The rampaging Los Angeles Dodgers have been betting underdogs only three times this season, but No. 4 arrives tonight in a potential National League Championship Series preview at the New York Mets. It's mostly because two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom is pitching for New York tonight – though deGrom has never personally beaten the Dodgers, who are +140 at Caesars Sportsbook. That's the longest their odds have been all year.
Odds at various books are slightly different, but here are the other three times the Dodgers were uderdogs:
- Aug. 18 at Milwaukee (+105): Andrew Heaney was on the mound against the Brewers' Corbin Burnes and the Dodgers lost 5-3. Mookie Betts wasn't in the Dodger lineup.
- June 25 at Atlanta (+130): Betts was out and Mitch White (now with Toronto) was opposed by Braves ace Max Fried. Atlanta won 5-3.
- May 21 at Philadelphia (+100): White started on the mound for the Dodgers opposite Aaron Nola, but Los Angeles won 7-4. Betts homered, doubled and singled, knocked in three runs and threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate.
As you can see, Los Angeles hasn't been a home underdog yet in 2022 and probably won't be.
The Mets' deGrom (3-1, 2.15 ERA) was the biggest betting favorite of the season last Thursday against the visiting Colorado Rockies, and New York won 3-1 as the right-hander allowed one run and three hits while striking out nine over s ix innings. It was his 150th career quality start, the sixth-most in Mets history. In his five starts this year, deGrom has an absurd strikeout-to-walk ratio of 46:2.