Los Angeles Dodgers – Arizona Diamondbacks : Reigning champs kick off the season! 
It’s opening night at Dodger Stadium. Big stage, bigger expectations — the Los Angeles Dodgers, last season’s winners, open their title defense at home. Waiting for them are the Arizona Diamondbacks, a side that doesn’t exactly terrify anyone this year.
So will the hosts live up to the billing and start the defense with a statement win in front of their crowd? Here’s our read on the key matchups.
Dodgers already firing 
The Californians roll into this opener brimming with confidence. Their preseason looked solid: in their last ten outings they posted six wins to just two defeats. At the plate the Dodgers are humming — a hefty 6.3 runs per game on average.
Only snag? The defense has looked a touch generous in tune-up games, giving up roughly 5.5 runs per outing. Still, at home and hungry to start strong, LA are comfortable. The mission is obvious: kick off the title defense with a big win and set the tone.
Arizona hunting for a spark on the road 
The visitors arrive with a much humbler profile. Last regular season they finished just under .500 (80-82). Right now the D-backs’ form is patchy.
To be fair, they’ve won four of their last six and they average a respectable 5.5 runs per game, so they can sting in bursts. The real issue is travel. Away from Chase Field the D-backs look light, and they lack the star power to swing the sort of heavyweight clash this is likely to be.
MLB Pick Los Angeles Dodgers vs Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers to win by 2+ runs
On paper this isn’t close. The Dodgers have the deeper roster and the target on their back. Facing Diamondbacks who struggle away from home and who lack depth, the gap looks too wide.
Even with LA’s defense showing cracks lately, their offense at home is terrifying. Add the fact the Dodgers are sending one of the league’s top starters to the mound for the opener against a vulnerable lineup… and the obvious play is LA -1.5 (win by 2 runs or more). They’ve got everything to close this out cleanly.
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