Giants vs. Dodgers NLDS Game 4 Preview and Best Bet

The San Francisco Giants can advance to their first NLCS since 2014 with a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. The Giants took two games to one lead over their NL West rivals in the best-of-five series, shutting out the Dodgers for the second time in three games. Los Angeles needs to win at home to push the series to a winner-take-all game five, back in San Francisco.

San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Tuesday, October 12, 2021 - 09:07 PM EDT at Dodger Stadium

The San Francisco Giants can advance to their first National League Championship Series since 2014 with a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night. The Giants took two games to one lead over their NL West rivals in the best-of-five Divisional Series with a 1-0 win on Monday. It was the second time in three games that the Giants have shut out the Dodgers.

Going back to 2014, the Giants have won three of their last four games when they could eliminate a postseason opponent and have finished off a foe in four of the last six opportunities to do so.

Los Angeles, the defending World Series champion, faces an elimination game on Tuesday. The Dodgers need to win at home to send the series back to San Francisco, pushing it to a winner-take-all game five. The Dodgers went 3-0 when facing elimination during last season’s playoff run and will look to keep that streak going this year.

The Dodgers will need to find their batting stroke to keep playing baseball this year. After getting shut out just once in their last 54 regular-season games, they’ve been blanked twice in three postseason contests.

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Looking to Finish Things Off

The Giants will try to finish off a series win over the Dodgers in the first-ever postseason matchup between the two hated rivals. According to past MLB postseason history, San Francisco has a big edge. Teams that won game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in best-of-five series have gone on to win the series 72 percent of the time.

The Giants got some unexpected heroes in Monday’s win. Evan Longoria, who had been hitless in his last 23 at-bats heading into the game, homered for the game’s only scoring. Brandon Crawford made an outstanding play of a hard-hit ball to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard, and Camilo Doval, a rookie, recorded a six-out save in just his second postseason appearance.

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The Giants are expected to go with right-hander Anthony DeSclafani in game four. He went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA this season, but he hasn’t been as consistent against the Dodgers. He gave up 22 earned runs in 27 innings against Los Angeles, including surrendering nine hits and 10 runs in 2.2 innings back in May. Last time out, in September, he threw six scoreless two-hit innings against the Dodgers, however.

“DeSclafani’s had a really nice year for us,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “You look back to the beginning of the season, you just kind of objectively look at his performance, he’s done a really nice job, and he’s prepared for this, he wants it, he’s ready and he’s the right choice for us.”

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Giving S.F. Their Best Shot

While it’s always disappointing to be facing postseason elimination, the way the Dodgers got there is even more of a letdown. Los Angeles has one of the top starting rotations in baseball, and the Giants have beaten the heart of it, earning wins in game one against Cy Young candidate Walker Buehler and in-game three against multiple Cy Young winner Max Scherzer.

The Dodgers are now out of options and may be facing a bullpen game for the first of potentially two elimination games. With the team facing the proverbial “no tomorrow,” all hands will be on deck for Game Four, and manager Dave Roberts said, “"everything's on the table," including bringing Buehler back on short rest.

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The Pick

The Giants have had the Dodgers number this year. Whatever Los Angeles has done, whether it’s acquiring Scherzer and Trea Turner at the trade deadline or winning 106 regular season games, the Giants have managed to stay one step ahead of them. For your MLB pick, look for that to continue for one more decisive night.

MLB Pick: Giants +145