With the Red Sox toiling at the bottom of the AL East standings, the best rivalry in baseball may be over on the west coast where the Los Angeles Dodgers (37-28, -$153) and San Francisco Giants (35-31, $45) sit atop the NL West.
The two teams will kick off another instalment of the rivalry on Friday with the first of three.
ODDS ANALYSIS
These two teams have already played nine times this year with the Giants taking seven of those nine games.
San Francisco will look to gain ground on the Dodgers with continued head-to-head success on Friday.
While the Dodgers’ head-to-head record with the Giants is lacking, they have struggled overall in their last four games as well, dropping three of them, right on the heels of a four game winning streak. Of course, that is better than San Francisco.
The Giants snapped a five game losing streak on Tuesday with a 6-2 win over the Seattle Mariners that put an end to their nine game home losing streak.
PITCHING MATCHUP
This series kicks off with a couple starters on the mound that were not supposed to be a part of either team’s original starting rotation.
For the Dodgers, that starter is Mike Bolsinger.
The former Diamondback has actual been a huge blessing for this Los Angeles team littered with pitching injuries.
The 27-year old right-hander has had a killer start to his season going 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.104 WHIP in eight major league starts, spanning 48 innings.
In his only start this year against the Giants, Bolsinger went five and two-thirds, allowing just one earned run on five hits. In his last start, he allowed just two earned runs, but threw 89 pitches in just four and two-thirds innings.
Matching up against Bolsinger will be the pitcher that tossed this season’s first no-hitter, Chris Heston.
Heston, a fellow 27-year old righty, is 6-5 with a 3.76 ERA and 1.253 WHIP in 13 starts and 79 innings.
Heston’s no-no came on June 9 and he followed it up five days later with a five inning outing against the Diamondbacks, allowing just two runs, but tossing 102 pitches.
QUOTE TO NOTE
After snapping their losing streak on Tuesday, Giants’ third baseman Matt Duffy provided some insight on what was different about this game, saying:
“The most important thing today was getting on the board first before them. That’s something we haven’t been able to do this past week.”
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
On the mound, these two teams matchup pretty well on Friday with one pitcher having a no-hitter on his resume and the other boasting the superior ERA.
At the plate, these two teams are also pretty evenly matched, separated by just 16 total runs scored on the year. In the month of June, the Dodgers are averaging 4.13 runs per game while the Giants are averaging 3.64.
San Francisco does most of its scoring thanks to timely hitting and a balanced lineup top-to-bottom. The entire infield has an OPS+ over 120, as does catcher Buster Posey and outfielder Nori Aoki. The only weakness on this team is the rest of the outfield while Hunter Pence and Gregor Blanco are sidelined.
Los Angeles, much like the Giants, also boast a very deep lineup. For the Dodgers, however, it is more about power than just the quality at bats of San Francisco.
The Dodgers are second in all of baseball in home runs with 83. Rookie center fielder Joc Pederson leads the way with 17, but gets help from Alex Guerrero (10) and Adrian Gonzalez (11) among others.
The team has five starters with an OPS+ at or above 150 and all of its starting lineup is north of 110 save for shortstop where Jimmy Rollins is the weakest link.
PROP TALK
If you are looking for someone to collect a hit or two individually, don’t overlook Giants’ second baseman Joe Panik. The young middle infielder burst on the season a year ago and was instrumental in the postseason. He is putting together a very good season this year and is hitting very well in June with a .345 average and .517 slugging percentage.
In his career against Bolsinger, he has found success in a small sample size, going 2 for 6 with a pair of walks.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
This should be a close game as the pitching and offenses match up well. The Dodgers have been better of late and have a more powerful lineup which should give them the edge, but the Giants have had the Dodgers number this season.
In addition, San Francisco has been quite streaky this year and with a win on Tuesday, may have just broken out of their slump.
San Francisco 6, Los Angeles 5
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled for Friday, June 19, 2015, at 10:10 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
