year.
StatFox Power Line – Tampa Bay -183

MLB: Betting on CFB Teams Seeking Respect
2008-09-17

ESPN2 offers up a special Wednesday night college football contest for those bettors suffering from withdrawal since no games were played on Tuesday. The matchup pits Kansas State and Louisville, with both teams looking to get back into the spotlight they each enjoyed not long ago. The Wildcats are a 4-point favorite and backed by 85% of the players at Sportsbook.com at last check.

Louisville’s fall from the elite teams in the country has taken place faster than the receding hairlines of the members of Metallica. The Cardinals were abysmal in losing at home to Kentucky 27-2, gaining all of 205 yards of total offense, while committing five turnovers. What caused a great deal of disillusionment was the play of senior quarterback Hunter Cantwell, who may have NFL-caliber arm, but made poor decisions and hangs on to the ball too long. The receiving corps were almost no help with more drops than a one pound bag of organic candy drops.

Louisville took out its frustration on Tennessee Tech 51-10, which helps bring back a small amount of confidence, yet could hardly be considered a make-good outing. For head coach Steve Kragthorpe, this will be the first of three consecutive televised weekday games to help show potential recruits Louisville is still a good place to come play football. Last year’s 6-6 season was a real bust for the former Tulsa head man and those that attend games at Papa John Cardinal Stadium have come to expect their team to play piping hot.

Louisville is 7-0 ATS after allowing 75 or less rushing yards last game over the last three seasons and will need complete effort being four-point home underdogs as noted at Sportsbook.com with total at 55.5. This is the first time the Cardinals are a home underdog since 2002, when they upset then #4 Florida State 26-20 in overtime in the rain as two touchdown underdogs.

Kansas State’s athletic department showed the courage of the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz, in dumping Fresno State to face take on the always fierce Montana State Bobcats, whom they just squeezed by 69-10. According to K-State players these types of games help. "It's just a different team, and the mindset is completely different," said defensive end Ian Campbell, a senior co-captain. "There is no loss right now, just the two games that we won. We've gotten the ability to get guys out there and build some depth." This contest will be the only legitimate opponent the Wildcats will take on before Big 12 action commences.

After losing last four games of the season to fall from bowl contention, this is big year for third year coach Ron Prince to prove his squad is on the right track. Josh Freeman has shown most consistency in his junior season under center and will have first real test to prove he is force in a quarterback-heavy conference loaded with experience. Kansas State is 28-14 ATS off a home blowout win by 28 points or more dating back to the early years of Bill Snyder era.

This is a proving ground test for both teams. Third place or higher appears to be wide open in the Big East for Louisville and Kansas State thinks they have enough offensive to slide behind Missouri in the Big 12 North. The Wildcats are only 7-19 ATS in initial road game of the season, the ‘Ville is 2-9 ATS versus teams for the Big 12.

Louisville won only previous encounter between these schools in 2006 at Manhattan 24-6, as 14-point favorites, with Hunter Cantwell subbing for injured Jeff Brohm. ESPN2 has the coverage starting at 8 Eastern, with Big East teams just 1-14 ATS to start 2008.

StatFox Forecaster – Louisville covers

MLB Series Betting – L.A. Dodgers at Arizona
2008-07-18

Sole possession of first place will be at stake when the Dodgers head to the sun-baked desert to take Arizona. Fortunately for both teams, Major League Baseball has set up system where no matter how bad any division is, the team with the least awful record still goes to the postseason. Follow the Live Odds page all weekend long for game-by-game and series prices on this N.L. West tilt.

Though both the Dodgers (46-49, -9.3 units) and the D-Backs (47-48, -10.4 units) are below .500, at least they have one positive, both have scored a few more runs than they’ve allowed.

The Dodgers have been swimming up hill all season and actually have caught Arizona twice in the last week, only to fall back when they lost and the D-Backs won the next day. "That series is going to be important," said outfielder Andre Ethier. “…It's a situation where we've got to go in ready to play, and we've got to knock the dust off early on Friday and be ready for the ballgames there." If L.A. really has designs on winning the division, they must generate more offense. They are 13th in the National League in runs scored, with a .253 team batting average, with no power in the lineup. The Dodgers are 15th in home runs and slugging percentage in the NL.

