You would think that without the league’s leading hitter that a team would cool off vs. the MLB odds but that has not been the case with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They went into Wednesday’s game against Houston on a nine-game winning streak vs. baseball odds, many of those wins coming without the league’s leading hitter, Andre Ethier.
MLB odds are favoring the Dodgers again because of their latest hot streak. The Los Angeles offense is rolling and the pitching has finally come around. With the 7-3 win on Wednesday, the Dodgers’ winning streak reached nine. It was the 14th win in the last 17 games for the Dodgers. Ethier was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a fractured right pinkie. “Obviously it hurts, but every team goes through adversity like this,” Los Angeles third baseman Casey Blake said. “You hate to see it happen with one of the best hitters in our lineup. It just changes the dynamic of the lineup a little bit, but we’ve got guys who can step in. We’ve showed in the last few nights that we still have guys in the lineup who can hit.” Ethier was leading all of baseball with a.392 average and 38 RBIs. “He’s just as much of a threat up there as Manny is,” catcher Russell Martin said, “We’re definitely losing a guy who can produce runs and hit the ball out of the ballpark. Obviously, you’d rather have him in the lineup. But if you don’t, you do what you can and try to pick each other up. I think if we keep pitching and doing what we’ve been doing through this stretch here, we’re going to keep winning games.”
During the winning streak the pitching for Los Angeles has been excellent. They have not allowed more than three runs in any game during the streak.
Without Ethier in the lineup the Dodgers need good pitching. It will also help if Casey Blake begins to hit. “When I go through stretches where I’m more consistent with my timing, I’m going to hit the ball better,” said Blake.
What has helped the Dodgers recently is that they are playing teams that don’t have much offense. Even though San Diego is at the top of the National League West they can’t hit much and the Astros offense is terrible. When the Dodgers face weak hitting teams they are going to win a lot of games.