30th Sept - Giants vs Dodgers

It’s tradition, the San Francisco Giants always miss the playoffs after winning a World Series title. Earlier this week, their absence from the 2015 playoffs was confirmed, meaning that they have now missed out on the postseason after championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

Mike Leake is the starting pitcher for San Francisco tonight, he’s 10-10 on the season with a 3.89 ERA, but he has struggled in recent weeks posting a 1-4 mark and 5.82 ERA over a six-game stretch. Leake is a hard thrower, but he’s lacked control and hasn’t managed to get through innings lately.

The Dodgers are looking to lock up home field advantage for the first round of the postseason. They’ll look to take advantage against a potentially de-motivated Giants’ team. They are one game behind the New York Mets with five games remaining.

Mike Bolsinger hasn’t been faultless on the mound in recent weeks either. He hasn’t made it through the fifth inning in his last three starts after a pretty good start – he posted a 2.97 ERA over his first 17 starts.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Odds

The Dodgers are the underdogs, but we like them at their current number, especially considering the Giants slow finish to the season and their motivation is dwindling.

2. Neither pitcher is throwing the ball well

Perhaps Leake is the man with a longer and more established pedigree, but neither pitcher has been especially dominant of late. We’ll be more positive about the team with the better hitting line-ups right now and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a better game from Bolsinger.

3. Dodgers back on a roll

After losing four straight and eight of their last 10 games, we think it’s time for a good LA team to get back on a little bit of a roll heading into the postseason. Look for them to string two wins together here.