Dodgers’ Kershaw primed to tackle Yanks
Last week, Clayton Kershaw’s well-publicized return from the disabled list didn’t exactly titillate the SoCal crowd. Act II, however, has the potential to tell a much different story.
The lefty leads his Dodgers into battle against the Yankees this afternoon, with a 4:05 p.m. ET first pitch in the Bronx. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives the visitors odds of -180 to prevail, while Joe Girardi’s team enters the fray as a +160 underdog. The over/under run total holds steady at 7.5.
Los Angeles skipper Dave Roberts exercised caution with Kershaw (11-3, 1.89 ERA) several days ago, limiting him to 66 tosses. The six-time All-Star took the loss vs. Miami, allowing two runs on five hits in three innings. It was his first action since June 26.
Now that Kershaw is no longer hampered by back pain, though, expect the workload to steadily increase. In a few hours, he’ll face a New York lineup that hits southpaws at a .250 clip. Kershaw also boasts a 12-4 record with a 0.93 WHIP in 27 career interleague assignments.
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Michael Pineda (6-11, 5.07) toes the rubber for the host club. The righty owns a 4-5 mark with a 4.11 ERA over his past 18 outings. Most recently, Tampa Bay reached him for six base knocks and two runs in 4 2/3 frames.
Even though the Yanks sit just two games behind Toronto and Baltimore in the AL wild-card race, we can’t justify picking them here. Look for Kershaw to deliver a vintage performance, helping the Dodgers improve to 35-36 on the road.
WEDNESDAY MLB FREE PICK: DODGERS -1.5