MLB Thursday Preview – Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Before baseball gambling fans turn their attention to other sports betting events this weekend, we have the Saturday MLB game of the day pick for you. It’s time for our weekly baseball picks for online MLB betting action.
Season Record:
Pittsburgh: 9-12 SU
Los Angeles: 8-13 SU
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While NBA playoff odds and Kentucky Derby contenders can be extremely hard to peg, there are some baseball games which, in the midst of a 162-game regular season, provide a good opportunity for a savvy online sports betting enthusiast. One such case study emerges this Thursday night.
Many Angelinos are surely preparing for their beloved Lakers’ Game 6 appearance against Oklahoma City on Friday night, but in the meantime, some residents of the City of Angels will be in Dodger Stadium on Thursday. Manager Joe Torre will pilot the defending National League West champions as they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in an under-the-light night fight.
Pittsburgh @ Los Angeles
Thursday, April 29
Bookmaker Odds currently have the Dodgers listed as 270-moneyline favorites
One MLB betting principle you can take to the bank is that the laws of averages even out over the course of a season.
It’s a mistake to think that the results of any April series – let alone one game – should determine the trajectory of a team’s six-month journey to October.
In the first series of the season, the Pirates took two out of three games from the Dodgers in Pittsburgh. If that series had been used as a metric for the rest of the month of April, the Pirates should be playing .667 ball right now. If their early wins over the Dodgers are to be viewed as a standard by which the rest of the season should be judged, the Bucs ought to be joining the St. Louis Cardinals atop the National League Central.
Clearly, that’s not the case, as the Pirates and manager John Russell enter Thursday night’s game with an 8-12 record, pending the outcome of a Wednesday night game that was played after this article was written.
The 2010 outlook has already become quite dark and gloomy for Pittsburgh. The Bucs lost seven straight contests before snapping their skid on Tuesday in Milwaukee against the Brewers. To put Pittsburgh’s slide into perspective, Russell’s low-paid roster lost four games to Milwaukee by an aggregate score of 53-4 before pulling out a close-shave win against the Brew Crew.
The Pirates lost individual games against Milwaukee by scores of 20-0 and 17-3. The Bucs also lost a game to Houston this past weekend by a 10-3 count. This is a team that isn’t just losing; it’s getting shelled. Starters are being forced to take even more of a pounding, and the bullpen is being thrust into extra service. Pirate relievers, much to their chagrin, are providing many innings of work on an almost daily basis.
At this rate, Russell and his pitching coach, Joe Kerrigan, will have to force some position players to offer spot work in the seventh and eighth innings of blowout losses. The Bucs won’t have any arms left by June.
The Dodgers certainly lack pitching, at least in comparison to previous seasons. However, Torre will be able to send gifted lefty Clayton Kershaw to the hill in this game on Thursday night. Kershaw has a fine ERA of just 3.13, and he allowed just two runs in his last start, a solid six-inning performance on April 24 against Washington.
Yes, Pittsburgh beat the Dodgers twice in three games to start the 2010 season. That was then, however; this is now. Los Angeles doesn’t know which pitcher Russell will tab to start the game for the Pirates, but no matter who takes the rubber, the Dodgers’ bats should be ready. Take L.A. over Pittsburgh in what looks to be a mismatch.
Gambling Trends:
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing LA Dodgers
LA Dodgers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Dodgers’s last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Dodgers’s last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh’s last 6 games when playing LA Dodgers
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of LA Dodgers’s last 9 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
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Poolside Rants hails from beautiful Bozeman Montana by way of Toronto, Canada. (Blame his wife for the move). He’s a Dallas Cowboys football honk. But please….don’t hold that against him. The man knows his sports and has uncanny knowledge when it comes to picking games.
