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Carrie Stroup here with your Dodgers vs. Angels betting line for September 9
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (80-58) at LOS ANGELES ANGELS (69-69)
Sportsbook.ag Line: LA Dodgers +132, LA Angels -142, Total: 8.5
The Dodgers will be going for their sixth straight victory when they face the Angels on Wednesday.
Don Mattingly’s team is as hot as could be recently, winning five straight contests and 12 of its past 14. The Dodgers are now 8.5 games up on the Giants and their +77 run differential is third in the NL. They’ll look to complete a sweep on Wednesday against an Angels team that has lost three of its past four and eight of its past 13 as well.
Starting for the Dodgers in this game will be RHP Mat Latos (4-9, 4.92 ERA, 95 K) and he’ll be up against RHP Garrett Richards (13-10, 3.77 ERA, 131 K) for the Angels. The Dodgers have gotten the better of the Angels in this matchup recently, going 5-0 in their meetings this season. They are also 4-2 on the road in this matchup over the past three seasons. The Dodgers are a remarkable 28-8 against the money line after having won 12 or more of their past 15 games over the past three seasons. The Angels, however, are an impressive 32-12 against the money line as a favorite of -125 to -175.
C Yasmani Grandal (Shoulder) and OF Yasiel Puig (Hamstring) are out indefinitely for the Dodgers and SS Jimmy Rollins (Hand) is questionable on Wednesday. The Angels will be relatively healthy coming into this contest.
The Dodgers are on fire recently, but they’re sending out a struggling Latos to pitch against the Angels on Wednesday. The righty was absolutely shelled in his most recent outing, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in just four innings of work against the Padres on Sep. 3. He has not gotten out of the fourth inning in four straight starts and is in serious danger of losing his spot in the rotation. Latos, did, however pitch very well the last time he faced the Angels. He was on the mound against them Aug. 2 and allowed just one earned run in six innings. He’ll need to find some of that same success on Wednesday.
Offensively, 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.277, 26 HR, 82 RBI) has been inconsistent this season and has just three hits in the past seven games. The Dodgers need him to be more productive and it’s not looking good, as he is 0-for-5 against Richards in his career.
One guy who could possibly provide a spark for this team is 2B Chase Utley (.224 7 HR, 34 RBI). Utley is 2-for-3 with two doubles against Richards, but it is not a definite that he will be in the lineup on Wednesday. SS Corey Seager (.381, 0 HR, 4 RBI) has been a pleasant surprise since being called up to the show. He had two hits and an RBI on Tuesday and will continue to see time all over the infield in the next couple of weeks.
Garrett Richards will be taking the mound for the Angels on Wednesday and he has produced five quality starts in his past six appearances for the team. Richards has not faced the Dodgers since Aug. 4, 2014, but he did throw a complete game shutout in that appearance. He struck out nine batters in that one and gave up just five hits.
This Angels lineup has a golden opportunity to put up some runs, facing a pitcher that is really lacking in confidence right now. One guy that is a serious threat to drive in runs is OF Kole Calhoun (.269, 23 HR, 72 RBI), who is sizzling hot as of late. Calhoun is on a seven-game hitting streak and he is 13-for-32 with three homers and five RBI in that stretch.
The Angels will, however, need more production out of 1B Albert Pujols (.248, 35 HR, 82 RBI) and OF Mike Trout (.293, 34 HR, 76 RBI). Pujols is 3-for-15 over the past five contests and Trout has just three RBIs in the past 10. The two of them are a combined 4-for-17 against Latos and must snap out of it and come through for their team on Wednesday.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
