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One of the best rivalries in baseball will restart on Monday night as the San Francisco Giants travel south to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two teams will only play a two-game set, but these games could turn out to be crucial to the race for the NL West lead. The Dodgers currently trail San Francisco by 3.5 games, making these two contests pivotal matchups. With the rivalry in full swing, it's time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Giants-Dodgers prediction and pick.
First, let's see what the lines are for tonight's game.
MLB Odds: Giants-Dodgers Odds
San Francisco Giants ML (+155)
Los Angeles Dodgers ML (-168)
Over 8 runs (-121)
Under 8 runs (+101)
Why The Giants Could Cover The Spread
San Francisco has been one of the biggest surprises in the MLB, fighting for the NL West when no one thought they had any chance at the division. A large part of their success can be attributed to their pitching staff, including starter Anthony DeSclafani, who will take the mound on Monday.
DeSclafani has been a pleasant surprise for the Giants. Expectations were low for him coming into this season and he's far outperformed them, pitching to the tune of a 2.77 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. DeSclafani almost always keeps San Francisco within striking distance of their opponent, and I expect he will continue that trend tonight.
Helping DeSclafani is the fact that the Dodgers are a slightly worse offensive team when playing at home. They average fewer hits and walks while striking out more. Interestingly, Los Angeles is also worse offensively when playing at night.
The Giants will have to face off against Trevor Bauer for the second time this season. Luckily for them, it seems that Bauer is slowing down as of late. He owns a 2.97 ERA and a .97 WHIP for the season, but both of those stats have taken a significant downturn over his last seven starts. Over that span, Bauer has earned a 3.05 ERA to pair with a WHIP of 1.26. The Giants have a tough lineup that can take advantage of Bauer's recent downturn.
Why The Dodgers Could Cover The Spread
Although the Dodgers haven't quite lived up to their preseason expectations, they're pretty close. The offseason addition of Bauer has certainly helped, and it will help again tonight in a huge matchup.
Despite his recent downturn, it's hard to bet against Bauer. He's been great all year long and was fantastic in his lone appearance against the Giants this season. He went six innings and didn't allow a single run while striking out 11 batters last time he faced San Francisco.
The Giants are also a worse offensive team when playing on the road, sporting lower averages in almost every single major offensive category.
While DeSclafani has been great this season, it does seem like the Dodgers have his number. Eight Los Angeles hitters have a batting average over .300 when facing DeSclafani. The Giants starter has faced the Dodgers twice this year, with neither outing going well. In his six innings against the Dodgers, DeSclafani allowed 12 runs.
To make things even better for the Dodgers, they are also significantly better against right-handed pitching. The Dodgers' stats improve in every category whenever they face a righty, making facing DeSclafani an appealing prospect for a Los Angeles lineup that looks to be hitting its stride.
Final Giants-Dodgers Prediction & Pick
In a huge divisional matchup, I'm taking the Dodgers. They've hit DeSclafani well in the past, while the same can't be said for the Giants about Bauer. It should be a close game, but Los Angeles will get a win and gain a little ground in the NL West.
FINAL PICK: Los Angeles Dodgers ML (-168)
