Major League Spring Training continues with the Grapefruit League and the Cactus League . 15 games are on deck for March 14, 2019 as teams continue to prepare for the start of the 2019 MLB regular season. Let’s take a look at some of Thursday’s games.
Kenta Maeda gets the nod to start on top of the mound for the Dodgers on Thursday. The 30-year old right hander from Osaka in Japan is 1-0 in three starts this preseason. Maeda has pitched a total of six innings with nine strikeouts and has an ERA of 4.50 and a WHIP of 0.50.
Center Fielder Enrique Hernandez leads the Dodgers with 12 hits while batting at .375 in 2019 Cactus League play. Hernandez also leads Los Angeles with 11 RBIs and 3 home runs. Cody Bellinger has six hits, 7 RBIs and two home runs in preseason action while Austin Barnes has 8 RBIs on seven hits.
Dodgers
N/A
Padres
N/A
Odds not yet available
Opposing Maeda is 28 year old right hander Robbie Erlin. The five-year veteran from Oakland, California has pitched in two games this preseason and has yet to figure in a decision. Erlin has pitched a total of 4.1 innings with 1 strikeout. He has an ERA of 6.23 and WHIP of 1.85 in this Spring Training.
Catcher Francisco Mejia and Left fielder Jose Pirela lead the Dodgers with 12 hits apiece. Mejia and Pirela have also combined for a total of 14 RBIs in preseason. Meanwhile, Aderlin Rodriguez leads Los Angeles with 12 RBIs with a team-leading 4 home runs while batting 7-22 (.318) in preseason action.
Prediction: San Diego Padres. The Padres are on top of the Cactus League with their 11-5 record and their offense is the reason why they are winning games. The Padres rank 9th in runs scored (108) and also 7th in home runs (28). The Dodgers enter this game having lost back to back games while the Padres have won three in a row while scoring an average of 8.67 runs per game during that period.
Right hander Dereck Rodriguez gets the start for the San Francisco Giants. The 26-year old from Arlington, Texas has started three games in the 2019 Cactus League and has a winless 0-2 record. Rodriguez has pitched a total of 8.1 innings with 8 strikeouts, an ERA of 5.4 and a WHIP of 1.44.
Giants
+105
Diamondbacks
-125
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/14/19
Luke Weaver gets the call to open on top of the mound for Arizona. The 25-year old right hander has started two games in preseason play and has yet to figure in a decision. The former Florida State standout has pitched a total of 6.1 innings while fanning 6 batters and posting an ERA of 2.84 and a WHIP of 1.26
Ildemaro Vargas leads the Diamondbacks with 14 hits in Spring Training while batting at .412 and producing 9 RBIs. Wilmer Flores and Yasmany Tomas have 10 hits each and a combined 13 RBIs. First baseman Christian Walker leads Arizona with 11 RBIs on just nine hits.
Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona’s Cactus league record of 8-9 is slightly better than the Giants’ 7-11 mark. But when you look at the run difference between these teams, the Diamondbacks are a -2 and the Giants are at -20, the worst in the league. With better balance in their play, I’m going with Arizona here.
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