Dodgers Heavy Favorites to Get By White Sox Again
Who: Los Angeles Dodgers v. Chicago White Sox
When: Wednesday July 19th, 2017 8:10PM EST
Where: Guaranteed Rate Field—Chicago, Illinois
When the Dodgers and White Sox meet for the second game of their series on Wednesday night, they will do so as teams sitting on polar opposites of the post-season spectrum. While the White Sox are one of the worst teams in the league, the Dodgers are amongst the best. Without even looking at what pitchers will be taking the mound, and recent performances, it is clear to see that the Dodgers are the favorites.
On top of this, the White Sox, now fully understanding that this is a rebuilding year, recently dealt some players before the trade deadline at the end of this month. Amongst the players who left Chicago are third basemen Todd Frazier as David Robinson and Tommy Khanle, both of whom were dealt to the Yankees. In the midst of all this change going on in the White Sox camp, Yoan Moncada was called up from Triple-A and is expected to be the Sox’s second basement for the remainder of the year.
The Dodgers have not made many moves yet, but as the trade deadline approaches quickly, some expect that much to change. To put in perspective just how good the Dodgers have been this year, not only do they have the best record in MLB, they are currently listed by Bovada as favorites to win the World Series. Their +300 odds are best of any team, and there are few who would argue that their being the favorites is out of the realm of reality. In fact, as the weeks progress, the Dodgers’ odds of winning it all only seem to get better and better.
Game Overview and Analysis
If we look up and down the Dodgers’ (-155) schedule, we are hard-pressed to find a time of this year where we could describe this team as anything short of stellar. They have been driving in runs, pitching effectively, and flat-out winning against just about every team in their path. Though they were only able to escape with a 1-0 extra innings win on Tuesday, the Dodgers are a very strong team. Of their last 34 games, the Dodgers have won 30, and they have also won 10 in a row now.
Taking the mound for them on Wednesday night will be Kenta Maeda (7-4 4.38 ERA). Maeda has not done anything overly special this year, but he has accrued himself a solid record and seems to do better and better every time out. In his last outing before the All-Star Break, Maeda pitched more than 5 innings, gave up just one run, and earned a victory. If he can put on another display like that tonight, I foresee him easily earning his 8th victory of the year.
For the White Sox (+135) it will be Carlos Rodon (1-2 4.38 ERA) who is taking the mound. Rodon is only making his 4ths tart of the year, as he was on the 60-day DL until the very end of June. Since returning from injury, Rodon’s starts have been mostly solid, save for a 6 earned performance in his last outing 10 days ago. In that matchup, not only did Rodon give up 6, but his offense contributed absolutely nothing, so it is tough to place blame solely on him. What we can say, however, is that Rodon rarely ever fails to last at least 5 innings. He is as reliable as they come and, though still working his way back from injury, will look to put on a solid display against the World Series favorites.
Betting Prediction
The moneyline wager you absolutely have to go with is the Dodgers (-155). I know the -155 odds offered by Bovada do not do much to excite bettors, but since they have won 10 games in a row it is tough to bet against the Dodgers at this point. I think that the White Sox had their only chance of the series to win last night, and they could not do anything against the effective Kershaw. I fully expect the Dodgers to take care of both this game and the series with little to no problems.
Seeing as Tuesday’s game saw only 1 run scored, I anticipate that Wednesday will offer up a lot of the same as both of these pitchers are solid performers. Right now, Bovada has the over/under listed at 9.5 runs (-110/-110). I think you need to go with the under (-110) in this one, mostly due to the fact that game 1 did not even come close to that tally. The Dodgers—during this 10 game win streak—have only scored more than 5 runs on 2 occasions, so while they are scoring, their run tallies have not been overly impressive. That, copmbined with the general ineffectiveness of the White Sox offense, is why I think you are better off taking the under (-110) in this one.