The Dodgers are facing some uncertainty regarding the health of their top hitter, just as they were getting on a roll following a lackluster stretch. The Dodgers look to extend their winning streak to five Monday night against the slumping Diamondbacks, with Matt Kemp’s chances of playing a 400th consecutive game unlikely.

Kemp left for an MRI scheduled for Monday after the third inning of Sunday’s game against visiting Colorado with a nagging strained left hamstring. Kemp has not hit one this month in part because of his injury, although he has set a Dodgers record for home runs in April and he is among the NL leaders with a .359 average, 12 homers and 28 RBIs. In his last 17 at-bats, he is also hitless.

The outfielder made a pinch-hit appearance to keep his major league-best consecutive games streak going, although he was not in the lineup May 6. Kemp said that he think he just need to let it heal for a little bit and he does not know how much time that is going to take. He added that he will see how it feels later on tonight and tomorrow, and we will go from there. He further said that he is definitely not going on the DL and he knows he is a fast healer.

The Dodgers can perhaps endure at least a brief absence from Kemp. After Kemp left and six after Andre Ethier was ejected for arguing a called third strike in the fifth inning, they beat Colorado 11-5. Bobby Abreu hit a three-run double, A.J. Ellis had a career-high four RBIs and Ethier’s replacement in right field, Scott Van Slyke, hit a two-run double in the eighth, as Los Angeles recorded a fourth straight win following a 7-8 stretch to improve to 15-3 at home.

Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks (15-20) in their last five road games have dropped nine of 11 overall. During that 2-9 stretch, they have averaged 3.0 runs and hit .236 after producing five hits in Sunday’s 7-3 loss to visiting San Francisco.

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There was some concern about the Cardinals’ depth at the position while heading into camp. At least during for the time the club would be without Allen Craig. St. Louis did not have an obvious second option with Craig unavailable to back up Berkman. Carpenter proved during Grapefruit League play that he could handle the position defensively, therefore those concerns faded. Carpenter proved during Grapefruit League play that he could handle the position defensively, therefore those concerns faded. His offensive production has only added to his value.

The 26-year-old has certainly lessened the impact of the veteran’s absence and he is not expected to replace Berkman’s production. He is batting .409 with 10 RBIs in 22 at-bats. He singled his first two trips with an RBI. In the fifth, he belted a two-run shot to straightaway center off Lendy Castillo and in the seventh; he added a two-run triple off Rodrigo Lopez.

Yadier Molina took the rubber match of their three-game set in Chicago and improved to 7-3 on the season. He cracked a three-run homer and scored three times for the Cardinals. The Cubs were held by Jake Westbrook (2-0) to one run on four hits over seven innings, walking one and fanning two for St. Louis.

Cubs’ starter Paul Maholm (0-2) raised his ERA to 13.50. He was roughed up for six runs on six hits over four frames. Berkman did some running and could be back Tuesday when the Cardinals open a three-game series against the Reds, although he missed the weekend series with a strained left calf. Outfielder Carlos Beltran was taken out in the sixth, four innings after he was hit by a pitch on the right forearm when he had trouble throwing, although Freese also could be back from an injured right ring finger.

Reed Johnson scored their second run on a wild pitch. He had two hits and an RBI for the Cubs. They were outscored, 15-4, after hammering Adam Wainwright in St. Louis’ home opener for a 9-5 victory. In seven innings, Westbrook allowed an unearned run in his first start at Cincinnati. With St. Louis scoring 17 runs his first two outings, he has gotten plenty of support.

In the second, the Cardinals needed one hit to score twice, with Carlos Beltran hit by a pitch and Molina walking setting the table to start the inning. Shane Robinson beat out the relay on a double play ball for a run-scoring groundout and Carpenter followed with an RBI single.

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The Tampa Bay Rays and the fans are losing faith after a rough mid-week series with the New York Yankees. The series concludes Thursday as the Rays attempt to salvage one win against the hot New York Yankees.

The Rays will face the Yankees in a week and if they play as poorly at home as they have in Yankee Stadium, their wild card hopes will be destroyed. Make sure you check out all of the baseball props at Legends.com.

