The Arizona Diamondbacks (69-63) and Los Angeles Dodgers (81-49) will continue their three-game early-week series tonight. First pitch for this NL West matchup is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Merrill Kelly (10-5, 2.97 ERA) will step on the hill for the D-Backs and go up against Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw (11-4, 2.52).
L.A.’s bats were able to come up big against Arizona’s pitching last night and powered the team to a comeback 7-4 victory in the series opener. Max Muncy, Jason Heyward, and James Outman all blasted a homer in the contest, each going 2-for-3 with two RBI in the win. Even with the loss, Diamondbacks are still clinging on to the third NL Wild Card spot, but the Giants are breathing down their necks just a half-game back
The Dodgers enter the game as a -180 favorite on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, making Arizona the +150 underdog. The run total is set at 8.
Diamondbacks-Dodgers picks: Tuesday, August 29
Injury report
Diamondbacks
Out: SP Tommy Henry (elbow), RP Mark Melancon (shoulder), RP Austin Adams (ankle), RP Drey Jameson (elbow)
Dodgers
Out: SP Walker Buehler (elbow), DH JD Martinez (groin), SP Michael Grove (lat), RP Shelby Miller (neck), RP Joe Kelly (forearm), SS Gavin Lux (knee), OF Jonny Deluca (hamstring), OF Jake Marisnick (hamstring), RP Yency Almonte (knee)
Starting pitchers
Merrill Kelly vs. Clayton Kershaw
Kelly rides into tonight’s contest fresh off his best start of the season and would love nothing more than to duplicate that against the NL West leaders. He posted seven full innings against the Reds last Thursday, striking out 12 and yielding just a single base hit as the D-Backs eventually won the contest 3-2. A matchup to watch for tonight will be him vs. the aforementioned Muncy, who has dominated him with a .406 batting average through 32 career at-bats.
Kershaw was able to get a little bit of extra rest after his start against the Guardians last Wednesday was cut short due to rain. He struck out four batters and gave up a solo home run in two innings of work before the game was suspended because of the weather. The three-time Cy Young winner has eased back into things since returning from a shoulder injury earlier in the month, posting 10 full innings and yielding just three earned runs in the process.
Over/Under pick
Both lineups rank in the top 10 in both batting average and OPS over the past week, but both will be going up against starters that can be proverbial buzzsaws on the mound. However, Kelly and Kershaw haven’t been totally infallible and a few early runs by both teams combined with a few runs given up by the bullpen is an easy path towards the over hitting in this divisional showdown.
Pick: Over 8
Moneyline pick
L.A. has a 45-35 record after wins this season and its ability to string together streaks is why it has a commanding 13-game lead over Arizona at the top of the NL West standings. I trust the Dodgers’ bats to back up their ace and eventually come out with the victory tonight.
Pick: Dodgers