The best team, statistically, plays its first game of the 2017 playoffs when the LA Dodgers take on Wild Card winners Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers were the best team in the National League with 104 regular season wins, but the confidence isn’t as high as it should be heading into the playoffs.
They suffered some poor losses towards the end of the season, but they are well-rested and they will be looking forward to getting the Dodgers back to where bettors thought they would be a few seasons ago. Expectations have been high for the Dodgers since signing ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw – who will pitch game one.
The Diamondbacks come into the playoffs knowing they will need to find three wins against the Dodgers, but the power hitting team can work miracles and bettors got to see how good they are when they defeated the Rockies earlier this week. The Dodgers are the overwhelming 2/5 favourites to win, but bettors will note the value on offer in the run line markets.
LA Dodgers form
The Dodgers were able to put a late season skid behind them by winning eight of their last 10 games heading into the playoffs, but there was cause for concern. The invincible team suddenly started to show cracks against average teams, such as the Phillis, and there were futures bettors thinking long and hard about their bets.
Playing at home will be a help against the Diamondbacks as the Dodgers have won their last four games at home, but they did drop nine consecutive home games during the latter stages of the season and they looked woeful in doing so. The losing streak started when they played the Brewers in August and it continued until September 11. During that stretch they lost three consecutive games to the Diamondbacks and that’s worth noting.
The Diamondbacks were playing for their playoff lives, but they put up a total of 19 runs compared to the two runs scored by LA. Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (18-4) will need to be at his brilliant best against a Diamondbacks team completely full of big hitters.
Arizona Diamondbacks form
We thought the Diamondbacks would beat the Colorado Rockies in the National League Wild Card game and they did. The Diamondbacks won 11-8 in what was a topsy-turvy game, but the Diamondbacks always looked to have the game in control. Their biggest asset is Paul Goldschmidt who was a force again this week against the Rockies. His play got them a lead and that 3-0 lead was the deciding factor at the end of the game.
The only negative is their starting pitcher Taijuan Walker. The 25-year-old went 9-9 throughout the regular season and he gave up 17 home runs during that stretch. His record against the Dodgers is, however, better than expected. Walker allowed only six runs over 16.2 innings in his three starts against the Dodgers and that’s the kind of performance he will need on Friday in order to give the Diamondbacks a chance of winning. The key to beating Clayton Kershaw is to get onto him early. He often gives up runs in the first innings, but if the Diamondbacks let him settle in, it could be a long night for the visiting team.
Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks betting tip
We’re expecting this game to be closer than many bettors are expecting. The Dodgers are far too short at 2/5 to win the game outright and the run line market has been taken off the board, but we would predict the Dodgers being –1.5 at 4/5. The value is with the Arizona Diamondbacks and it’s baseball – the game where anything can happen.
They have shown the ability to win when it counts this season and they have all the momentum coming into this game after winning the Wild Card.
If Walker can pitch six innings and give up only a couple of runs, the Diamondbacks should be within striking distance and they could jump all over Clayton Kershaw in the opening few innings of the game. The Diamondbacks are currently 5/2 at bet365 to win outright and that’s our value play.