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Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Preview: Dodgers get back on track tonight
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the season, "We will win the World Series this year. Put it on record." The Dodgers certainly have the talent to get it done, so Roberts has every right to be this confident in his team.
Tonight, the Dodgers will begin a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A few weeks ago, the Dodgers lost two out of three games to Arizona, but tonight, the D-backs visit Los Angeles. The Dodgers have an 11-5 record at home this year, and a 20-13 record as the favorite. Hope everybody enjoys this game!
Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediction for the game.
Los Angeles Dodgers Preview:
"WALK-OFF DUB" - @Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided being swept in a four-game stint with the Phillies last night with a walk-off double by Gavin Lux. The Phillies hit extremely well in that series, and the Dodgers pitching staff will look to shake that off tonight.
Tony Gonsolin will start this game for LA, and he has been very effective. Through five starts, Gonsolin has a 3-0 record with a 1.33 ERA. These are among the best numbers in the MLB, and the pitchers who will come in after Gonsolin have been very good as well. The Dodgers bullpen ranks fifth in the MLB in ERA and first in WHIP (walks/hits per inning pitched). Offensively, the Dodgers haven't found their rhythm yet. With stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, and Max Muncy, you would expect them to have some good personal numbers. However, there aren't any hitters on this Dodgers team with an average above .295. Despite no Dodger hitters having spectacular seasons to date, they still rank first in the MLB in runs per game at 5.27. That is scary for the rest of the league, because if this offense can match the production of the pitching staff, this team will be very hard to beat.
Arizona Diamondbacks Preview:
"Final." - @ Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks have exceeded expectations so far this season. With a 18-17 record, Arizona looks to improve on their 52-110 record last season. Veteran left-hander Madison Bumgarner will start for the D-backs tonight, and he has been pretty solid. Through seven starts, Bumgarner has a 1-1 record with a 1.78 ERA.
The Diamondbacks offense has struggled badly thus far, ranking 29th out of 30 MLB teams on offense. The offense has only been able to score 3.54 runs per game, which puts them at 26th in the league. The Diamondbacks are a team with some young, talented pieces. They just haven't figured it out quite yet on offense and that will be hard to overcome during a long 162-game season. The Arizona bullpen ranks in the bottom five in ERA and strikeouts, so the key to victory is getting a 6+ inning outing from Madison Bumgarner.
Pick/Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-120)
Although the Arizona Diamondbacks have exceeded expectations thus far, they are outmatched by the Dodgers talent in this one. There is a reason Madison Bumgarner has pitched so well and only has one win: The offense can't score runs. We're trusting the MLB's #1 team in terms of runs per game to win this game by 2+ runs. Let's go Dodgers!
