ODDS ANALYSIS
National League West rivals meet for the third time this season when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit the San Francisco Giants Tuesday in the first of three games. The Dodgers are looking for a little payback after getting swept in San Francisco Apr. 21-23 scoring two runs in each of the three games. The Dodgers are in the black 4.32 units on the moneyline this season but were down 3.71 units in that series. LA had trouble with Colorado and Miami going 4-3 in a just concluded seven-game homestand against those clubs ending in the red 1.92 units. They did exceed the total in six of the seven games and the over is 8-2 in LA’s last 10 games and 23-12-2 on the season.
The Giants are riding a hot streak right now that’s carried them to second-place in the NL West with a suddenly potent offensive attack. SF scored 30 runs in the final three games against Cincinnati, aided by the return of outfielder Hunter Pence, and obviously cashed the over each time. But it’s been a struggle for the Giants most of the season to score despite their NL-leading team average. The Giants rank near the bottom of the NL in runs scored and the under is 19-17-2 on the season and 13-7 in SF’s 20 home games. The under is also 5-2 in Tim Hudson’s seven starts this year.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Los Angeles’ Carlos Frias (3-0, 2.89 ERA) allowed three runs on six hits with 5 K’s against the Marlins on Wednesday in a no-decision. He will be making his fourth start since replacing the injured Brandon McCarthy in the rotation and has walked just three while striking out 14 in 16.1 innings as a starter.
Frias got the win in relief against the Giants on Apr. 27 giving up a hit in 1.1 scoreless innings of an 8-3 game. He’ll be making his first career start and third appearance against the Giants.
Tim Hudson (1-3, 4.57 ERA) took a no-decision at Houston Wednesday giving ups six hits and three runs with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings. He bounced back from a rough outing against Miami on May 7 when he allowed 15 hits and six runs in 6.2 innings.
Hudson missed the Dodgers in two earlier series and will be facing them for the first time this season. He’s 6-6 with a 4.03 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 17 career starts against LA.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“That’s what happens when you’ve got four or five guys swinging the bat well. This a little bit more like who we are. We’re going to be more consistent than we were early in the season.” – Manager Bruce Bochy said Sunday after the Giants beat Cincinnati 9-8 for their third straight win
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
The Giants scored 30 runs in the final three games of a four-game set at Cincinnati over the weekend and we’re not quite sure if the offense has found its rhythm or the Reds pitching staff is that bad. We tend to lean towards the latter in this one. Despite their lofty team batting average – an NL high .269 – the Giants are at the bottom of the league in runs scored, mainly because they lead the league in runners stranded and hit around .230 with runners in scoring position. It won’t be easy for SF to continue its recent surge of run production against a Dodgers staff that limits opponent base runners with the second fewest walks allowed and with All-Star Kenley Jansen back in the closers role.
PROP TALK
Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has been around the NL West for a majority of his career and is quite familiar with the Giants and manager Bruce Bochy, his former field boss in San Diego, but ATT Park is one venue Gonzalez has failed to conquer on a consistent basis. Gonzalez had that blistering start to the year when he clubbed five home runs in the first three games and was hitting over .600 after one week. We knew those numbers wouldn’t last, but Gonzalez continues to hit leading the team with a .356 average. He’s hit just four home runs in the last 33 games with two of those coming against the Giants. Gonzo also has 10 hits in 27 career at-bats against Tim Hudson with a pair of home runs and we like the Dodgers first baseman to be the catalyst for his team’s offense with a few hits and RBIs.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The depth of the Dodgers roster is getting tested early as they continue to patch a starting rotation together after the loss of Brandon McCarthy for the season and the continued setbacks of Hyun-jin Ryu. Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford are both on the DL taking a good part of the team’s offense with them, but the Dodgers have survived with promising outings from Carlos Frias, who’s 2-0 in three starts. Joc Pederson has benefitted from the increased playing time with a team-high 10 homers and the Dodgers still have Adrian Gonzalez.
Hunter Pence is back and so is the Giants offense. Pence returned over the weekend at Cincinnati and the Giants won the final three of a four-game set with Pence hitting .500 over the last two games with his first home run of the year Sunday. SF totaled 20 runs over the last two games and has the NL’s best hitting club at .269. This is not a good hitting team, however, and their recent hot streak won’t last. In fact it ends Tuesday as the division-leading Dodgers gain ground over the G Men.
Los Angeles 6, San Francisco 2
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