Los Angeles Dodgers (30-40) vs San Diego Padres (36-36)
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in last place and fading, with the worst record in the National League West Over the last 10 games.
Thursday June 20
Petco Park – San Diego, CA
10:10PM
Probable Starters:
LAD: Stephen Fife (R)
SD: Jason Marquis (R)
Moneyline: San Diego -134, Los Angeles +124
O/U: 7.5
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Los Angeles
They split a doubleheader with the New York Yankees yesterday, using 8 different pitchers so they might be at a disadvantage in this one. Rookie phenom outfielder Yasiel Puig continues to excite.
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If you have been living under a rock all he has done is hit close to .500 with power and some memorable moments. He is not quite Calico Joe but not far off either (great book if you haven’t read it)
One of the reasons the Dodgers have been struggling so much is being forced to rely on unproven players, players like Puig and Thursday starter Stephen Fife.
Fife made 5 starts last year and was adequate but they weren’t expecting to have to use him much this season. This is now his 5th start of the 2013 season and the results have not been totally disastrous. Its simple he is just too hittable.
Though it is just his 5th start it is his second trip to Petco to face the Padres. The last was was arguably his best outing of the year, 5 innings 1ER in a 2-1 victory. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
San Diego
The Padres had been red hot but cooled of late, dropping their second in a row to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. Still they are 7-3 in their last 10 and enter this weekend series at .500 and only 3 games out of first place in the National League West. Sweep the series and they could potentially be tied for first place at the end of the weekend.
This team continues to surprise. They play much better within the large confines of PetCo where they have two thirds of their wins this season.
It continues to baffle my mind that starter Jason Marquis can still be an effective pitcher in this Majors. The numbers don’t lie though as he has a 9-2 record and the Padres are 10-4 when he starts. It helps that he receives almost 5 runs of support, a number that has gone above 6 in his last three starts. I keep wanting to fade this guy but have to admit that is a losing proposition this season.
The question is when is that great fortune going to end because he is not going to be able to fool the league forever.
San Diego is on a roll and at home. Jason Marquis seems to have made a deal with the devil for one more day in the sun and it is paying off in spades.
The value on the Padres is alright too as there are many out there, like me, that are just waiting for these guys to turn back into a pumpkin. As one of the late games maybe see how your early picks pan out before committing to this game.
This one is a tough one to call so don’t use it to chase your losses.
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: San Diego 6 – Los Angeles 5
