Baseball odds on Saturday favor the Los Angeles Dodgers to continue their home domination of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have historically not had much success in baseball lines at Los Angeles and it may not get any better on Saturday. Baseball odds earlier this season favored the Dodgers in three games at Pittsburgh but surprisingly it was the Pirates who won two of those three games. The Pirates have not had much success at Los Angeles though. Before this series began they had lost their last five games at Dodger Stadium. Four of the last six games between the two teams in L.A. in the past two years went over the total.
The Dodgers have started the season very hot on offense and that is the only reason they are winning vs. the baseball lines. The pitching has not been good for Los Angeles. One of the culprits is Chad Billingsley. The Dodgers were hoping that he would regain his form from a couple of years ago but so far it has not happened. Manager Joe Torre was not happy about Billingsley’s performance against the Red when he gave up seven runs and seven hits. “You don’t get hit like that if you make good pitches,” said Torre. “If you do, we have a problem. We just need to get better. We talked about some things today.” The Dodgers are simply frustrated that Billingsley is not pitching as well as he did in 2008. “He throws his cutter a lot,” said Torre. “You can’t rely on one pitch too much. His success has been his ability to use all of his pitches.” Torre has said that the Dodgers are going to keep Billingsley in the rotation for now. “We just need a better result during his time on the mound,” Torre said. “He’s feeling for it out there. I know it bothers him. He’s a fine young man with a good heart. It’s a matter of trusting himself.”
The Pirates have been around the .500 mark this season vs. the baseball odds and that is somewhat surprising considering their hitting and pitching is nothing special. They also have infield concerns with injuries. The Pirates are going with Delwyn Young at third base. That is not a great option for Pittsburgh but one they are stuck with for now.