Dodgers are in Must Win Territory in World Series
The Boston Red Sox took the first two games of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The display was in impressive fashion in front of the home crowd. The Red Sox will try to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven set when they visit the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 3 on Friday. Cora is using starting pitchers in the late innings to help bridge the gap to closer Craig Kimbrel. He got a scoreless inning out of right-hander Nathan Eovaldi in each of the first two games. Los Angeles’ hitters struck out a total of 20 times in the first two games. The bullpen failed to come through when it mattered. TV: 8:09 p.m. ET, FOX PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Rick Porcello (1-0, 4.22 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Walker Buehler (0-1, 5.40). ODDS: Dodgers are -155-moneyline favorites. The total is sitting at 7.5.Los Angeles Dodgers
Walker Buehler (2.62 ERA) will take the mound on Friday. Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jn Ryu started the first two games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Buehler has enjoyed a very strong rookie season in LA, but thanks to bad luck and poor run support (4.44 runs per game, down from 4.93 overall), the Dodgers lost 1.37 units during his 23 regular-season starts, with the Under at 15-7-1. Buehler was knocked around a bit in his first two postseason starts but stepped up in Game 7 of the NLCS. He struck out seven while allowing one run over 4 2/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Vanderbilt product held hitters to a .193 batting average during the regular season while striking out 151 in 137 1/3 innings. Buehler is facing Boston for the first time. He posted a 1.93 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) at Dodger Stadium during the regular season. 1B/3B David Freese is 5-for-8 in his last three games.Boston Red Sox
Porcello was roughed up a bit in his ALCS start at Houston on Oct. 17. He surrendered four runs on seven hits in four innings. He did give up two dingers as well. The hurler allowed one run in a total of 6 2/3 innings over his first three postseason appearances (one start). Porcello is 22-8 with a 4.11 ERA in 41 career interleague games. He could end up being of help with the bat after going 3-for-7 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs during the regular season. The Red Sox are 17-for-41 with 31 RBIs with runners in scoring position and two outs during the postseason.MLB World Series Betting Odds & Trends
| Boston Red Sox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games | ||
| Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 12 of Boston’s last 16 games | ||
| Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road | ||
| Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 7 of Boston’s last 10 games on the road | ||
| Boston is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing LA Dodgers | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games when playing LA Dodgers | ||
| Boston is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against LA Dodgers | ||
Los Angeles Dodgers |
||
|---|---|---|
| LA Dodgers is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games | ||
| LA Dodgers is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home | ||
| LA Dodgers is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Dodgers’s last 5 games at home | ||
| LA Dodgers is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing Boston | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 4 of LA Dodgers’s last 6 games when playing Boston | ||
| LA Dodgers is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Boston | ||