It is an interleague and intrastate matchup on Monday as the Los Angeles Dodgers (45-21) travel to Angel Stadium to take on the Los Angeles Angels (31-35) for the first of a short two-game series. Coming into this one, the Dodgers took two of three over the weekend over the Giants, including a 1-0 win on Sunday that was highlighted by a Max Muncy home run that led to yelling between him and Madison Bumgarner.
For the Angels, they dropped two of three over the weekend to the Seattle Mariners including a 9-3 loss on Sunday. The pitching matchup for Monday features Hyun-Jin Ryu (9-1, 1.35 ERA) going for the Dodgers against the Angels’ Griffin Canning (2-2, 3.52 ERA). First pitch for this one is scheduled for 10:07 pm ET.
The moneyline for this one features the Los Angeles Dodgers at -170 and the Los Angeles Angels at +155. The over/under for total runs scored is set at 9.
By The Numbers
Offensively, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been the more prolific team as they rank fourth in the majors in runs per game at 5.35 (5.03 on the road). For the Angels, they come in at a respectable 10th, averaging 5.09 runs per game (5.06 at home).
In terms of run differential, the Dodgers sit atop the list with a run differential of +108. The Angels come in at 17th with a differential of +1. In terms of team earned-run averages, the Dodgers come in second overall with a 3.38 ERA (3.96 on the road). The Angels plummet to 26th on the list with a 5.01 ERA (4.79 at home).
Dodgers Try To Stay Hot
At 45-21, the Los Angeles Dodgers are already running away with the NL West, sitting 11 games ahead of the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. Still, they will look to keep expanding their lead and will look to one of their most dominant starters this season in Hyun-Jin Ryu to get them off on the right foot against the Angels.
This season, Ryu is 9-1 in 12 starts with a 1.35 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and opponents are hitting .198 against him. In 80 innings, he has allowed just 57 hits, 12 earned runs, six home runs and has struck out 71 versus just five walks. In his last outing, a 9-0 win over the Diamondbacks, Ryu threw seven innings of scoreless ball, allowing just three hits and striking out two. He will look to keep rolling Monday.
On the offensive side, the Dodgers are loaded. Cody Bellinger has raked, and some of their other players are starting to heat up. Over the last 30 days, Corey Seager and Justin Turner, in particular, have started to swing a hot bat. Seager is hitting .330/.390/.628 in that time with six home runs, 26 runs batted in and 17 runs scored. In that same time, Turner has hit .343/.432/.463 with a home run, eight runs batted in and 13 runs scored. Throw in Muncy, Joc Pederson, Russell Martin, and David Freese, and this team can beat you top to bottom.
Angels Looking To Find Footing
It seems like a broken record for the Angels. They have the best player in the game, an average offense and no pitching. Despite the struggles in the pitching staff, their No. 2 prospect, Griffin Canning, has been decent through seven starts. In that time, he is 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and opponents are hitting just .203 against him. In 38.1 innings, he has allowed 29 hits, 15 earned runs, seven home runs and has struck out 42 versus 10 walks. In a rotation that has struggled for consistency, he has been one bright spot.
On the offensive side, Mike Trout continues to get it done. On the season, he is hitting .296/.469/.626 with 17 home runs, 42 runs batted in and 50 runs scored. He leads the team in those all three categories. The next best player for the Angels has been Tommy La Stella, who is hitting .315/.371/.549 with 15 home runs, 39 runs batted in and 39 runs scored. The Angels hope to get a decent outing from Canning and try to scrape across enough runs to edge the Dodgers on Monday.
Dodgers Take Game One
This really seems like a David versus Goliath type matchup, particularly with the way Hyun-Jin Ryu has been pitching. Any time that Mike Trout is on the field, the Angels always have a chance, and Griffin Canning has been impressive early on, but I just don’t think that they can keep up with the offense of the Dodgers and the dominance that Ryu has shown early on. For my money, I am taking the Dodgers at -170.
