Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction: Phoenix team likely to beat conference leader

The National League-leading Los Angeles Dodgers will play their next series in Phoenix against division rival Arizona Diamondbacks. How will the first game of the confrontation go? Let's pick a few options to bet on at once.

The Western Division is the strongest in the conference. That's why Arizona, which has been showing good baseball, has no real shot at the playoffs. The Diamondbacks are overshadowed by the Dodgers, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Cubs, sitting at No. 4 in the NL West standings with a 23-22 balance, and a high No. 7 seed in the conference-wide standings.

Ahead of their next series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona has won two straight. First, the Diamondbacks took three out of four away games against the Chicago Cubs, and then they beat the Kansas City Royals twice on their home field, 9-5, 8-6.

Humberto Castellanos, 24, of Mexico, will pitch for Arizona in the upcoming game - 3-1 and a 4.29 ERA in nine games, seven of which the pitcher has played in starts.

Dave Roberts' team lost on the road to Washington, 0-1, ahead of a trip to Phoenix. However, they won the series, winning the first two games against the Nationals, 10-1 and 9-4. Thus, the Dodgers, with a 29-14 balance, remained the leaders of the division and the entire National League.

The Dodgers also lead the league in offensive efficiency with a 5.62 earned run average per game. Of particular note on the team is the rampaging Mookie Betts, who couldn't hit a home run in the first month of the championship and has already hit 12 homers out of the stadium in the second month.

Mitch White is the LAD starting pitcher for the first game of the series with Arizona, 1-0 and a 6.17 ERA in six starts.

The score in the season series is 5-2 in favor of the Dodgers. Arizona took the series away from the Dodgers 2-1 at home in late April, but lost all four games in Los Angeles in May.

The Dodgers will go into the series with Arizona after flying more than 3,000 miles – the team just finished the series in Washington. So the Diamondbacks have a good chance to start the series against the Dodgers with a win. Plus, Dodgers pitcher Mitch White with a 6.17 slugging percentage does not inspire confidence.

Prediction: Having seen the best of the Dodgers' offense, Arizona will quite likely beat the opponent that hasn't fully recovered from the flight.

• Arizona Handicap (+1.5) for 1.975;
• Arizona To Win + Total Over (9.5) for 4.75.

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