Rob Veno
LA Dodgers at Toronto
Play: Los Angeles
Last night’s contest completely defined the directions these teams are heading right now. LA has come out of the break even hotter than they were going into it while Toronto has now dropped six straight since the second half started. Offensively, the Dodgers have become an absolute monster scoring 115 runs in their last 20 games including 33 in their last three. The offense still isn’t at full strength due to Matt Kemp’s ankle injury but they figure to be more than potent enough to handle Jays’ starter Esmil Rogers. The right hander has been roughed up in three of his last five starts allowing an unbelievable 52 total bases in those 16.2 innings of work. He’s also had difficulty with the current Dodgers roster which has hit a collective .409 against him with a 1.087 OPS in 44 at-bats. Meanwhile, Ricky Nolasco has had a couple of shaky starts recently but just as in most of his outings, he’s able to limit the damage. Over his last 13 starts, Nolasco has gone five or more innings and allowed over three runs just twice. The way the LA offense is scoring right now, that becomes a model of success. Toronto’s bullpen has been forced to throw 197 pitches the past two nights and the Dodgers have shredded them for 16 runs on 15 hits and six walks. No end to the barrage in sight here for Toronto as throwing secondary starting arm and a battered relief corps is no match for LA right now.
Teddy Covers
Dodgers at Blue Jays
Play: Over
The Dodgers banged out ten runs on 13 hits last night in Toronto, rallying from an 8-3 deficit to win the game in refuse to lose fashion – one excellent at-bat after the next. On Monday, they pounded out 14 runs on 16 hits in another offensive outburst.
On Sunday, the Dodgers hung nine runs and 15 hits on the Nationals, chasing ace level hurler Jordan Zimmerman without recording a single out in the third inning. Clearly, LA’s lineup is clicking on all cylinders right now, a dangerous, potent unit on a nightly basis
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays snapped out of their offensive funk last night with a nine run, 15 hit effort of their own. That continues an under-the-radar trend of Overs in this series – six straight – with at least one of the two teams scoring 8+ in every single one of those contests.
Both bullpens are absolutely spent following the slugfests over the past two nights. That’s bad news for starters Ricky Nolasco and Esmil Rogers, neither of whom has been eating up innings of late. Nolasco has been on limited pitch counts since arriving in LA; recording only one out past the fifth inning in his last two outings. Meanwhile Rogers hasn’t recorded an out past the sixth inning in any of his last five starts. Expect plenty of crooked numbers on the scoreboard tonight!
Bob Balfe
Washington Nationals -135
Washington has been struggling here in the second half, but now they have their ace on the mound and have to take advantage of a home game against a Pittsburgh team that has shown signs of weakness this month. Bad streaks don't last forever and this is a must win for a team trying to claw out of that hole. Take the Nationals.