The Los Angeles Dodgers will continue their road trip to open the season as they head out to the Bay to take on the Oakland Athletics. These teams have had polar-opposite starts to the 2021 season. The Dodgers took three out of four games in their opening series against the Colorado Rockies. Oakland was swept by the Houston Astros in a four-game series. Los Angeles won 4-2 on Sunday, while the A's suffered a 9-2 loss to the Houston Astros. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Dodgers-Athletics prediction and pick.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Dodgers-Athletics odds.
MLB Odds: Dodgers-Athletics Odds
Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-107)
Oakland Athletics +1.5 (-113)
Over 8.5 Runs (-119)
Under 8.5 Runs (-101)
Why The Dodgers Could Cover The Spread
The defending champions lost in the season opener, but bounced back in a big way with three straight wins. The Dodgers won those three games by a combined score of 21-13. This is by far the deepest team in all of baseball. They have a ton of pop in the lineup and arms for days. Corey Seager is on fire to start the season with eight hits in his first 12 at-bats and three RBI. The Dodgers have also seen great performances from second baseman Gavin Lux and right fielder Mookie Betts.
As a team, Los Angeles is hitting .329 on the young season. The interesting thing is that they've put up a ton of runs without the long ball. The Dodgers have only hit two home runs this far. The pitching staff has struggled a bit, but has a good chance to get back on track with Dustin May set to take the mound against the A's. May was 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 2020. Opponents hit a measly .220 against May last season. He gave up two earned runs over five innings in his lone start against Oakland last year.
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
The Athletics took a serious beating in their opening series against the Houston Astros. They were outscored by the Astros 35-9 over four games. Oakland scored more than two runs in just one of the four games. A's pitchers gave up more than eight runs in every game with a 8.33 team ERA. They were sluggish, not confident at the plate, and full of rust. What does Oakland have working in its favor? It can't get any worse!
The Athletics have a ton of pop in their lineup, which is why we can argue that the recent struggles are uncharacteristic. Oakland hit just .171 with a home run in the four-game series against Houston. They will look to be aggressive at the plate and get back on track in a big way. Frankie Montas will be on the bump for the A's. Montas went 3-5 with a 5.60 ERA and 60 strikeouts across 11 starts in 2020. Opposing batters hit .270 against him with 10 home runs. He has faced the Dodgers once before in his career, giving up five earned runs over four innings to earn the loss.
Final Dodgers-Athletics Prediction & Pick
This may seem like an easy pick, but let's ride with the defending champs in this one. The disparity is out of this world. I have no doubt that the A's will figure it out at some point during the season. This is not the right spot to do so, though. You have to be at your absolute best against the Dodgers and Dustin May. May is a dark-horse candidate for NL Cy Young and should have his way with a struggling Athletics lineup. Oakland will likely be without three starters and Frankie Montas was serving up BP in his last start against Los Angeles.
FINAL PICK: Los Angeles Dodgers ML (-150)
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