Game Time: 10:10 pm ET, Wednesday, June 1st, 2022 

Venue: Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles, California

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

 

DraftKings: Pirates +190, Dodgers -233; O/U 9

Caesars: NL

PointsBet: Pirates +205, Dodgers -256; O/U 8.5

 

Dodgers: 33-15, 1st place NL West

Pirates: 20-27, 3rd place NL Central

Game 3 of the Pirates in LA taking on the Dodgers… In game 1 the Dodgers messed around and lost.  It was a close one with Pittsburgh squeezing out a 6-5 win.    Game 2 is on right now and Pittsburgh is leading the Dodgers 4-2 in the 5th inning.  Looks like Pittsburgh is a lot to handle despite the rotten numbers and sub .500 record… So naturally the advice below will reflect everything the numbers say.

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 Wednesday June 1st is… Dodgers 8 - Pirates 1

 

The Dodgers have struggled with Pittsburgh in the first two games of this series.  Maybe Pittsburgh is better than we think?... Maybe the Dodgers are experiencing some internal conflict?.  Well it is baseball and wins and losses will happen for everybody no matter how good or how bad.  That is why the numbers are telling me to recommend betting the Dodgers.  I lost money on Game 1 and am very flush from the NBA playoffs at the moment.  So I’m going to increase my Dodgers bet to make up for losses in Game 1.  The numbers scream the Dodgers will win and win big.  

 

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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:  LHP Jose Quintana, 1-2, 2.15 ERA, 38 strikeouts in 46 innings pitched. 1.17 WHIP.  The 33 year old Joe has a solid ERA and a slightly above .500 record in 166 career starts since his debut in 2012.

 

Dodgers: RHP Mitch White, 1-0, 4.60 ERA, 15 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched.  Mr White is a 27 year old righty who debuted in 2020.  His lack of MLB experience is glaring, but his presence as the starter signals a simple Dodger Bullpen game… The Dodgers have been very successful in Bullpen games… based on the strength of that bullpen.

 

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

Mostly sunny with a high of 83*  When the Sun sets and the game is on, the night air will drop to 70*... the 8 mph winds and 41% humidity.  Another near perfect day of weather to play ball.