For the series finale Thursday September 22 the Yankees will send the vulnerable Bartolo Colon (8-9) to the mound to face Jeff Niemann (11-7). The odds are in the Rays favor to salvage a win in the series after a spirited game on Wednesday night.

Niemann has won seven of his last 10 starts and he did beat the New York Yankees 5-1 in his last start, allowing just one run in seven plus innings.

The Rays carried a 2-2 tie into the eighth inning but the Yankees bats rose to the occasion. Nick Swisher led it off with a double, followed by walks to Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano to load the bases for pinch-hitter Jorge Posada.

The embattled Posada came through in the clutch with a two RBI single giving the Yankees the lead 4-2. Rafael Soriano received a rare save opportunity as the all-time MLB saves leader, Mariano Rivera, looked on.

The third win in the series dims the hopes of the Rays who are now locked in a wild card battle with the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox.

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The online sporstbooks are getting heavy action on the Rangers in this game despite Cleveland sending their new ace, Ubaldo Jiminez, to the mound. Derek Holland will be pitching for Texas, and the young lefty has been pretty solid of late. But all eyes will be on Ubaldo, pitching in his first game since coming over from Colorado in a trade deadline deal. Taking on the Rangers’ lineup in his first AL game is no easy task: the Rangers rank 3rd in runs, 2nd in batting average, 3rd in OPS, 3rd in HRs, and 4th in stolen bases. They are an offensive juggernaut.

Handicappers will likely pay attention to the Rangers’ recent struggles, winning just 3 of their last 9 games while their offense has slumped a bit, scoring 4 runs or fewer in 6 of 9.

Cleveland has won just 3 of their last 9 games as well. They’ve scored 3 runs or fewer in every single one of those losses. When their bats come to life, the Indians do fine, otherwise, they’ve struggled.

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Pittsburgh Pirates – Tied for 1st (Odds to win World Series: 35-1)
At the start of the season, most sportsbook had the Pirates as 100 or 200-1 odds to win. But after having a very solid first half of the regular season, the sportsbook have now boosted their position and dropped the odds on the Bucs winning the World Series. with one of the best young pitching staffs in baseball, this could be the year Pittsburgh makes some noise heading to the post season.

St.Louis Cardinals – Tied for 1st (Odds to win World Series: 22-1)
The Cardinals were seen as outsiders when it came to capturing the division and having a chance at winning the 2011 World Series. To date, the Cards have performed a bit better than expected and have hung in, sitting in a 3-way tie for top spot in the NL Central. And with first baseman Pujols back and hitting, St.Louis may just surprise.

Cincinnati Reds – 3 games behind (Odds to win World Series: 35-1)
The Reds have struggled a bit at times this year, but are still a solid club and as good a bet as any to lead the NL Central come September. The defending divison champs were ranked much higher than they currently are, and may be good value heading down the stretch to the post season.

Chicago Cubs – 11.5 games behind (Odds to win World Series: 300-1)
At the start of the 2011 season, and with the additions of Garza and Pena, the Cubs were certainly expected to rise out of the basement, but no further than fourth. Well to date, they have done that, sitting 8.5 games up on last place Houston but with no chance to move out of fifth. Another long year for the Cubbies faithful.

Houston Astros – 20 game behind (Odds to win World Series: 1000-1)
Houston was expected to finish last in the division and be one of the worst teams in baseball. They have surpised or dissappointed anyone. They are just a bad team on their way to a very bad record.

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MLB Odds have the rangers at 45-1 to win the World Series, while the Indians are at 60-1.

The home field advantage figures to be a major factor in this game. Both teams have been excellent while playing at their home fields this season, but each team has really struggled while playing on the road. The Rangers are just 10-14 on the road this season and the Indians are the best home team in the American League with a 19-6 record in Cleveland.

These teams each have stellar offenses and this could be a very high scoring series. The Rangers started to slow down a bit offensively, but they will likely turn things around with Josh Hamilton back in the lineup. Hamilton is considered to be one of the best players in baseball and is an integral part of their lineup.

While Hamilton is important for the Rangers, Adrian Beltre may be even more important. Beltre has the potential to be one of the premier hitters in the game, but he has struggled to hit for a good average this season. The Rangers need him to perform in this series.

