A pair of National League West rivals will finish up a weekend series that has been at times contentious when the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. An 11-inning Arizona victory in the opener was followed by a bench-clearing postgame confrontation between the two clubs, though Saturday yielded no further incident.
The Dodgers took Saturday’s game to move to 78-41 on the season, one game ahead of the Houston Astros for the best record in baseball. Los Angeles has a nine-game lead on the Atlanta Braves for the best record in the National League. Arizona is working on staying in the Wild Card chase since they trail the Dodgers by 18 games in the National League West. Saturday’s loss knocked the Diamondbacks to 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the second Wild Card spot, with three games between them in the standings.
The moneyline for this contest has the Arizona Diamondbacks +190 and the Los Angeles Dodgers -220. The over/under for the game has been set at 8.
Hoping For Better
Mike Leake will be making his second start for the Diamondbacks since being traded to Arizona from Seattle at the trade deadline. In his first start with the Diamondbacks, Leake went 5 1/3 innings and allowed 11 hits and two earned runs while striking out three, earning a no-decision against Philadelphia. On the season, Leake is 9-8 with a 4.24 ERA, striking out 103 and walking just 20 in 142 1/3 innings of work.
Arizona had its three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday thanks to a shutout. The Diamondbacks had won five of six prior to the loss, averaging 7.5 runs over that span. Ketel Marte has been hitting well of late, batting .375 in August and coming into this contest with a seven-game hitting streak. On the season, the All-Star is batting .319 with 24 home runs and 67 RBI. Eduardo Escobar leads Arizona in home runs and RBI (25 and 93, respectively) but is batting .130 over the last seven days. He has just six hits in August and has gone hitless in this series with three strikeouts.
Back On The Mound
Hyun-Jin Ryu will make his first start since a short stint on the injured list, and that’s not good news for the Diamondbacks. In two starts against Arizona this season, Ryu has pitched 13 innings and allowed just seven hits and one earned run, notching a win in each game. On the season, Ryu is 11-2 with a National League-best 1.53 ERA. He hasn’t given up more than one earned run in a game since June.
The Dodgers’ offense has been a little quiet over the last four games, scoring a total of 11 runs, though Los Angeles has gone 3-1 over that span. Cody Bellinger continues to be the main offensive weapon for the Dodgers, though he has just five hits in nine games in August. Three of those five hits have been home runs, though, giving him 37 for the season. Max Muncy hit his 28th home run of the season on Saturday, though it was only his second since July 21.
Dodgers Win Series
Los Angeles has been getting by with wins even when they’re not playing their best offensively. Putting Ryu on the mound for this one gives them another chance to do just that. The All-Star starter for the National League has owned Arizona this season, and he’ll be motivated to do so again after being out with some neck pain. I’m taking the Dodgers -220 to get the win behind another masterful Ryu performance.
