The Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels re-ignite the Freeway Series tonight.
The pregame narrative: This hasn't been much of a rivalry lately. The Dodgers are 18-4 against the Angels since 2020 ... not to mention they poached Shohei Ohtani. I expect another rout tonight with Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez leading the charge.
Check out my Dodgers vs. Angels prop picks for Sept. 3.
Dodgers vs. Angels prop picks
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Best Bet: Betts over 1.5 bases (-106)
Ohtani has the NL MVP on lock but Betts was the frontrunner before getting injured.
He hasn't quite reached those heights since returning to the lineup on Aug. 12 but is still putting up impressive numbers.
L.A.'s shortstop is batting .290 with nine extra-base hits in 20 games. He went 2-for-4 with a double last night and has cashed this wager in three of his last five outings.
It should be open season for Betts and the Dodgers with Reid Detmers pitching tonight.
The southpaw had a 6.14 ERA through 12 starts before being optioned to Triple-A in June. In the minors, Detmers got shelled through his first 11 outings (7.11 ERA) before throwing three consecutive one-run gems (1.29 ERA, 12.42 K/9).
One could argue that Detmers "found it" but I'll side with a large MLB sample over a three-game minor-league heater all day.
Betts is only 1-for-7 against the lefty but that hit left the ballpark. In general, he's been quite reliable against LHP, posting a .326/.403/.487 slash line.
Key stat: Betts' .583 career SLG at Angel Stadium is his sixth-best of any venue.
Quick picks
Hernandez 1+ RBI (+135): You would have every right to be fuming if you bet on Hernandez to record an RBI last night.
The Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-6 and Teo went 5-for-5 out of the cleanup spot ... without driving in a run. That's very unlikely and won't stop me from backing him on that market tonight.
Hernandez has a hit in 10 of his last 12 games with one of the exceptions being a blowout loss where he was pulled after one at-bat.
In that span, he has seven RBI.
I already told you why I like Betts to get on base. Ohtani and Freddie Freeman also have solid chances of reaching, owning .325 and .330 OBPs versus lefties, respectively.
Hernandez is batting .308/.370/.609 against southpaws and is 2-of-5 against Detmers. He's poised to have a night.
Picks made at 10:21 a.m. ET 09/03/2024.
