Game Time: 10:10 pm ET, Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 

Venue: Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch: MLBN ** SportsNet LA ** ATT SportsNet-Pit

 

DraftKings: 

Caesars: NL

PointsBet: 

 

(will update)

Dodgers: 33-14, 1st place NL West

Pirates: 19-27, 3rd place NL Central

Game 2 of a homestand for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Game 1 will play tonight (Monday, Memorial Day)  while this game we are focusing on is Game 2.  The visitors are the same The Pittsburgh Pirates, the recommendation to bet the Dodgers is the same.  The moneyline to bet on the Dodgers has been absurd lately… -250, -285, -300.  But when a great team plays a bad team those are the breaks.  Still betting the Dodgers has the most likely outcome of winning the bet.  You may be tempted to bet on the Dodgers with the points spread… but it is baseball.  In the recent 4 game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks (not to be confused with the 4 game sweep of the Diamondbacks 2 weeks ago)... The Dodgers covered the spread 3 times and lost ATS once.  The Pittsburgh Pirates are a worse team than the Pirates… but still the moneyline is the most assured way of cashing these bets.  

The Pittsburgh Pirates have won 4 of their last 10 games.  3 of the last 4 wins were against other losing teams.  It’s sad to watch a team that stinks through a TV screen.  Literally I had to light a candle when St Louis beat the Pirates 18-4 back on May 22nd.  They went 1-1 against the San Diego Padres (with another game to play today while the Dodgers rest), They went 2-1 against the Colorado Rockies, 0-3 against the St Louis Cardinals, and 1-1 against the Chicago Cubs during that stretch.  The Pirates have no clear studs in the lineup.  The Home Run leader is Daniel Vogelbach who only has 6 on the season.  The batting average leader is Cal Mitchell at .294 but that isn’t real as he has only been to the plate 17 times and is at best a deep backup, OPS leader is Tucupita Marcan, but that isn’t real as he has only been to the p[late 7 times and is also a deep backup.  It is all a sham that will lead to more and more losses as the season drags on.  The fans in the greater Pittsburgh area would rather know what Kenny Picket had for lunch than what the final score was in the Pirates game.  

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won 8 of their last ten games.  Going 4 Over, 6 Under.  They Swept the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 in a four game series (the last time these teams faced the Dodgers Swept them 4-0 in Arizona as well), They went 2-1 against the Washington Nationals, and 2-1 against the Philadelphia Phillies during this stretch.  They are on a 3-game winning streak and loving life.  SS Mookie Betts was the big acquisition a couple of season ago and he works out perfectly leading the team in home runs (14) from the lead off spot, The acquisition this season was Atlanta Braves star Freddie Freeman who now leads the team in batting average (.307)... and of course there is always old reliable Trea Turner who was acquired last season and is a former batting champ on pace to be near great again.  All three of these guys were added to what was and is already a strong hitting line-up.  The Dodgers have no equal at the plate anywhere in the league.

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The Dodgers are 1st in scoring with 5.49 runs per game, 9th in batting average with .246, and 1st in OBP with .335.

The Pirates are 29th in scoring in the MLB with 3.40 runs per game, 27th in batting average with .223, 26th in OBP with .295

The Dodgers pitchers are 2nd in team ERA with 2.85, 1st in WHIP with 1.08, and 12th in fielding errors with only 19 on the young season so far.

The Pirates pitchers are 26th in MLB with 4.56, 26th in WHIPP with 1.39, and the fielding is the worst in baseball… They rank 30th with 38 errors on the season.  They have a plethora of guys on the injured list, but the fielding problem speaks to a deeper issue of the franchise having no real direction.  They routinely play guys who should have never made it out of the minors.

 

 

Our prediction for Tuesday May 31st is… Dodgers 6 - Pirates 2

 

The Dodgers will pounce on the Pirates in Game 2.  With Urias on the mound the Dodgers are always a little shaky… but the Pirates have no one of any substance going up against him.  A big part of the Pirates problem is a deep injury list… They also have a floundering front office who have made little effort in the way of getting any better. 

 

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The Dodgers are 7-2 (+3.0 Units) against Pittsburgh the last 3 seasons.

The Dodgers are 3-0 against Pittsburgh in Los Angeles the last 3 seasons.

Pittsburgh is 39-93 (-29.1 Units) in road games the last 3 seasons.

Pirates: LF B. Gamel (leg) Quest ** 1B Y Tsutsugo (back) Out ** CF C. Allen (hammy) Out ** SS K Newman (groin) Out ** C R. Perez (hammy) Out ** CF J. Marsinick (thumb) Out

Dodgers: SP Clayton Kershaw (elbow) Out ** 

Pirates:  TBD.  The Pirates haven’t decided or maybe can’t find who is most ready to face the Dodgers line-up.  

 

Dodgers: LHP Julio Urias, 3-4, 2.49 ERA, 34 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched.  1.06 WHIP.  Julio entered the league as a wide-eyed, big armed kid just days after being a teenager.  He was naturally shaky at first, but settled into a prime role in the bullpen.  That was 2016… 6 years later the now 25 year old is making the full-time switch to the starting rotation.  His career as a starter sits at 35-14… This season at 3-4 but a better ERA he may just be the victim of timing… or we may be seeing the beginning of a regression. For Julio the terrible Pirates are a welcomed sight.

 

Dodgers: RF Mookie Betts, 1B Freddie Freeman, SS Trea Turner, C Will Smith, 3B Max Muncy, DH Justin Turner, CF Cody Bellinger, LF Chris Taylor, 2B Gavin Lux

Pirates: RF Cal Mitchell, 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes, CF Bryan Reynolds, LF Ben Gamel, 1B Josh Van Meter, SS Roldolfo Castro, DH Jack Suwinski, C Michael Perez, 2B Tucupita Marcano

 

Pirates: Derek Shelton

Dodgers: Dave Roberts

Sunny 71*.  Humidity at 50%, sleight winds at 9 mph.  Zero percent chance of precipitation.  Near perfect weather has gripped the Los Angeles Area, sunny but not intolerably hot.  Real baseball weather.  If taking in the game on TV take notice of the dramatic backdrop of the sun setting over Chavez Ravine during TV Cutaways.  It’s quite a sight.