Tigers-Dodgers prediction: Picks, odds on Monday, September 18
The Detroit Tigers (70-79) and Los Angeles Dodgers (91-57) will begin a three-game series tonight. First pitch for this interleague matchup is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Lefty veteran Eduardo Rodriguez (11-8, 3.32 ERA) will step on the hill for the Tigers and go up against Dodgers righty Lance Lynn (11-11, 5.94).
Detroit is entering the second leg of its 10-game road swing out west and is hoping to keep the momentum rolling after sweeping the Angels over the weekend. After clobbering their way to a 11-2 win on Friday, the Tigers came up clutch with back-to-back close victories to extend their win streak to four games. A Jake Rogers three-run bomb in the third inning of yesterday’s game was enough to fuel them to a 5-3 victory.
Los Angeles is returning home after sweeping the Mariners over the weekend and most importantly, clinching the NL West title in the process. The team pushed across six runs in each of the three contest while the pitching staff held Seattle to just six runs total for the entire series. With 14 games left on their regular season slate, the Dodgers still have something to play for as they will try to hawk down the Braves for the best record and home-field advantage in the National League playoffs.
Los Angeles enters this game as a -180 favorite on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, making Detroit the +150 underdog. The run total is set at 8.
Tigers-Dodgers picks: Monday, September 18
Injury report
Tigers
Out: OF Riley Greene (elbow), RP Mason Englert (hip), OF Austin Meadows (personal), RP Andrew Vasquez (calf), SP Matt Manning (foot)
Dodgers
Out: SP Walker Buehler (elbow), SP Julio Urias (administrative leave), RP Gus Varland (knee), RP Daniel Hudson (knee), SS Gavin Lux (knee), SP Michael Grove (lat), OF Jake Marisnick (hamstring), RP Yency Almonte (knee), RP Wander Suero (back)
Starting pitchers
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Lance Lynn
Rodriguez has been mostly reliable for the Tigers in the final month of the season, but took the loss in a 4-3 setback against the Reds last Wednesday. He lasted 5.1 innings in the outing, giving up all four earned runs off four hits and five walks while setting down five Cincinnati batters on strikes. Walks have been an issue for him as of late as he’s given out 15 free passes in his last four starts. He can’t afford to do that tonight against a Dodgers lineup that will punish you with runners on base.
Lynn was able to bounce back from a pair of dreadful starts last Tuesday, picking up the win in an 11-2 rout of the Padres. Two earned runs off five hits was all that he gave up as he was otherwise splendid in seven full innings of work. The righty has had some success against this Tigers lineup, having matched up against them often with the White Sox. He’s held this Detroit lineup to a collective batting average of .211.
Over/Under pick
Both lineups have been middle of the road in both batting average and OPS over the past week. However, Rodriguez and Lynn haven’t been totally flawless on the mound in recent starts and are prone to yielding a few runs in the middle innings. Eight is a low enough bar for these two teams to clear tonight and I’ll lean towards the over cashing here.
Pick: Over 8
Moneyline pick
L.A. is entering its final homestand of the regular season and if it wants to catch up with Atlanta for the best record in the NL, it needs to handle business at Dodger Stadium this week. I’ll predict that they start this series off on the right foot and take the opener tonight.
