Madison Bumgarner (18-8, 2.88 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants (81-74) square off against Clayton Kershaw (15-7, 2.25 ERA) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (87-68) in a game that has the potential to be low scoring. This is the second of a four-game series at AT&T Park. The Giants won the last game 3-2 and San Francisco leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 10:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sep. 29 and can be seen on CSBy and SNLA.
Bumgarner pitched 7.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering three runs, striking out nine and walking three in a 5-4 defeat to the Padres. Buster Posey (.324, 74 Rs, 19 HRs, 94 RBIs, 2 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 5 with one run. Kershaw went 5.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out nine and walking one in a 6-3 win over the Diamondbacks in his most recent start. Andre Ethier (.296, 52 Rs, 14 HRs, 48 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 2 yesterday.
The odds for San Francisco and Los Angeles are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available. Within its division, San Francisco has a record of 35-34 SU. The Giants are the third-best team in the NL at limiting hits to their opponents, allowing only 8.3 hits per game so far this season.
The Dodgers are 41-28 against NL West rivals. Los Angeles is excellent at not striking out with just 7.8 per game, ranking fifth in the NL. The Dodgers allow 3.7 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 5.6 runs per game during that span. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Dodgers are one of the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.20 for the season.
The Giants lead the season series, 9-6. The Giants have a 20-20 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Kershaw takes the mound. Bumgarner (LHP) will be on the hill against the Dodgers, who have a 19-17 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – SF
Notes
The Dodgers lost their last game by a one-run margin. In games decided by one run, the Giants are 17-27. The Dodgers are 21-25 in close games this season.
When leading after 7 innings, San Francisco is 38-23, while Los Angeles is 29-27.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Dodgers are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Giants have a 17-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they are outhit, the Giants are 5-48. The Dodgers have a 15-50 record when opponents outhit them.
San Francisco ranks near the bottom of the league at 27th when it comes to home runs, hitting 131 this season. Los Angeles ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 180.
San Francisco ranks at the top of the league when it comes to hits with 9.26 per game this season. Los Angeles ranks in the top half at 13th with 8.34.
Ranking eighth, San Francisco is in the top 10 of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.739). Los Angeles ranks in the top five at fifth with an OPS of .745.
When the Dodgers allow at least one home run, they are 38-49, well-matched with the Giants who are 38-54 when allowing at least one homer.
