Athletics-Dodgers prediction: Picks, odds on Thursday, August 3

The Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers are set to wrap up their midweek series tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It’ll be a battle of lefties on the bump, as JP Sears (2-7, 4.09 ERA) will start for the A’s while Julio Urias (7-6, 4.98) gets the nod for the Dodgers.

Los Angeles enters the game as a -305 favorite on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Oakland is a +245 underdog. The run total is set at 8.5.

Athletics-Dodgers : Thursday, August 3

Injury report

Athletics

Out: SP James Kaprielian (shoulder), OF Esteury Ruiz (shoulder), RP Zach Johnson (elbow/appendectomy), C Carlos Perez (thumb), 1B Ryan Noda (jaw), SS Kevin Smith (back)

Dodgers

Day-To-Day: DH J.D. Martinez (hamstring)
Out: SP Clayton Kershaw (shoulder), SP Jimmy Nelson (elbow), SS Gavin Lux (knee), OF Jonny Deluca (hamstring), OF Jake Marisnick (hamstring)

Starting pitchers

JP Sears vs. Julio Urias

Sears was able to pick up his second victory of the season against last Friday, yielding just one earned run in five innings against the Rockies. It capped what was overall a solid month of July for him individually, going 1-1 in five starts with a 3.07 ERA. An Achilles heel for him as been No. 7 hitters, who are batting .400 against him for the season. He’ll have to be extra careful tonight against the bottom of a strong Dodgers lineup.

Urias is coming off a July that was a mixed bag for him, posting a 2-2 record with a 6.23 ERA throughout the month. After an awful, eight-run performance against the Orioles on July 19, he had a solid outing against the Blue Jays last Tuesday that resulted in L.A. eventually picking up the win in extra innings. He’s been lights out at home this season, going 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA while holding opposing batters to just a .203 batting average.

Over/Under pick

Both starters are coming off decent starts last week and should be game to carry that success into tonight’s matchup. I can easily see both going into the sixth inning with limited damage on their ledger. While 8.5 is a low total, I’ll bank on the under cashing here.

Pick: Under 8.5

Moneyline pick

Urias is money at Dodger Stadium and it’s hard to imagine the A’s having many answers for him tonight. L.A. has gotten a much-needed reprieve from their recent struggles with this series and I’ll predict that they complete the sweep tonight.