Giants in must-win series vs. Dodgers
Giants in must-win series vs. Dodgers
Pablo Sandoval and the San Francisco Giants have enjoyed a solid season, but time is starting to run out if they want to see it through to the playoffs, making the weekend series with the Dodgers very crucial.
It’s make or break time for the San Francisco Giants, who currently find themselves 4.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies in the National League Wild Card chase. The Giants begin a pivotal nine-game stretch this weekend in which they’ll face the hated Dodgers, Rockies, and Dodgers again, so the time is now for San Francisco.
For its part, Los Angeles needs to watch its back in the NL West with Colorado only 2.5 games behind it in the division. Thing is, if the Giants have a successful series on their home turf, it could be the Dodgers they’ll be chasing down the stretch.
LA Dodgers (-105, series price) at San Francisco (-115)
If there’s a betting angle heading into the three-gamer between the Dodgers (83-58, +12.58 units) and Giants (76-64, +9.73 units), it’s that bettors should look to side with San Fran when it plays at home. The Giants are the most profitable home wager in all of baseball this season, up +15.94 units on the back of an impressive 45-23 record at AT&T Park.
L.A. is no slouch on the road, so take my opening proviso with a certain grain of salt. The Dodgers are 40-29 away from Chavez Ravine this season, and are third on the MLB moneylist in away profitability at +12.04 units. Los Angeles also leads the season series 7-5, and has split the six games played in San Francisco. This includes taking two of three from the Giants at AT&T Park in August, when the Dodgers outscored their hosts 15-7 over the three games.
Still, it’s hard to deny the trio of hurlers San Francisco is going to trot out to the mound over the weekend. As well as Matt Cain has pitched lately (and all season), he hasn’t thrown the ball at the level of either Jonathan Sanchez or Brad Penny lately. That’s saying something considering the Giants have gone 3-0 against the moneyline in Cain’s last three starts (3.15 ERA).
Totals bettors should look at the under, because both clubs have been failing oddsmakers’ expectations of late. Los Angeles is 6-21-3 O/U over its last 30 games, but most of those unders have come recently. The Dodgers are 1-7-2 O/U in their last 10 contests, and have hit the over in only two of their last 19 outings.
San Fran has also padded the wallets of under bettors recently, having played below the number in seven of their last eight games. The combination of stellar pitching and brutal hitting is to thank (or blame) for the under run by San Francisco: The Giants have a 2.59 team ERA and a feeble .220 batting average – including .199 against lefthanders – during the stretch.
Cain (13-4, 2.51 ERA) gets the ball in the opener (10:15 PM ET) against Hiroki Kuroda (5-6, 4.15 ERA), who has a 2.76 ERA over his last three outings. Oddsmakers have San Francisco as –140 favorites for the matchup, although they were available at –129 at one outlet as of Thursday night. L.A. is priced as a consensus +120 underdog, while the total is on the board at either seven or 7.5 runs.
With lefty Clayton Kershaw (bruised right shoulder) missing his scheduled start in Saturday’s Game 2 (9:05 PM ET), the Dodgers send Vicente Padilla (2-0, 2.76 ERA with L.A.) to the hill for his fourth start with his new club. The Giants lean on southpaw Sanchez (6-11, 4.03 ERA), who has a league-leading .165 batting average against since the All-Star break. Sanchez also has a 2.03 ERA over his last five outings, during which San Fran is 1-4 O/U.
Former Dodgers ace Penny (2-0, 1.20 ERA with San Fran) meets current top guy Chad Billingsley (12-9, 3.93 ERA) in the series finale on Sunday (4:05 PM ET). Billingsley is certainly a better long-term investment than Penny, but there’s no doubt which of the two is bringing it right now. Penny’s been lights out since coming to the Giants, while Billingsley is 0-2 with a 5.82 ERA over his last three starts.
Losers of three of its last four, San Francisco comes into the series without any injuries to their lineup. Los Angeles can’t say the same, with Casey Blake (strained left hamstring) and Jim Thome (sore left heel) questionable to see action this weekend.
