MLB Baseball
2013-06-16 - LA Dodgers at Pittsburgh Pirates
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
United States: MLB Baseball
Sunday 16 June 2013 - First Pitch 1:35pm
6:35pm (British Time)
Preview
This is the rubber game of a three game series between these National League teams and one pitcher will certainly be hoping that he won't be involved in yet another bench clearing brawl this time.
The LA Dodgers (29-38) squared the series with a win in game 2, but this has been a disappointing season for them after the big takeover last year. They face the Pittsburgh Pirates (40-28) who are hoping to keep tabs on the St Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.
The last time the Dodgers send Zack Greinke to the mound, Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks hit him while he was at the batting plate that sparked a brawl. The end result of that one was a number of fines and suspensions, but that was far better than the earlier result for Greinke.
Earlier this season, Greinke suffered a broken collarbone that kept him on the sidelines for a month after he hit a batter in the game against San Diego on April 11th.
Now the Dodgers will be hoping Greinke can spark them to a win in this series- the pitcher is 3-1 with a 3.68 ERA and he is coming in with some good form. He has given up just 2 runs in his last 14 innings and Greinke is 5-1 in his last seven starts against the Pirates, even if his ERA is quite poor.
Los Angeles had lost 5 of 6 coming into the game yesterday which they won 5-3. They will have to face Gerrit Cole who is making his second start of the season for the Pirates after making his first ever appearance in the Major League last time out.
Cole ended up taking the winning decision after giving up 2 runs in just over 6 innings pitched against the San Francisco Giants. Pittsburgh were very happy with Cole's appearance in his first outing, but it could be a tougher time against the Dodgers who have played well against the Pirates this season, despite the losing record.
Head to Head
The LA Dodgers are leading the season series 4-1 thanks to splitting the series so far.
The Pirates are 2-4 in their last 6 at home against LA.
Prediction
The Dodgers are the underdogs in this game, but they look the value call in this one, especially with the more established pitcher on the mound.
The Pick :
Pittsburgh Pirates 3-4 LA Dodgers
