It’s the best against the worst of the National League West later tonight in Dodgers Stadium as the San Francisco Giants (8-11) pay the Los Angeles Dodgers (11-7) a visit. The Giants, however, won’t have any of Los Angeles’ dominance of the division, as they’ve just recently swept the Dodgers in a three-game series at AT&T Park. Will the Giants extend their win streak against LA? Or will the Dodgers clobber San Francisco? Read on for more about this game below. You can also click here for Game 1 of the Blue Jays- Red Sox series.
[sc:MLBArticles ]San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Preview
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
When: Monday, April 27, 2015, 10:10 PM ET
Line: San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers – view all MLB lines
Betting on the San Francisco Giants
After an embarrassing eight-game skid, San Francisco is finally making some strides in restoring its pride in the National League West, where the Giants are currently last in the standings. That being said, there’s still a lot of work to do for the Giants, who are 4-1 in their last five games. That stretch includes a three-game series sweep of the Dodgers last week at home.
[sc:MLB240banner ]One of the areas the Giants will have to improve on is their offense. The Giants are pretty decent on pitching, placing 13th in the majors in ERA (3.70) and fifth in quality starts (11), but an anemic offense is weighing the team down thus far this season. Tim Lincecum, tonight’s starter for the Giants, is hoping his teammates’ offense will come alive again to give him enough run support just as it had in San Francisco 6-2 win over LA on April 21.
Outfielder Justin Maxwell was tremendous in that game, as he went 2-for-3 (triple and home run) against Dodgers’ starter Brett Anderson. Maxwell has hit well in limited at bats thus far in his career against Anderson, as he is 3-for-5 opposite the LA’s lefty. Furthermore, Maxwell has been among the hottest Giants hitters of late, as he is 7-for-20 with three homers and seven homers over the Giants’ last five games.
Angel Pagan, meanwhile, is on a higher level than Maxwell in terms of hitting. Pagan is an amazing 10-for-23 (.435) during San Francisco’s past five outings, which includes his 4-for-6 performance in the Giants’ 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.
Lincecum (1-1, 2.00 ERA) got his first win of the season in the first meeting with the Dodgers, where he only surrendered an earned run on five hits. With the win, Lincecum raised his record to 10-7 in his career against LA to go along with a 3.31 ERA. Lincecum will aim for his first win on the road later tonight at Dodgers Stadium, where San Francisco is 3-1 in the right-hander’s last four starts there.
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Betting on the Los Angeles Dodgers
Revenge is best served at home, and it’s something the Dodgers will look to do when they welcome San Francisco for a three-game series opener later tonight at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers are 3-2 in their last five home games against San Francisco.
On the mound for LA is Brett Anderson, whose most recent start was the aforementioned Dodgers’ loss to San Francisco.
In that game, Anderson (1-1, 5.40 ERA) struggled mightily, as he gave up four earned runs on nine hits in four innings of work. He struck out just one batter, but didn’t give up a walk. Facing the Giants again, Anderson will need Los Angeles’ batters to step up their production at the plate. After all, the Dodgers are among the top offensive teams in the majors at this point of the season.
The Dodgers are currently eighth in the majors in runs (83), fourth in batting average (.275), second in on-base percentage (.356), and first in slugging percentage (.490). The team’s ability to get on base was on full display in the first meeting with San Francisco, as the Dodgers went 7-for-30 with six walks. What didn’t show up, however, was their hitters’ ability to drive in runs, with the Dodgers only having a single RBI.
In Game 1 of the upcoming series with the Giants, LA’s hitters Adrian Gonzalez and Alex Guerrero will have to bring their power at the plate. Gonzalez, despite going 0-for-3 in the first meeting with the Giants, remains a big threat for Lincecum, as the Dodgers’ slugger is 15-for-61 (.299) with two homers against the two-time Cy Young Award winner. Guerrero, meanwhile, is currently on a tear, hitting 6-for-8 with three home runs and five RBIs over the Dodgers’ last five games.
Writer’s Prediction
Los Angeles wins, 6-4.
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