Pablo Sandoval and the San Francisco Giants have enjoyed a solid season, but time is starting to run out if they want to see it through to the playoffs, making the weekend series with the Dodgers very crucial.
It’s make or break time for the San Francisco Giants, who currently find themselves 4.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies in the National League Wild Card chase. The Giants begin a pivotal nine-game stretch this weekend in which they’ll face the hated Dodgers, Rockies, and Dodgers again, so the time is now for San Francisco.
For its part, Los Angeles needs to watch its back in the NL West with Colorado only 2.5 games behind it in the division. Thing is, if the Giants have a successful series on their home turf, it could be the Dodgers they’ll be chasing down the stretch.
LA Dodgers (-105, series price) at San Francisco (-115)
If there’s a betting angle heading into the three-gamer between the Dodgers (83-58, +12.58 units) and Giants (76-64, +9.73 units), it’s that bettors should look to side with San Fran when it plays at home. The Giants are the most profitable home wager in all of baseball this season, up +15.94 units on the back of an impressive 45-23 record at AT&T Park.
L.A. is no slouch on the road, so take my opening proviso with a certain grain of salt. The Dodgers are 40-29 away from Chavez Ravine this season, and are third on the MLB moneylist in away profitability at +12.04 units. Los Angeles also leads the season series 7-5, and has split the six games played in San Francisco. This includes taking two of three from the Giants at AT&T Park in August, when the Dodgers outscored their hosts 15-7 over the three games.
Still, it’s hard to deny the trio of hurlers San Francisco is going to trot out to the mound over the weekend. As well as Matt Cain has pitched lately (and all season), he hasn’t thrown the ball at the level of either Jonathan Sanchez or Brad Penny lately. That’s saying something considering the Giants have gone 3-0 against the moneyline in Cain’s last three starts (3.15 ERA).
Totals bettors should look at the under, because both clubs have been failing oddsmakers’ expectations of late. Los Angeles is 6-21-3 O/U over its last 30 games, but most of those unders have come recently. The Dodgers are 1-7-2 O/U in their last 10 contests, and have hit the over in only two of their last 19 outings.
San Fran has also padded the wallets of under bettors recently, having played below the number in seven of their last eight games. The combination of stellar pitching and brutal hitting is to thank (or blame) for the under run by San Francisco: The Giants have a 2.59 team ERA and a feeble .220 batting average – including .199 against lefthanders – during the stretch.
Cain (13-4, 2.51 ERA) gets the ball in the opener (10:15 PM ET) against Hiroki Kuroda (5-6, 4.15 ERA), who has a 2.76 ERA over his last three outings. Oddsmakers have San Francisco as –140 favorites for the matchup, although they were available at –129 at one outlet as of Thursday night. L.A. is priced as a consensus +120 underdog, while the total is on the board at either seven or 7.5 runs.
With lefty Clayton Kershaw (bruised right shoulder) missing his scheduled start in Saturday’s Game 2 (9:05 PM ET), the Dodgers send Vicente Padilla (2-0, 2.76 ERA with L.A.) to the hill for his fourth start with his new club. The Giants lean on southpaw Sanchez (6-11, 4.03 ERA), who has a league-leading .165 batting average against since the All-Star break. Sanchez also has a 2.03 ERA over his last five outings, during which San Fran is 1-4 O/U.
Former Dodgers ace Penny (2-0, 1.20 ERA with San Fran) meets current top guy Chad Billingsley (12-9, 3.93 ERA) in the series finale on Sunday (4:05 PM ET). Billingsley is certainly a better long-term investment than Penny, but there’s no doubt which of the two is bringing it right now. Penny’s been lights out since coming to the Giants, while Billingsley is 0-2 with a 5.82 ERA over his last three starts.
Losers of three of its last four, San Francisco comes into the series without any injuries to their lineup. Los Angeles can’t say the same, with Casey Blake (strained left hamstring) and Jim Thome (sore left heel) questionable to see action this weekend.