Get to the Point

By Jimmy Harris:

In Monday's top MLB matchup, the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies head west to face NL West-challenging Los Angeles for the opener of a three-game set with the Dodgers.

The Phillies own a two-game lead on the Mets and a 2.5-game cushion on the Marlins and come in as small road underdogs on the MLB moneyline. The Dodgers remain 1.5 games back of the Diamondbacks in the NL West.

The pitching matchup in Monday's game will be Kyle Kendrick for the Phillies and Derek Lowe for the Dodgers. Kendrick (10-5, 4.37) looked great in his last outing, in which he pitched six shutout innings against Florida.

Kendrick hasn't faced the Dodgers yet this year, but he was 1-1 with a poor 6.75 ERA against them last season. Lowe (8-10, 4.10) was blasted for eight runs on 13 hits in only 3 1-3 innings against St. Louis in his last outing. This is Lowe's first start of the season against the Phillies, but he was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA against them last year.

You would think after looking at those previous pitching performances that I would be taking the Phillies, but you would be wrong. I'll put my cash on the Dodgers because Lowe is a whole different pitcher at home this season. In L.A. this year Lowe is 6-5 with a 2.72 ERA, compared to 2-5 with a 5.88 ERA on the road. Look for Lowe to pitch the Dodgers past Philadelphia on Monday night.

The Dodgers opened as -140 favorites at .

There are a number of series getting started on Monday that will definitely have an impact on the playoff standings. Some of the series worth a look include the Yankees at Minnesota, St. Louis at Florida, Pittsburgh at the Mets, and Toronto at Detroit, with both of those last teams having to win now or be out of it come September.

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