Two hurlers on the top of their game in this one..
Billingsley is 3-0 on the year. 19 IP, 11 hits, 6 ER, 0 HR, 21/7 K/BB, 0.95 WHIP
2-2 against Stros in his career with 3.33 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and .232 OBA
Over his career he has been just about as good away from home as he has been in friendly confines..
Stros line up is right hand heavy and i think this sets up well for billingsley and his style. He has only allowed 3 hits to right hand batters this season with 11 K's and 2 BB's..
Not taking anything away from Wandy Rodriguez as he is having quite a start this season as well. I just don't think he is on the same level as Billinglsey. This is a guy that 38-41 in his career with an ERA just shy of 5. Being an LHP i do see some advantage to the dodgers and some of their sticks.
The main difference I see in this game is the lineup. Both guys throwing the ball well right now but the Dodgers are hitting the ball really well.
Dodgers are leading the league batting .296. Stros are 16th in the league batting .263. Dodgers have scored 92 runs compared to Stros 53.. One thing I like about the Dodgers is they seem to draw a lot of BB's.. They have 22 more than the Stros this season and are one of the tops in the league.
As i've stated several times before I'm a proponent of playing the better club to avoid the sweep when the situation warrants it. I think this is one of them. Astros are a poor home dog at 4-11 last 15. Dodgers hitting .308 off lefties with a .539 slugging %.. Bats are the difference and I think the Dodgers hold the definitive upper hand in that department. Should be a low scoring ball game where the Dodgers get 4 runs or so and win it.