Ala Hann Sport picks

When the MLB season started, the betting experts had the Los Angeles Dodgers at +1200 to win the World Series. It was confusing because the Dodgers did not have the kind of intimidating starting pitching rotation that would warrant such odds. NCAA football betting is popular in Southern California, and NFL betting is catching on in Los Angeles. Now that the Dodgers have dropped to +2000 odds to win the World Series, it looks as though California sports fans will be focusing on the upcoming football season.

To show how much of a surprise the Cincinnati Reds have been this season one only needs to look at the World Series odds the MLB betting world gave the Reds when the season started. When the season started the Reds were given +5000 odds to win the World Series. That meant that the Reds were not considered a threat to make the playoffs or win the NL Central. Now, after holding a two-game lead in the NL Central for most of the season, the Reds have watched their World Series odds get upped to +1800.

It wasn’t that people considered the Reds to be such an awful team, it is more that the Cardinals were expected to run away with the NL Central and the Dodgers were going to challenge for the NL Wild Card. The Cardinals have been chasing the Reds all season long, and the Dodgers fell out of realistic contention for the NL Wild Card a couple of weeks ago. Now the Reds are fighting with the Cardinals to maintain their hold on the NL Central.

Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre came to the team with a respected history. He was expected to take what had been a team with decent talent, and turn it into a World Series contender. But, along the way, Torre found out that his pitching was not as good as he thought it was and the Dodgers offense was spotty at best. The Dodgers have fallen to 12 games back in the NL West and eight games back in the NL Wild Card race. Now the rumors about this being Torre’s last season in the majors have started to circulate.

What makes this game interesting for betting enthusiasts is the mystery at starting pitching for both teams. The Dodgers have no idea who will take the mound in this game just yet. Injuries and Torre’s impatience with a starting rotation that has under-performed all season have caused a lot of changes on the Los Angeles roster. It is difficult to even speculate who Torre will put out there, but it very well may be a rookie that Torre and the Dodgers want to take a look at for next season.

Homer Bailey will start for the Reds, and he has probably the worst first name for a pitcher in the majors. Bailey has a record of 2-2 this season along with an ERA of 4.92. In his last start which was against the Marlins, Bailey threw six scoreless innings. The Reds are hoping to make Bailey a part of their playoff rotation, and a couple of impressive consecutive starts in the playoff run will help Bailey’s case.

Pick: Cincinnati Reds 5-1

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