Dodgers gaining action as NL Division Series begins Friday

So far, the postseason has been all about pitching. The aces are dealing. The Los Angeles Dodgers are lucky enough to throw two of baseball's best, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, back to back.

The Dodgers are here because of MLB's biggest payroll. The New York Mets are here a year earlier than expected because of their young guns and the collapse of the Washington Nationals, the World Series favorites going into the season.

Los Angeles, a minus-180 series favorite over New York, has home-field advantage and is attracting slightly more of the betting action in the National League division series, which is a best-of-5 format.

"It's good two-way action, with an early push on the Dodgers and some pushback on the Mets," Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said. "The Mets' starting rotation from top to bottom might be a little stronger."

Kershaw is a 2-1 favorite over Jacob deGrom in Friday's Game 1. Greinke opposes Noah Syndergaard in Saturday's Game 2. The Mets are likely to be favored for the first time when Matt Harvey starts Game 3 on Monday.

Dave Cokin, a Las Vegas handicapper and ESPN Radio host, said he's willing to lay the high price with the Dodgers.

"The primary reason for my confidence is the awesome 1-2 punch at the top of the Dodgers' rotation. Kershaw has been utterly dominant, and Greinke is not far behind, and that's if he's trailing Kershaw at all," said Cokin (SmokinCokin.com). "Kershaw is as go-with as it gets right now.

"As exciting as things are for the Mets with their brilliant arsenal of young arms and an improved offense since the arrival of Yoenis Cespedes, this is a still a team with one major flaw. The Mets have been absolutely horrendous against good teams this season. That's a huge key to me. The Mets did a great job of taking care of business against teams at their own level or below. When facing off against winning teams, they lost continuously.

"No question, I'm going to need that there are no slip-ups in the games Kershaw and Greinke start, as the rest of the L.A. rotation is very ordinary. But I'll take my chances with that top two, in tandem with the inability of the Mets to beat the better teams.

"The Dodgers are rightfully priced as substantial chalk in this series. That might scare some off, but not me. I like L.A. to advance."

In the postseason, elite pitching typically prevails, and the Dodgers have aces with experience. The Mets seem to be a year away from winning a series such as this.

Pick: Dodgers in 5

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247