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Carrie Stroup here with your Padres vs. Dodgers betting line for Friday’s game
SAN DIEGO PADRES (87-72) at LOS ANGELES DODGERS (89-70)
Sportsbook.ag Line: San Diego +170, Los Angeles -200, Total: 7.5
The Dodgers will be looking to defeat the Padres on Friday in order to head into the postseason with some momentum.
San Diego ended a three-game losing streak with its 3-1 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday. This team has been miserable offensively lately, scoring three or less runs in six straight games. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have won two of their past three games coming into this one. They defeated the Giants 3-2 on Thursday and could use a series win heading into the playoffs. They had lost eight of their previous 10 games before winning their last two, so they want to make sure their struggles are behind them before attempting to make a run in the postseason.
On the mound in this game is going to be RHP Casey Kelly (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 4 K) for the Padres and LHP Alex Wood (11-12, 3.89 ERA, 135 K) for the Dodgers. San Diego is 17-5 against the money line after five straight games where they stranded seven or less runners on base this season. The Dodgers, however, are 13-2 against the money line with an on base percentage of .300 or worse over their past 15 games this season.
OFs Wil Myers (Wrist) and Justin Upton (Neck) are questionable for the Padres, who are already without OF Matt Kemp (Finger) and C Tim Federowicz (Knee) for the season. 3B Justin Turner (Arm) is questionable for Los Angeles, which is likely without OF Yasiel Puig (Hamstring) until the playoffs.
Casey Kelly will be making his third appearance of the season for the Padres on Friday and his last start went very poorly. Kelly pitched five innings and allowed six earned runs in that one. He’ll need to do a better job of missing bats on Friday, as he allowed the Diamondbacks to put 20 balls in play in that Sep. 25 start.
Offensively, this Padres team may struggle to get things going. Two guys worth keeping an eye on are 3B Yangervis Solarte (.274, 14 HR, 63 RBI) and C Derek Norris (.250, 14 HR, 62 RBI). Solarte homered in Thursday’s game for this team and is 2-for-6 against Alex Wood in his career. Norris is also 2-for-6 against the Dodgers’ pitcher. They’ll both need to continue to make Wood uncomfortable at the plate.
With all of the injuries in this lineup, 2B Jedd Gyorko (.246, 16 HR, 57 RBI) will need to do something at the plate. He has not recorded an RBI in four straight games and that streak will need to end if the Padres are going to win this one.
Alex Wood got absolutely shelled in his last start, allowing eight earned runs on 11 hits in just 5.1 innings of work in Colorado. Wood had allowed just two earned runs in his previous two starts (14.1 IP) and will be hoping that it was just the altitude getting the best of him in that horrific outing. The last time Wood faced this Padres team, he pitched seven innings of shutout baseball. He should be able to find some similar success in this one, as the Padres are completely depleted and are struggling to score runs.
For the Dodgers, 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.276, 28 HR, 89 RBI) drove in a run on Thursday. Gonzalez is this team’s most dangerous hitter and he needs to get himself into a groove heading into the playoffs. He has dealt with some minor injuries all season, but Los Angeles is hoping that he is finally getting healthy at the right time.
2B Howie Kendrick (.293, 9 HR, 54 RBI) had a big game on Thursday, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Kendrick will need to keep getting on base for Los Angeles, as he is one of their best hitters and the team needs guys consistently making their way onto the bases.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
