Tonight, the LA Dodgers (69-33) continue their road series against the San Fransisco Giants (51-52) at Oracle Park. This will be game 2 of their 4 game series between these two teams. Last night, the Dodgers had a resounding victory of 8-2 with a strong set of easy runs put together by Turner, Freeman, and Smith.
Currently, the Dodgers are one of the top teams in baseball and at the top of the NL West by 12 games. LA has comfortably placed its spot in the playoffs pending a total meltdown before October. The Giants are also in the NL West but are well behind the wild card spot and have a below .500 record.
In this matchup, the Dodgers have favored -148 odds on the money line (bet $148 to win $100) over the Giants and their +126 odds (bet $100 to win $126). The current total is set at 8 runs and the run line favors the Dodgers at plus money with +115 odds at -1.5 (Dodgers win by 2 or more runs, you win the run line bet). Where does the edge lie for tonight? Let’s look at some betting trends before analyzing both sides.
Betting Trends via Covers.com:
- The Dodgers are 6-0 in Anderson’s last 6 starts during game 2 of a series.
- The Dodgers are 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
- The under is 3-1-1 in the last 5 meetings in San Francisco.
- The Giants are 0-8 in their last 8 vs. National League West.
- The Giants are 10-1 in their last 11 home games vs. a left-handed starter.
Dodgers Analysis:
Pitching for the Dodgers tonight is the dominant left-hander Tyler Anderson. Anderson has an overall record of 11-1 on the season in 19 games pitched. During this season, he has only accumulated an ERA of 2.61 with 91 strikeouts, ranking him 11th overall in the MLB in ERA and establishing himself as the 2nd best pitcher on the Dodgers just behind Tony Gonsolin.
Anderson last pitched against the Giants on July 22nd of this year in LA. He and the Dodgers went on to win that game 5-1. Anderson threw six full innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits and six strikeouts according to statmuse.com. Anderson’s only loss of the season was against the Rockies at the end of June when the Dodgers lost 4-0 in Colorado.
When Tyler starts on the mound, the Dodgers have been one of the best teams in the MLB. Not only that, but the Dodgers are 34-18 on the road this season with the 2nd best batting average in the MLB on the road with .264. LA is 8-2 in their last 10 road games and averaging 6.9 runs on 10.4 hits per game.
Giants Analysis:
The Giants will pitch their left-hander Alex Wood against LA tonight. Wood has a record of 7-8 on the year with an ERA of 4.11 and 99 strikeouts. Alex has pitched in 20 games this season for the Giants. His last start and win came against the cubs on July 28th in San Francisco. Wood pitched 6.2 innings and gave up only two earned runs on two hits and three strikeouts in that game against Chicago.
Alex has not beaten the Dodgers as a starter since 2015 when he played for the Atlanta Braves. Since he started pitching against LA last year with the Giants, he is 0-4 in his last four starts against the Dodgers. His last start against LA was on July 23rd of this year when he gave up two earned runs in four innings on four hits and two walks.
The Giants have lost their last five matchups against the Dodgers. San Francisco’s last win against LA goes back to June 12th of this season in a 2-0 victory at home. It is worth noting that the Giants have only beaten the Dodgers at home this season. The Giants are 7-3 in their last 10 home games, averaging 4.2 runs on 8.1 hits.
Final Analysis and Pick:
While the underdog in me wants to take the Giants tonight, the Dodgers have too much power in their hitting. When you accompany this with Anderson’s dominance this season, in my opinion, this is a no-brainer to pick LA in this matchup. I do believe that this game is going to be lower scoring, especially in the first half of the game. Both of these pitchers have shown success against each other to get balls in play and let the defense get them out of tough situations. I would look for LA to take a lead of maybe one or two runs by the 5th inning with Anderson throwing almost lights out.
The Dodgers have shown that they are a championship-caliber team again this season and they should prove that tonight against the Giants. My pick for tonight will be the Dodgers on the money line. I may have smaller money on the under but stick with LA to win the game outright in a low-scoring affair.
Prediction: Dodgers 4 Giants 3
Best Bet: LA Dodgers ML -148 (1 Unit)
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