Cincinnati Reds (35-33) AT L.A. Dodgers (31-37)
June 11, 2011 at 10:10 PM EST
Opening Moneyline:  LAD -125, CIN +105
Current Moneyline:  LOS -129, CIN +109
Opening Total:  6.5
Current Total:  6.5

SP:  CIN- Johnny Cueto; LAD- Clayton Kershaw

This one has all the looks of a pitchers duel, and if you like low scoring baseball, this might be the game for you.  Though Clayton Kershaw has struggled of late, he is still 6-3 with a 3.44 ERA and Johnny Cueto of Cincinnati has an ERA under two (1.93 for good measure) and a 3-2 record.

Cueto is coming off one of his best outings of the season.  He threw scoreless innings and struck out 8 batters in a 3-0 win over the Giants on Thursday of last week.  He hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in any of his 7 starts.

Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier have combined to go 8 of 18 against Cueto and have also hit three home runs.  Kemp is hitting .457 with 7 HRs  and 16 RBIs in the last 10 games, too.

Kershaw, conversely, has struggled.  Last matchup against Cueto, he didn’t earn a decision, but he gave up 6 runs in 6 2/3rds innings, which by all means is a poor outing.  He gave up 7 runs in 6 innings in Colorado on Thursday but once again didn’t record a decision.  His ERA has went from 2.62 on May 29th to well over three now.  At home, he has been good.  He has a 4-1 record with a 2.61 ERA, but he lost his last outing at home to the Reds on Monday.

Joey Votto has hit really well against Kershaw, with a .308 lifetime average and 2 HRs.  He hit a 3 run HR in the 8th inning on Monday to give the Reds a 4 run lead.  This month so far, he is hitting .348 with 3 HRs and 12 RBIs.

“(Votto) is very confident and he has a tremendous idea of what he’s doing out there because he studies,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He stays all business and comes to play. I mean, he has fun, but he’s basically a no-nonsense guy when the game starts. He’s just a pleasure to be around and he’s very easy to manage.”

Scott Rolen is questionable with a foot injury that resulted from hitting a foul ball off his foot.  He said “I’m not dead and it’s not broken…I’ll be hobbling on it.”  From that diagnosis, we can expect him to play, but his effectiveness may not be there.

Some betting trends:

San Francisco is 8-4 SU in their last 12 games and the total has gone UNDER in 5 of their last 6 games.  The Giants are 6-3 SU in their last 9 on teh road and they are 8-1 SU in their last 9 against the Diamondbacks.  The total has gone UNDER in 8 of their last 10 against the Diamondbacks and it has also gone UNDER in 5 of their last 7 games on the road in Arizona.  The Giants are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games on the road against Arizona.

The Diamondbacks are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of their last 6 at home.  The Diamondbacks are 10-3 SU in their last 13 home games and they are 1-8 SU in their last 9 games against the San Francisco Giants.  The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Arizona’s last 10 games against the Giants and it has also gone UNDER in 5 of the last 7 against the Giants.  The Diamondbacks are 2-8 SU in their last 10 home games against the Giants.

Given Kemp and Ethier’s success against Cueto, the Reds could be in for some trouble tonight.  The total is set low at 6.5, and it won’t take a lot of run support for either team to win.  The Dodgers are narrow favorites in this one and given their recent hitting it’s easy to see why.