Athletics vs. Dodgers Betting Line – July 28
Carrie Stroup here with your Athletics vs. Dodgers betting line for Tuesday July 28
Sportsbook.ag Line: Los Angeles -137, Oakland +127, Total: 6.5
The Oakland Athletics head to one of the toughest places for visiting teams, Dodgers Stadium, when they start a series against Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
The Athletics have been surprisingly horrible this year as Billy Beane’s plethora of trades have not panned out and have led to the team plummeting down the American League standings. They currently sit 12 games behind the Angels in the West and things are not getting any better with losses in 6-of-9 games since the break; including each of the past four. Oakland was most recently run out of San Francisco without a win in three contests as they were outscored 15-7 and failed to gain an edge on Sunday in a 4-3 defeat where their starter, Kendall Graveman, lasted just 1.1 innings. The offensive woes have been felt up and down the lineup, but especially for SS Marcus Semien (.249) who during the four-game losing streak has gone 1-for-13 with seven strikeouts.
The season has been completely different for the host in this contest as the Dodgers are once again competing with the Giants for the top spot in the West and currently hold a half-game lead over their division rivals. This will be the first game back home since the All-Star break as they spent the past few weeks on the road, going 5-5 during the stretch. Things were looking great in New York as they took the first two games of four against the Mets, outscoring them 10-2, but saw the offense disappear over the weekend with two defeats and only four runs scored. With a 1-for-4 performance on Sunday, 3B Justin Turner continued his exceptional season and is 14-for-30 (.467) with four doubles, two homers, five RBIs and five runs scored in his last eight games.
The Athletics will be sending RHP Sonny Gray (10-4, 2.30 ERA) to the mound for this one as he goes up against LHP Brett Anderson (5-5, 3.33 ERA) of the host L.A. crew. Oakland enters this interleague matchup with a record of 23-27 when on the road and will be taking on one of the toughest home teams in baseball as the Dodgers are 33-17 in front of their fans.
This matchup marks a rare meeting between these two clubs from separate leagues as they have not seen each other at all in the past three years. Trends show that Los Angeles is a mere 1-6 when Anderson is pitching with a total of seven or less this year as the Athletics are a putrid 15-37 (.288) as an underdog of +100 to +150 since the start of last season.
All-Star Sonny Gray has been a great player on a very poor team this year as evidenced by his 3.2 WAR; a mark that has already exceeded last year’s number of 3.1 over 33 starts. His control has been tremendous at 2.3 BB/9 as he continues to strike out enough batters (7.6 K/9) to give his team a chance to win each time out. He does a great job of keeping the ball in the park (0.53 HR/9), but has also benefited this season from the opposition hitting a meager .251 BABIP against him. Gray has gone at least six innings in 18-of-20 starts on the year, but has been having his worst month with a 3.10 ERA and 18:9 K/BB ratio in four July starts (29 IP).
He has never faced the Dodgers in his career, but has seen 2B Howie Kendrick plenty, and he is 5-for-15 (.333) in the matchup. On the other hand, although he has never faced OF Joc Pederson, he may not have too much trouble as the rookie has hit a wall and is hitting a poor .185 with 25 strikeouts over 81 July at-bats.
The Oakland bullpen has struggled to the tune of a 10-18 record and 4.13 ERA (1.29 WHIP) while successfully saving just 19-of-33 (58%) games. The trade of Tyler Clippard to the Mets opens up a spot for a new closer and that role will likely be filled by Edward Mujica (4.13 ERA) who is 49-for-69 (71%) in career save chances.
Anderson has had a nice return season after dealing with a ton of injuries and with this outing will reach 20 starts for the first time since his rookie campaign in 2009. From 2010 to 2014, he managed to take the ball a mere 62 times (51 starts) and had a total of 19 starts in the past three years. As a sinker-ball pitcher, this lefty has been able to keep the ball on the ground a career-high 66.8% of the time as he shows some of the best control (2.4 BB/9) in his time as a big-leaguer. His July ERA over four starts (21.1 IP) has, however, jumped to 4.15 against some of the weaker teams in the league (Diamondbacks, Phillies, Brewers, Braves).
Anderson has not had a chance to meet with the Athletics in his career, and while it is limited data, each of the three batters that he has seen (Billy Butler, Sam Fuld, Craig Gentry) has at least one hit and an RBI in five or fewer at-bats. C Stephen Vogt has been one of the big breakout stars this year, but he has really struggled of late and is hitting .186 with three extra-base hits in 70 at-bats this month.
The relievers for L.A. have gone 21-19 with a 3.83 ERA (1.29 WHIP) and are 25-for-38 (66%) in save opportunities. Kenley Jansen (2.28 ERA, 17 saves) has an unbelievable 43:3 K/BB ratio with 13 hits allowed in his 23.2 frames, going 17-for-18 (94%) in his saves.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
