Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants Betting Preview
Monday starts a four-game series between NL West rivals as the Los Angeles Dodgers (68-33) and the San Francisco Giants (51-51). The Giants will host this one at Oracle Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 9:45 pm ET.
The Dodgers come into this one having won three of four in their last series against the Rockies, including a 7-3 win in Sunday’s finale. In the win, Tony Gonsolin went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out six.
Offensively, Los Angeles managed 12 hits, including eight combined between Freddie Freeman, James Outman, and Cody Bellinger. Outman also hit his first home run in this one.
The Giants also had success in their last series, taking three of four from the Chicago Cubs. In the finale, San Francisco won 4-0 on Sunday Night Baseball. Carlos Rodon dominated, throwing seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out 10.
Tommy La Stellas and Jason Vosler both had two hits, while Vosler and Austin Wynns both had two runs batted in.
The Dodgers are the favorites in this one despite playing on the road. They are -132 to win while the Giants’ moneyline sits at +112. The runline features San Francisco +1.5 (-156), and the over/under for total runs is 7.5.
Los Angeles Trying To Put The Nail In The Giants’ Coffin
At 68-33, the Dodgers don’t have much competition right now in the NL West, as they are 12 games ahead of the San Diego Padres. With the Giants teetering on whether they can compete for a Wild Card spot or not, the Dodgers are hoping to put to rest any chances that San Francisco can compete for the postseason.
Manager Dave Roberts will send southpaw Andrew Heaney to the mound for the opening game Monday. In four starts this season, Heaney is 1-0 with a 0.47 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and has 27 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
Heaney has dealt with injuries all season and will be making just his second start since June 19. In his last start, on July 27, he went four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, three walks, and four strikeouts to the Washington Nationals.
Offensively, this team is loaded with stars such as Mookie Betts (.266 avg, 23 HR, 52 RBI, 71 R), Trea Turner (.309 avg, 16 HR, 73 RBI, 61 R, 18 SB), Freddie Freeman (.325 avg, 15 HR, 66 RBI, 70 R), and Will Smith (.261 avg, 15 HR, 53 RBI, 40 R) are all having sensational years.
In fact, the Dodgers currently rank second in scoring averaging 5.19 runs per game (5.36 on the road).
Giants Focusing On Game And Trade Deadline
Currently, four games back of the third Wild Card spot, reports have indicated that the Giants are willing to listen on veterans like Carlos Rodon, Joc Pederson, and others while also looking to avoid going into a full-scale rebuild by adding major league-ready talent.
While President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi and General Manager Scott Harris focus on Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Giants’ players will focus on taking down their rivals.
On the mound for San Francisco, Monday will be 25-year-old righty Logan Webb. In 21 games this season, Webb is 9-4 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, and he has 108 strikeouts in 130 innings.
Two starts ago, Webb pitched phenomenally against the Dodgers, allowing just one run over six innings. Unfortunately, he was roughed up in his last start, giving up four runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings in a loss to the Diamondbacks.
With Joc Pederson out due to a concussion, Wilmer Flores is the Giants’ most accomplished hitter to date. He is hitting .248/.328/.445 with 15 home runs and a team-leading 55 runs batted in and 53 runs scored.
Take Dodgers To Win
There are a lot of variables in this one. First, Logan Webb has the potential to be absolutely dominant in any start. If Monday is one of those days, San Francisco can absolutely win this one.
Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how long Andrew Heaney can go. Making just his second start since returning from injury, he could be limited in how many pitches he can throw.
Still, it is hard to ignore just how dominant the Dodgers’ offense has been, and with Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, and Evan Longoria out with injuries, San Francisco might not have the firepower to keep up.
If you think Monday will be Logan Webb’s night, there is a lot of value in taking the Giants; however, the more likely route to success is taking Los Angeles at -132 on the moneyline.
