Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Odds, Analysis, MLB Betting Pick

The Los Angeles Dodgers (58-29) head into Friday's interleague series opener against the Kansas City Royals (44-40) off a three-game sweep, and they are listed as big home favorites at the sportsbooks.

The Dodgers rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Thursday by scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, increasing their lead in the National League West to 5.5 games.

Betting line: The Dodgers opened as -185 favorites (wager $185 to win $100); the total is at 8.5 runs, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

MLB betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 6.2-2.9, Dodgers (MLB picks on every game)

Why the Royals can pay on the MLB lines

Los Angeles has gone 17-3 in its last 20 games, which is a bit intimidating. But Kansas City has a longer winning streak at four games to go along with an impressive 18-6 mark in its past 24.

The Royals rallied for a 9-6 road victory against the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings Wednesday after trailing 6-4 following the third.

Jason Hammel (4-7, 5.08 ERA) heads to the hill here, and he has made six of his last seven starts at home. In his most recent road outing, he allowed one run and eight hits in 6.2 innings of a 7-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Why the Dodgers can pay on the MLB lines

What more can be said about how well the Dodgers are playing right now? They are on fire and will be sending Kenta Maeda (6-4, 4.56) to the mound looking to rebound from a poor start.

Maeda surrendered five runs and eight hits in 3.2 innings of a 5-3 road loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday after pitching brilliantly his previous time out at home.

He threw seven scoreless innings in his last outing at Chavez Ravine versus the Angels on June 27, scattering four hits with no walks and six strikeouts in a 4-0 victory.

Smart betting pick

At some point, Los Angeles has to lose again, right? The Dodgers are coming off a huge sweep of a division rival, and they are due for a letdown.

Maeda has been a bit of a disappointment this season, and they will need him to pitch much better in order to make a run at the World Series. Do not count on him turning things around here against a hot Kansas City team that is a nice underdog play in this spot with some rest.

MLB betting trends

Los Angeles is 6-1 in its last seven games.

Kansas City is 6-1 in its last seven games.

The total has gone over in seven of Kansas City's last nine games.

All MLB lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.