Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Baltimore Orioles vs Los Angeles Dodgers: Both teams have promising seasons

The Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Dodgers are opening their series today at Dodgers Stadium.

The O’s are falling behind in the AL East

The Baltimore Orioles are second in the AL East with a 76-56 record and 37-26 on the road which puts them two games behind the New York Yankees. They are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Houston Astros that got that series split at two wins apiece. The Orioles have a 3.96 ERA, a .234 batting average, a .303 on-base percentage, and 1.23 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Gunnar Henderson leads the team with 145 hits, 102 runs while Anthony Santander is on top with 38 home runs.

The Dodgers are the best team in the NL

The Los Angeles Dodgers are on top of the NL West with a 78-53 record, including 43-23 at home. They have won 6 of their last 7 games and are coming off a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers have a 3.74 ERA, a .230 batting average, a .299 on-base percentage, and 1.21 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Shohei Ohtani is the best player on the team with 148 hits, 100 runs, and 41 home runs.

Betting Trends

This season, the Dodgers have been favored 115 times and won 72 of those games. Los Angeles is 23-9 this season when entering a game favored by -204 or more on the moneyline. Los Angeles’ games have gone over the total in 68 of its 131 chances. The Dodgers are 64-66 against the spread this season. The Orioles have won in 16 of the 29 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year. Baltimore has yet to play a game this season with longer moneyline odds than +168. Baltimore and its opponents have hit the over in 71 of its 130 games with a total set by oddsmakers this season. The Orioles are 70-60 against the spread in their 130 games with a line set by sportsbooks this season.

Prediction and Conclusion

Both teams have had excellent seasons, but the Dodgers are in much better form at the moment, having won seven of their last 10 games, while the Orioles have won only four in that stretch. The Orioles are visiting the Dodgers for the first time since 2016, which makes this series very interesting. They will start Cole Irvin, who is 6-5 for the season with a 4.82 ERA, 68 K, 99 IP, and 1.41 WHIP. The Dodgers will have Jack Flaherty on the mound, who is 10-5 for the season with a 3.00 ERA, 162 K, 129 IP, and 1.01 WHIP. This is expected to be a spectacular game, so we go with over 8.5 runs in total.