The Indians have a comfortable lead, but they need to continue to build it as every team goes through a tough stretch at some point in the season.

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Los Angeles is at 35-1 and Florida at 50-1 to win the World Series in baseball picks.

The Dodgers have not been a good team this season. They have struggled at home and on the road and playing at home gives little consolation for the squad. While they have a lot of solid, young talent, they have been unable to get things going on offense or with their pitching staff.

The Dodgers have already been outscored by 43 runs this season. They will send some solid pitchers to the mound this weekend against Florida, but they need their offense to come through and score some runs if they hope to compete.

The Marlins have enjoyed a very good season to this point. They are currently 7 games over .500 and they are just 2 games behind Philadelphia in the standings. The Marlins have succeeded by having solid efforts on the offensive and defensive ends of the game.

The Marlins won’t be upset to be playing on the road at all in this series. They have actually had a much better record while playing on the road than they have at home this season.

With all of the speculation about the Dodgers and whether or not their team will be sold, it is difficult to expect their players to play at a high level. Time will tell if the Dodgers can fight through the drama and the rumors back into playoff contention.

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Check out MLB Betting for this matchup closer to the opener Friday.

The Yankees will be the favorites in this game, as they have the better record and they are the home team, but you certainly can’t count out the Mets in this one. The Mets are 7-3 in their last 10 games and they look like they are on their way up, getting fuel from their rejuvenated lineup.

The Yankees seem to be on the way down, losing their last 5 games and winning just 3 of their last 10 games. They were passed by the Tampa Bay Rays this past week in the American League East Standings.

The Mets have seen more production from Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran recently. Big seasons from both of those players could help them find their way back to the playoffs, despite suffering from a poor start to the season.

The Yankees have recently been troubled with drama from longtime players. Jorge Posada has struggled all season and was moved to the 9th spot in the order. He recently made some complaints and refused to play in a game because he did not want to bat 9th in the lineup. This has caused a stir in the organization and it could be a distraction for the Yankees until they take care of the problem.

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The Cardinals are at 25-1 to win the World Series while the reds are at 35-1 in 2011 MLB odds.

Cincinnati is 18-16 on the season and they are just 1.5 games behind the Cardinals in the standings. They have been solid at home, but they still have not been able to find a dominant home field advantage yet this season. They are 10-9 through their first 19 games at home. The Cardinals are a great team on the road at 10-6, and they’ll give the Reds all they can handle this weekend.

The Cardinals have succeeded behind the amazing run production of Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday. These hitters are among the best hitters in the league this year. The team has miraculously managed to score more runs than any team in the Major Leagues despite having a slow start from the best hitter in the league, Albert Pujols.

The Cardinals will send Carpenter, Lohse and McClellan to the mound in this series. Their pitching staff has been better than anyone expected it to be. Despite losing Wainwright, one of their ace pitchers, they have managed to allow fewer runs than any other team in their division to this point in the season.

The Reds can pass the Cardinals if they put up a decent performance in this series. They have the 2nd best offense in the Major Leagues, second only to the Cardinals. This could be an exciting, high scoring series if both teams are able to get things rolling on the offensive side of the game.

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MLB Odds have both the Dodgers and Mets as longshots to win the World Series, LA at 35-1 and New York at 50-1.

Both of these teams have talented squads, but they’ve been unable to get things going this season. The Dodgers are known for having a great pitching staff each year, but they have actually had one of the worst pitching staffs in the National League to this point. Only 2 teams in the National League have allowed more runs than the Dodgers.

The Mets are now healthy and seem poised to make a run up the standings. They have won 7 of their last 10 games and they look like a real contender with their lineup finally complete. They should be able to feast off of the Dodgers pitching for much of the series if the Dodgers are unable to pick things up.

The Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw to the mound on Sunday. Kershaw is without doubt one of the best young pitchers in baseball. He has been fairly inconsistent this season though and the Dodgers are still waiting for him to step up and be a true ace for their pitching staff

This series will be a big one for both teams, as they both need to string some wins together if they hope to get on track. The Rockies have not been playing terribly well as of late and the Dodgers may be able to play catch up if they can string together some wins.

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