The Los Angeles Dodgers host Pittsburgh on Friday, looking to build on their 73-76 mark against the 68-82 Pirates in MLB betting action at Dodger Stadium.

Jeff Locke gets the ball in front of a hostile crowd for the Pirates on this day; he's 0-1 on the season. The Dodgers, meanwhile, will counter with Hiroki Kuroda, who will be looking to improve on his 11-16 mark.



View Pittsburgh vs LA Dodgers Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to side with the Dodgers in this one will find them as -189 favorites on the MLB money line. Betting the over under instead? It was hovering near 7.5 at its open earlier today.

Power Rankings:
The MLB Power Rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Dodgers rated this week at No. 3 and the Pirates sitting at No. 16.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Los Angeles' No. 12-rated National League offense, averaging 3.9 runs per game, against a Pirates defense that ranks No. 9 in the National League at 4.3 in runs allowed per game. The Dodgers have averaged 8.5 hits per game so far, more than Pirates batters have averaged on the year (8.2 hits per game).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Los Angeles has the National League's No. 4-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Pirates own the National League's No. 9 mark in runs allowed.

The Pirates were a 6-2 Sportsbook in their most recent outing on the road against the Dodgers. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got Pittsburgh at +168 on the moneyline, while the total score (8) was good news for UNDER bettors. Pittsburgh rolled to a 6-2 win against Los Angeles on Thursday, as Ross Ohlendorf and the Pirates' bats led the team to victory at Dodger Stadium.




Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing LA Dodgers are 5-5
After playing LA Dodgers are 2-8
After a win are 1-9

Los Angeles Dodgers Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Pittsburgh are 6-4
After playing Pittsburgh are 9-1
After a loss are 5-5

A few Pirates at Dodgers trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing on the road against LA Dodgers
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Pittsburgh's last 23 games when playing on the road against LA Dodgers
Pittsburgh is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
Pittsburgh is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games on the road
LA Dodgers are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
LA Dodgers are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games when playing Pittsburgh
LA Dodgers are 16-7 SU in their last 23 games
LA Dodgers are 9-4 SU in their last 13 games at home


Next up:
Pittsburgh at LA Dodgers, Saturday, September 17