The pennant races are heating up with September about to start, but Shohei Ohtani continues to overshadow everything in the baseball world.
Ohtani is putting together a season for the ages—yes, even without pitching—for the Los Angeles Dodgers. So we will keep an eye on him when the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks meet in a National League West showdown on Saturday night.
The top two teams in the National League East are also battling, with the Philadelphia Phillies hosting the Atlanta Braves. A big-time pitching matchup has our full attention.
How do you know if the Seattle Mariners are batting? You will feel the breeze over and over. These guys excel at swinging and missing like nobody else in the majors. So we will count Seattle strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS AT ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
The opener of the four-game series was a wild 10-9 victory for the Dodgers, and it enabled them to open up a five-game lead over the Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres in the NL West. Arizona is a scorching 18-8 in August but has been unable to make up any ground because Los Angeles is also 18-8.
Ohtani recorded his 43rd homer and 43rd steal on Friday as he continues his bid to become the first major leaguer with 50 of each in a season. Ohtani has 11 homers in August, and he certainly is taking aim at the 50-50 mark because he is 15-for-15 in steals this month. Even Rickey Henderson would be impressed.
The Dodgers will certainly be making sure Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly is chauffeured to the ballpark. Kelly is a horrific 0-11 with a 5.49 ERA in 16 career starts against Los Angeles. Mookie Betts has three homers off Kelly.
The Los Angeles bullpen had to pick up eight innings on Friday due to Clayton Kershaw leaving with a left big toe injury. That’s a huge deal because Arizona thrives in late-game situations and guys like Corbin Carroll and Eugenio Suarez are ready to tee off.
Diamondbacks moneyline, +110 (DraftKings)
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ATLANTA BRAVES AT PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
The Braves continue to stick within range of the first-place Phillies and split the first two contests of the four-game series to remain five games out. But if they are going to make a real run for the division crown, they need to win the next two games.
Saturday’s game features pitching aces Zack Wheeler of the Phillies and Max Fried of the Braves. Wheeler has allowed just seven earned runs over his last five starts, but the right-hander also lost to Atlanta during the stretch when he gave up two runs and six hits in six innings on Aug. 20.
The left-handed Fried lost four straight decisions before beating the Minnesota Twins in his last outing. In his previous one, he allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings in a no-decision against the Phillies on Aug. 21.
Philadelphia All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm injured his hand Thursday and sat out Friday. The Phillies could sure use him, but J.T. Realmuto (four homers) and Trea Turner (three) have always hit Fried well.
Under 7.5 runs, -105 (DraftKings)
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SEATTLE MARINERS AT LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The Mariners are 5-2 since firing Scott Servais and replacing him with fan favorite Dan Wilson, a former catcher for the club. Seattle is on the fringe of both the American League West and wild-card races, and now is its time to make a move.
The Mariners opened a 10-game road stretch against non-contenders on Friday by beating the Angels 9-5. The Halos are 25 games below .500 and have waved the white flag on another Mike Trout injury-wrecked season.
Seattle then has four games against the Oakland Athletics and three at the St. Louis Cardinals. Go 7-3 during the excursion, and things get real interesting.
Angels All-Star left-hander Tyler Anderson might have something to say about things on Saturday. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings against Seattle on July 22 and has reached 10 Ks twice this season.
Tyler Anderson 8-plus strikeouts, +350 (DraftKings)
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