The Los Angeles Dodgers (11-4, 5-3 away) visit the Arizona Diamondbacks (6-10, 3-6 home) to begin a National League West three-game series Monday night. The matchup is the first meeting of the season between the two divisional foes.
Monday’s first pitch is at 9:40 p.m. EST inside Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ. Los Angeles is a heavy road favorite (-190), and the over-under run total is 8.5.
What to Know – Los Angeles Dodgers
One of the favorites to make a run at a World Series title, the Los Angeles Dodgers are off to a hot start in 2022 and winners of three of their last four. The Dodgers have a half-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the standings.
The probable starter for the Dodgers is right-hander Walker Buehler (1-1, 4.02 ERA, 1.47 WHIP). The 27-year-old staff ace has made three starts this year, surrendering seven earned runs over 15.2 innings of action. Buehler looks to bounce back on the hill after taking his first loss in his last trip to the mound against the Atlanta Braves.
Offensively, the Dodgers are eighth in the majors, hitting .245 as a team and averaging 5.5 runs per game. The Los Angeles pitching staff has a 2.22 team ERA, the best in the MLB.
The All-Star lineup is stacked from top to bottom and has allowed for the offense to churn out runs even with All-Star Mookie Betts off to a cold start at the dish (11-for-56). First baseman Freddie Freeman is hitting .322 through his first two weeks in a Dodgers uniform, while shortstop Trea Turner leads LA with 13 runs driven in.
What to Know – Arizona Diamondbacks
The franchise rebuild continues for the Arizona Diamondbacks as they try to stay competitive in a tough NL West. Arizona dropped two of three in a weekend series against the New York Mets and find itself in last place in the standings.
Arizona plans to send righty Merrill Kelly (1-0, 0.59 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) to try and keep the LA offense at bay. Kelly has been lights out in three trips to the mound, allowing just one earned run over 15.1 innings of work. The 33-year-old picked up his first win in an 11-2 route over the Washington Nationals last week.
The D’backs rank 29th out of 30 MLB teams with a .189 team batting average. Arizona has managed to score 3.1 runs per contest. The pitching staff ranks 11th in the majors with a 3.36 team ERA.
First baseman Seth Beer hasn’t had any problems adjusting to MLB pitching in his first full season in the lineup.
Beer is leading the Diamondbacks with a .341 batting average, 16th-best in the MLB. Fellow infielder Christian Walker and outfielder Dalton Varsho have four home runs apiece over the first 16 games.
The Pick is In
Monday’s series opener will be a good test to see if Buehler can get things going on the mound. Buehler hasn’t pitched bad, but the righty hasn’t been the ace the Dodgers are looking for. Arizona is a perfect opponent to get things figured out and expect the LA offense to give Buehler plenty of run support.
The Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5
