Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants Betting Preview
NL West rivals will clash in the first of a three-game series on Friday as the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the San Francisco Giants. The Giants will host this one at Oracle Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 10:15 pm ET.
After dropping the first game of their last series, the Dodgers recovered to pick up back-to-back wins, including a 11-9 win on Thursday over the Chicago White Sox.
Tyler Anderson struggled, giving up four runs in three innings, but the bats bailed him out. Max Muncy hit his fourth home run of the season and drove in five runs, while Freddie Freeman went three for five with three runs batted in of his own.
For the Giants, they lost their last series against the Rockies after dropping the rubber match 4-2 on Thursday.
Logan Webb took the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits over 5.2 innings of work. Offensively, the offense scraped together seven hits, but they struck out eight times and left 11 runners on base.
The Dodgers are the favorites on Friday despite playing on the road. They are -162 to win while the Giants’ moneyline sits at +136. The runline features the Giants +1.5 (-125), and the over/under for total runs is eight.
Dodgers Trying To Create Separation In Division
At 37-20, the Dodgers have had an impeccable start to the season, and they lead the NL West by two games. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, though, both San Diego and San Francisco remain in striking distance. With the weekend series against the Giants, the Dodgers are hoping to create some separation against last year’s division winner.
Taking the mound for the Dodgers in the opener is righty Walker Buehler. This season, he is 6-2 in 11 games with a 3.84 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and he has 52 strikeouts in 61 innings.
Despite his strong stat line, Buehler has been roughed up a bit lately. In his last two starts, he is 0-2 and has given up nine runs in 8.1 innings.
Offensively, Mookie Betts has been outstanding this season. He is hitting .290/.368/.563 with 16 home runs, 39 runs batted in, and 52 runs scored.
With the likes of Trea Turner (.303 avg, 46 RBI, 13 SB), Freddie Freeman (.291 avg., 33 RBI), and Will Smith (26 RBI, 22 R), this is one of the deepest lineups in all of baseball.
Giants Look To Chip Away At NL West Deficit
While the Giants are not on pace to put up 107 wins like last season, they are quietly having another solid season. At 30-26, they have the sixth-best record in the National League and sit 6.5 games back of the Dodgers.
With three against the Dodgers this weekend, the Giants have a great opportunity to chip away at their deficit, especially playing at Oracle Park, where the Giants are 14-13.
The Giants will send Jakob Junis to the mound to counter the Dodgers Friday. In eight games, Junis is 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and has 35 strikeouts in 43 innings of work.
He picked up the win in his last outing after giving up just one run on two hits in six innings of work against Miami. He walked two but had eight strikeouts in the victory.
Joc Pederson has been red hot through the first part of the season. In 141 at bats, he is hitting .262/.338/.574 with 13 home runs, 30 runs batted in, and 24 runs scored. Pederson has also had some success off of Buehler, going two for eight with a home run.
Others that have had some success against the Dodgers’ righty include Mike Yastrzemski (.300 in 20 at bats, three RBI) and Darin Ruf (.429 in seven at bats).
Trends Support A Dodgers Win
It is hard to ignore the trends when it comes to this matchup. Not only are the Dodgers 6-1 in their last seven road games, but they are 5-1 in their last six games against the Giants.
Throw on top of that the fact that they will send the superior pitcher to the mound in Walker Buehler, and this is a great opportunity for the Dodgers to pick up the opener on the road.
It is worth noting that Buehler has struggled as of late, and Jakob Junis has been surprisingly strong for the Giants, but this still seems like a game the Dodgers should take.
It may be too much to take the Dodgers covering the -1.5 runline, but taking them to win straight up (-162) is a solid bet.
