The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night in the third game of a three-game set at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers will be looking for the series sweep after claiming a 10-inning victory in Wednesday\u2019s contest. <\/p>\n
Atlanta Braves (58-50) at Los Angeles Dodgers (60-47)<\/strong>
\nDate: Thursday, July 31, 2014<\/strong>
\nTime: 10:10 p.m. ET<\/strong>
\nVenue: Dodger Stadium<\/strong>
\nCity: Los Angeles, California<\/strong>
\nO\/U Odds: 6<\/strong>
\nMoney Line: Los Angeles -190, Atlanta +174<\/strong>
\nPitching Matchup: RH Julio Teheran (10-6, 2.71 ERA) at LH Clayton Kershaw (12-2, 1.76 ERA)<\/strong>
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Fans in attendance at Dodger Stadium will be in for a real treat in this one, as a pair of young stud pitchers will face off in this one, with Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw facing Braves ace Julio Teheran in a star-studded pitching matchup.<\/p>\n
Kershaw has been red hot of late. He\u2019s been absolutely brilliant over his last 10 starts, posting a 0,94 ERA and 0.62 WHIP with an 11.1 K\/9 rate. The Braves strike out 23.4 percent of the time against left-handed pitchers, the third-highest rate in all of baseball, making this a prime opportunity for the southpaw to further boost his strikeout rate.<\/p>\n
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With that said, the Braves had hit left-handed pitchers well, to the tune of a .327 weighted on-base average. That may not be too much of a concern for Kershaw, who is coming off a complete-game three-hit shutout of the San Francisco Giants.
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\nAs for Teheran, he\u2019ll be facing a tough matchup against a very good Dodgers team that has a .323 wOBA against right-handed pitchers this season, the second-best mark in the National League.<\/p>\nWith that said, he\u2019s been strong in the second half, allowing four runs and striking out 16 batters in 13 innings of work. In his last start, Teheran surrendered three runs on nine hits in six innings of work, striking out five and not allowing a walk in a 5-3 win over the San Diego Padres.<\/p>\n
In the start before that, Teheran was even better, though he was forced to settle for a no-decision in a 3-1 loss to the Miami Marlins. In that outing, he allowed one run on four hits over seven innings of work, striking out 11 and walking only one batter.<\/p>\n
While Kershaw has pitched extremely well of late, Teheran is a guy who has been able to hold his own as well. In a game that doesn\u2019t figure to feature many runs, getting a layer of cushion to back the Braves is an attractive proposition. While Kershaw has helped the Dodgers to wins in each of his last 10 starts, three of the last eight have been by only one run, including two of the last four at home.<\/p>\n
The Braves are 4-0 in their last four games when playing the third game of a series, and they are 4-1 in Teheran\u2019s last five starts on a Thursday.<\/p>\n
The road team is 17-5 in Mike DiMuro\u2019s last 22 games behind home plate, and the Dodgers are 0-5 in their last five games with DiMuro behind home plate.<\/p>\n