John Bollman's Bet of the Day - 8/23

The Los Angeles Dodgers face off against the Milwaukee Brewers in game two of a three game series in Los Angeles. These two teams have plenty of history as they have had many battles in the playoffs since both teams consistently started playing well. The Brewers have actually had the Dodgers number this season, although the Dodgers owned those playoff matchups. The Dodgers beat the Brewers in Game 7 in 2018 and then they beat the Brewers in the bubble in the playoffs in 2020. The Brewers were able to split a four-game series against the Dodgers at home though this season, and they just took the first game of this three-game series so they are leading the season series 3-2. It seems like the Brewers are really the only team that can match the starting pitching of the Dodgers when they are healthy with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer, and Freddy Peralta. However, the Dodgers have still been the best team in MLB this season.

Tony Gonsolin is 15-1 with a 2.12 ERA this season and he pitched seven scoreless innings against the Brewers in his last outing. Corbin Burnes has also been very good this season, he is 9-5 with a 2.48 ERA. He allowed 3 ER in 5.2 IP against the Dodgers in his last outing though. I think this will be one of the better starting pitching matchups we will see this season. However, the Dodgers bullpen is ranked 3rd in the league since the All-Star break while the Brewers are ranked 15th. The Dodgers also just got Brusdar Graterol back from the IL while the Brewers bullpen is pretty worked after their last series. Both Brad Boxberger and Taylor Rogers have pitched three of the last five nights, so they should be available, but they shouldn’t be as effective.

The Dodgers are still 24-7 since the ASB including 13-3 at home while the Brewers are 15-13 and 5-8 on the road in the same time span. We can push the timespan back a little bit too because the Dodgers have been dominant for much longer than just since the All-Star break. Since July 1, the Dodgers are 37-9 and 22-4 at home. The Brewers are 21-22 since July 1st and they are just 9-13 on the road. The Dodgers have been dominant for a long time now, and I think they will bounce back from a shutout loss last night.

John's Pick: Dodgers -150 vs. Brewers