The Dodgers are currently two games back of the Cardinals for the National League‘s final playoff spot with two games to play. Los Angeles has a 2.5% (-2.3% since yesterday) chance of making the playoffs according to Cool Standings and a 2.5% (-1.8% since yesterday) chance according to Baseball Prospectus.

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For today’s game, the Dodgers send Chris Capuano to the mound against Barry Zito, and they’re -155 betting favorites to win (60.8%). Additionally, AccuScore has them winning at a 64% clip. The Cardinals send Chris Carpenter to the hill against Mat Latos and are -125 betting favorites to win (55.6%), and AccuScore has their chances of prevailing at 58%.

The Dodgers are currently two games back of the Cardinals for the National League‘s final playoff spot. Los Angeles has a 4.8% (-3.4% since yesterday) chance of making the playoffs according to Cool Standings and a 5.0% (-3.1% since yesterday) chance according to Baseball Prospectus.

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For today’s game, the Dodgers send Aaron Harang to the mound against Matt Cain, and they’re -100 betting neutral to win (50.0%). Additionally, AccuScore has the Giants winning at a 61% clip. The Cardinals send Jaime Garcia to the hill against Bronson Arroyo and are -155 betting favorites to win (60.8%), and AccuScore has their chances of prevailing at 58%.

Surprised by the betting odds on today’s game for the Dodgers? So was I, and I’m not totally sure why the odds are like that.

The Dodgers are currently two games back of the Cardinals for the National League‘s final playoff spot. Los Angeles has a 8.2% (+3.8% since yesterday) chance of making the playoffs according to Cool Standings and a 8.1% (+4.1% since yesterday) chance according to Baseball Prospectus.

Joe Blanton shutdown the Rockies yesterday for the win, and Kurt Suzuki played hero for the Nationals as they won in extras.

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For today’s game, the Dodgers send Josh Beckett to the mound against Jorge De La Rosa, and they’re -235 betting favorites to win (70.1%). Additionally, AccuScore has the Dodgers winning at a 60% clip. The Cardinals send Lance Lynn to the hill against Ross Detwiler and are -135 betting favorites to win (57.4%), and AccuScore has their chances of prevailing at 50%.

If the Dodgers can get a result today, it sets up an epic showdown to end the season against the rival Giants, for better or worse.

The Dodgers are currently three games back of the Cardinals for the National League‘s final playoff spot. Los Angeles has a 3.1% (-1.4% since yesterday) chance of making the playoffs according to Cool Standings and a 4.0% (-1.7% since yesterday) chance according to Baseball Prospectus.

After Clayton Kershaw threw a gem yesterday, the Dodgers sit seven games above .500, but Edwin Jackson laid an egg for the Nationals, so the Dodgers remained three back of the playoffs with the clock getting closer to zero.

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For today’s game, the Dodgers send Joe Blanton to the mound against Tyler Chatwood, and they’re -200 betting favorites to win (66.7%). Additionally, AccuScore has the Dodgers winning at a 67% clip. The Cardinals send Kyle Lohse to the hill against Jordan Zimmermann and are -115 betting favorites to win (53.5%), and AccuScore has their chances of prevailing at 56%.

It might be surprising to some to see the Dodgers favored by so much with Blanton going, but on paper, the Rockies are a vastly inferior team with the worst pitching staff in the majors, so the Dodgers probably should be taking them to the woodshed. Of course, what this team should be doing and what they actually are doing has been a problem all year long.

The Dodgers are currently three games back of the Cardinals for the National League‘s final playoff spot. Los Angeles has a 4.5% chance of making the playoffs according to Cool Standings and a 5.6% chance according to Baseball Prospectus. Doesn’t take a math whiz to figure that 1-in-20 aren’t good odds, but gaining a game and a half over the past two days actually revived the on-life-support playoff hopes (1-2%) of the team.

Given that the Cardinals play the Nationals and the Reds to finish the season, two of the best teams in baseball, and the Dodgers have the Rockies and the Giants, anything does seem possible. It becomes absolutely imperative though that the Dodgers sweep the Rockies before going into their rivalry series, where seemingly anything could (and does) happen.

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For today’s game, the Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw to the mound against Jeff Francis, so it’s no surprise that they’re -290 betting favorites to win (74.4%), and AccuScore has the Dodgers winning at a 63% clip. The Cardinals sent Adam Wainwright to the hill against Edwin Jackson and are -135 betting favorites to win (57.4%), and AccuScore has their chances of prevailing at 56%.

While I still don’t believe the Dodgers should be risking the health of Kershaw and others for what amounts to a long shot, if nothing else the team has managed to make the end of this season exciting, for better or worse.