Madison Bumgarner (4-2, 3.20 ERA) and Clayton Kershaw (2-2, 4.24 ERA) take the hill in the last of a three-game series between the San Francisco Giants (22-18) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (24-15) at AT&T Park. The Giants won the last game 4-0, continuing a five-game winning streak. Action begins at 3:45 p.m. ET on Thursday, May. 21 and can be seen on SportsNet LA and CSN-BAY.
Bumgarner is 12-5 with a 2.46 ERA in his appearances against the Dodgers, but goes up against a quality Los Angeles offense which is batting .261 this season. Brandon Crawford (.298, 20 Rs, 6 HRs, 26 RBIs, 2 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 3 for 4 with one RBI. Kershaw is 14-6 with a 1.51 ERA against the Giants in his career. He takes on a good San Francisco offense that’s batting .268.
Los Angeles takes on San Francisco as a -120 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at five runs. The Giants have an overall money line of +210 and a record as the underdog of 11-8. Within its division, San Francisco has a 3-8 as the underdog and a 12-14 SU. The Giants have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 5.7 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 3.8 runs per game. San Francisco strikes out the least of any team in the NL at home, with only 6.1 per game. As for the pitchers, the Giants are the second-best team in the NL at limiting hits during home games, allowing only 8.1 hits per game to their opponents this season.
Over in the other dugout, Los Angeles is coming in with an overall money line of +322 and an impressive record of 22-13 as the favorite. They have been playing solid baseball as favorite with a 17-10 record against NL West opponents, and a 17-11 record SU. Offensively, the Dodgers have really sputtered in division games. They have decreased their season average of 4.9 runs per game by averaging 4.3 in those contests. The Dodgers can change the game with one swing of the bat, ranking second in the league with 54 home runs. Los Angeles is excellent at drawing walks with an NL-best 4.1 per game. Los Angeles’s pitching staff is one of the top in the NL, with a 3.20 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Dodgers are one of the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.16 for the season.
The Giants have controlled the season series, 6-2. The Giants have a great 4-1 record at home (6-3 overall) against left-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Kershaw takes the mound.
Predictions: SU Winner – LAD, O/U – Over
Notes
San Francisco won its last game in a shutout, its seventh of the season. Los Angeles has been shut out three times this season.
When the Giants play into extra innings, they have a 3-1 record. The Dodgers are 2-2 when their games exceed nine innings.
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 7-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When outhit, the Giants and the Dodgers both have records of 3-10.
San Francisco ranks near the bottom of the league at 25th when it comes to home runs, hitting 29 this season. Los Angeles ranks in the top five at second with 54.
Ranking seventh, Los Angeles is in the top 10 of the league in hits, notching 8.66 per game. San Francisco ranks in the top five at third with 9.33.
Ranking first in on-base plus slugging percentage, Los Angeles has an OPS of .804 this season. San Francisco ranks eighth with an OPS of .725.
When the Dodgers allow at least one home run, they are 12-10. When the Giants allow one or more homers, they have a 9-12 record.
