The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks meet for a Labour Day matinee.
The pregame narrative: Arizona won last night's matchup, 14-3, and I expect plenty of offence from both sides today. Bet on Mookie Betts to score in a plus matchup and fade Jack Flaherty's outs total against the red-hot Diamondbacks.
Check out my Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks prop picks for Sept. 2.
Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks prop picks
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Best Bet: Betts to score (-125)
Betts didn't score in last night's blowout loss but I'm willing to forgive that.
He was pulled early along with Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman as Dave Roberts waived the white flag in the third inning.
The Dodgers' No. 2 hitter still went 1-for-2 with a single, though, and now has a hit in 14 of 18 starts since returning from the injured list on Aug. 12. He's slashing .278/.333/.500 in that span with 11 runs scored.
Before that, Betts had crossed the plate in four straight games and six of his last seven.
He's in a good spot to stay hot against Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez. The veteran lefty was finally activated from the IL on Aug. 7 after missing the first five months of the season with a shoulder injury.
Rodriguez has a 5.06 ERA in four starts and most recently gave up five earned runs in 5.1 IP against the New York Mets.
The Dodgers have an extensive history against the southpaw and have hit him well. In 109 plate appearances, they're batting .297 with a .495 SLG, per Baseball Savant.
Betts hasn't seen much of Rodriguez (1-for-4 with a walk) but the big guns behind him have. Freeman is 5-for-11 (.455 BA) while Hernandez is 8-for-21 (.381 BA).
Look for Betts to get on and one of those two to drive him home.
Key stat: Betts has a .400 OBP against lefties.
Quick picks
Flaherty under 17.5 outs (-108): This isn't a shot against Flaherty, who has been solid since joining the Dodgers at the trade deadline.
The former Detroit Tiger has a 3.47 ERA in five starts with L.A. He's cleared this total twice and landed on exactly 17 outs twice.
But asking him to have an above-average game against an elite offence seems unlikely.
The Diamondbacks are averaging the most runs per game (5.42) and have scored 9.6 runs per game this series. They also have the third-best batting average (.284) and wRC+ (120) and fourth-best SLG (.456) since the all-star break.
Arizona has seen a good amount of Flaherty and is slugging .554 against him in 132 combined plate appearances.
Seven of the last 10 starters to face the D-backs have gone under this line.
Picks made at 9:39 a.m. ET 09/02/2024.
