The Los Angeles Dodgers opened up the second half of the season by getting swept on the road by St. Louis, and that series has set the tone for the way things have gone for LA since. They have not won a road series since before the All-Star Break and they will begin a road series with the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday night.
The Dodgers are the MLB odds favorites paying -135 to the Brewers +115. The over/under is 8.5.
The Los Angeles Dodgers (63-62, 24-35 away) led the NL West as recently as June 16 but there road struggles have got the best of them. They are 3-14 on the road since July 4 and now trail division-leading San Diego by 12 games.
The Dodgers will open up their six-game road trip by handing the ball to Ted Lilly (7-8, 3.23 ERA) for Tuesday’s start against Milwaukee. Lily has been a tremendous pickup for LA, having been acquired just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31. In his most recent start, he pitched a complete game shutout against Colorado. He is 4-0 in his last four starts and has given up just four runs in 28 innings.
The Milwaukee Brewers (59-65, 30-32 home) will not be happy to face Lily. Their offensive lineup has been limited to a .176 batting average in Lily’s last four starts against them. The Brewers will hope left fielder Ryan Braun will be a key in ending Lily’s dominance against them. Braun shook off a 22-game homerless streak by hitting one in each of Milwaukee’s last two game and has raised his average to .464 in the last seven games.
Dave Bush (6-10, 4.63 ERA) will start for the Brewers. The right-hander made the wrong kind of history on August 11, giving up four consecutive home runs against Arizona to match a major league record. He followed that up with a solid outing, however, giving up one run in six innings in a 3-2 win over St. Louis.
