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Carrie Stroup here with your Dodgers Phillies line for June 4, 2012. You can bet baseball at Sportsbook here and qualify for up to $250 in FREE CASH.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Los Angeles -117 & 6.5 under -115
The slumping Dodgers (1-6 in past seven games) will put the majors’ best record on the line Monday, when they begin a four-game set with the Phillies who sit above .500, but are still in last place in the NL East.
Reigning NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw has not disappointed in the 2012 campaign with a 2.42 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, registering 64 strikeouts and just 19 walks. In seven starts, his less proven opponent Vance Worley is also off to a good start with a 3.07 ERA and 3:1 K-to-BB ratio. He has been hittable, however, with a 1.34 WHIP and his numbers get worse at home with a 3.79 ERA and 1.42 WHIP at Citizens Bank Park. Worley hasn’t pitched since May 11 due to an inflamed elbow. Kershaw has an 0-5 record in his career against the Phillies, sporting a poor 5.73 ERA and 1.49 WHIP. But he did not face them all of last season and in his two 2010 starts against Philadelphia he allowed just two runs in each start. And it is quite fair to say Kershaw is a far improved pitcher than he was a few years ago. Worley started against the Dodgers once in his career, yielding six earned in four innings last August for a 13.50 ERA and 2.50 WHIP. Given how elite of a pitcher Kershaw is, it is surprising the Dodgers are only slight favorites. The Phillies are a weak home team at 12-15 (.444), so they should not receive help just for playing at Citizens Bank Park.
Star Matt Kemp is injured once again for the Dodgers but they have demonstrated no trouble winning without him this season. They’ve lost six of their past seven games, but that included losing both games Kemp played. In the middle of May, they rattled off a six-game winning streak without him. The offense has certainly been weak lately with just 3.3 runs per game over their past nine contests, but they are hitting the ball well during this stretch (.274 BA, .349 OBP) with double-digit hits in six of those games. Eventually those hits will turn into more runs and their luck will even out. L.A. is 7-4 with Kershaw on the mound this season, and 27-10 (.730) with Kershaw starting in the past two seasons when the total is 7 or less.
History favors the Phillies in this series who are 9-3 versus the Dodgers over the past three seasons, including 4-2 in Philadelphia. Before Worley’s injury, he carried a 2.81 ERA and 35 K in 32 IP over his previous five starts. And for his career, Worley is 8-3 with a 2.61 ERA and 1.14 WHIP when pitching at Citizens Bank Park. A good sign for him is that the Phils are slowly improving their batting statistics, now ranking fifth in the majors in batting average at .268. Even with their one run on Sunday, the team has scored 5.0 runs per game in their past 11 contests. The Phillies have just 46 home runs on the season though (21 at home), and need to start taking more advantage of the bandbox in Philadelphia so they develop a better home record.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