Arizona made what has to be deemed as smart move, bringing back Tony Clark. At 38, Clark’s ability to contribute on the field are limited, however the main reason the Arizona front office brought him back was to set a more professional tone in the clubhouse. The D-Backs are in the bottom third in most offensive categories, as too many players either are too selfish in approach at the plate or trying to hard to hit 8-run home runs. Some nights the Snakes could actually leave the roof open in spite of the heat, with their hitters ranking third in strikeouts, creating “green” energy source of wind to cool building.

Joe Torre will give the ball to Hiroki Kuroda (5-6, 3.43, 1.200 WHIP), who looks to win his third consecutive decision. The Japanese right-hander, who was on the disabled list with shoulder tendonitis from June 19-July 2, has been outstanding since returning, going 2-0 with a 1.19 ERA in three starts including a one-hitter against Atlanta on July 7. The Dodgers will start the post-All Star rest of the schedule with a 36-13 record against the money line when playing against a marginal losing team (Win Pct. 46% to 49%) in the second half of the season over the last three seasons.

Arizona will trot out Doug Davis (3-4, 3.80, 1.379 WHIP) who has made a remarkable recovery, undergoing surgery for thyroid cancer. Davis and Arizona are tough out at Chase Field with 19-6 record the last two years. Sportsbook.com has swung the Dodgers around to -112 favorite with money movement in their favor. The total is Un8.5. This could be good spot for Davis and D-Backs who are 14-4 at home when the money line is +125 to -125 over the last two years.

Game 1 Edge: Arizona

All-Star Dan Haren (8-5, 2.72, 0.955) has been everything and more for Arizona, possibly becoming the ace of the staff based on performance. In his last 10 starts, Haren has 2.37 ERA, allowed 52 hits in 68 1/3 innings and has 5 to 1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Despite these awesome numbers, his record is just 3-3 and the team only managed to win six of these contests. The Dodgers will counter with Chad Billingsley (9-8, 3.24, 1.290) who has won five of last six starts, including an overwhelming performance his last time out, in defeating Florida 9-1. In that contest, Billingsley struck out a career high 13, not walking a single batter over seven innings. The right-hander is starting to become the type of pitcher the Dodgers believed could be, as his control has made him nearly impossible to hit. L.A. will try to get into Arizona’s bullpen, yet are only 16-24 vs. a bad bullpen that blows 38 percent or more of their save opportunities.

Game 2 Edge: Under

The Diamondbacks fast start is easier to explain, with the ability to look back and understand what we now know. In April, Arizona played primarily NL West Division teams along with Cincinnati and Houston. This collective group has a .440 winning percent coming off the break and will not be mistaken for the Oakland A’s of the early 1970’s. Coming into this series, the D-Backs were 21-10 against division opponents, while the Dodgers were 15-14. Brandon Webb (13-4, 3.37, 1.168) and his teammates have yet to lose to NL West teams in six tries in 2008 and they are 7-1 overall under the roof in downtown Phoenix. Veteran Derek Lowe (7-8, 3.85, 1.226) will be called upon in the series finale. Lowe would appear to have a few real disadvantages in this contest. This will be his first start in ten days, which has to be hard for a sinker-ball pitcher try to induce ground balls, since he would normally a little strong. This would add velocity, but take away from sinking action. Lowe is 2-4 on the road, with far more robust 4.85 ERA and has a 5.40 earned run average during the day. Match that against Webb who is 9-2 with a 2.61 ERA when pitching on at least six days of rest, and is 9-3 with a 2.78 ERA in 14 starts against the Dodgers lifetime.

Game 3 Edge: D-Backs

Though both managers understand it’s only July, this is head-to-head with closest rival within the division. This series could set the tone for either club over the next few weeks. Arizona won all three games back in April and is 4-1 overall this season versus the Boys in Blue. The Snakes has slipped lately, however still 27-19 at home and should come away the series victors. In two weeks, these clubs will do it again over in SoCal.

Sportsbook.com series odds: Dodgers +115, D-Backs -145

StatFox Edge Pick: D-Backs

2008 Record – 7-4