crucial two-game NL West matchup between leaders San Francisco Giants and the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers begins on Monday at Dodger Stadium.
The Giants currently have the best record in the NL West at 50-27 and they are currently 3.5 games ahead of the 47-31 Dodgers. San Francisco has a road record of 24-16 this season while the Dodgers are 26-13 at home this campaign.
The Giants are coming off a loss to the Oakland Athletics while the Dodgers head to his two-game set with wins in each of their last three contests against the Chicago Cubs.
The San Francisco Giants were looking to sweep the Oakland Athletics in the “Battle of the Bay”. However, the A’s avoided the broom and lost 6-2 as -160 betting favorites. Sammy Long fell behind 2-0 after the top of the first and gave up two more runs. By the time San Francisco plated two runs in the 9th, the lead was too big to overcome already.
Two-time World Series champion Brandon Crawford leads the Giants with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs on the season. However, Crawford has struggled at Dodger Stadium throughout his career with only three home runs and a batting average of .204 in 249 plate appearances.
Anthony DeSclafani will open on top of the mound for the league-leading Giants. DeSclafani is 8-2 on the season with an ERA of 2.77 and a WHIP of 1.00. DeSclafani pitched seven scoreless innings in his last outing as the Giants beat the Angels as +115 road underdogs.
The LA Dodgers head to this series having won their last three games played, all against the Chicago Cubs. Prior to this current streak, the Dodgers were swept on the road in San Diego and were shut down in a combined no-hitter in Game 1 against the Cubs. The Dodgers are 3.5 games behind the Giants in the NL West team standings and they could use this series to catch up in a hurry.
Los Angeles is almost healthy these days, with only Cory Seager still out of commission. Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger have been terrific since coming back with Muncy hitting a two-run homer last Friday and Bellinger drilling two homers in the Cubs series.
Trevor Bauer gets the Game 1 start for the Dodgers. Bauer has a 7-5 record with an ERA of 2.57 and a WHIP of 0.97 in 16 starts this season. In his first career start against San Francisco earlier this season, Bauer did not allow a single run in 6.1 innings pitched, helping the Dodgers to a 2-1 win.
San Francisco is 5-1 in their last six games played. The Giants are 6-0 in their last six Monday games, 7-0 in their last seven games against the NL West, 5-1 in their last six games as underdogs, 8-2 in their last 10 games against an opponent with a winning record, and 15-4 in their last 19 games played on the road.
Los Angeles is 13-6 in their last 19 games played. The Dodgers are 90-32 in their last 122 games against a right-handed starter, 39-15 in their last 54 Game 1s of a series, 51-20 in their last 71 games as home favorites, 41-17 in their last 58 games against the NL West, and 51-20 in their last 71 games played at Dodger Stadium.
Head to head, the Giants have won the last three meetings between these two teams but the Dodgers are 6-3 overall in the last nine games.
The Giants have the league’s best record and they are the first team to reach the 50-win plateau this season. DeSclafani is also having an excellent year and with his next win, he will tie his career-high for victories in a single season.
However, De Sclafani has struggled to pitch against the Dodgers throughout his career, going 1-6 with an ERA of 6.43 and a WHIP of 1.595 in 42 innings against Los Angeles. He is, however, 1-1 with an ERA of 3.24 and a WHIP of 1.50 in three starts at Dodger Stadium.
Bauer is the league leader in innings pitched and strikeouts. He too is having a good season and doesn’t give up too many runs. Los Angeles is at home for this game, I’ll take my chances with the home team to win the game.
Prediction LA Dodgers
The total has gone over in each of the last four games played by the Giants against a right-handed starter. The over is 5-1 in their last six road games against an opponent with a winning record, 19-6-1 in their last 26 games against the National League East, and 5-2 in their last seven games against a pitcher with a WHIP lower than 1.50.
The over is 4-1 in the Dodgers’ last five games against the National League West, 4-1 in their last five games against an opponent with a winning percentage of .600 or better, 4-1-1 in their last six games against a starter with a WHIP less than 1.50, and 3-1-1 in their last five games after a win.
Head to head, the total has gone over in five out of their last six meetings. The over is 4-1-2 in their last seven games played at Dodger Stadium.
Both these offenses can put up plenty of runs on the scoreboard. They have excellent batting orders that should be able to produce more than enough runs to help the total hit the over.
The Dodgers rank third in the majors as they score an average of 5.05 runs per game this season. The Giants are right behind them at 4th place, averaging five runs per game this campaign.
DeScalfani’s other two starts against the Dodgers this season have gone over while Bauer is not unhittable this season. I expect both teams to drill several home runs in the game and those should help the score get over the posted total.
Prediction: Over 8
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