Dodgers and Giants Set for National League West Division Showdown
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, a historic rivalry, are set to take place in Los Angeles starting Friday night. Two teams that are atop the National League, both looking to grab sole possession of first place in the NL West division. The Dodgers come in with a 41-28 record and go into the series riding off a series win over the San Diego Padres. Though the Dodgers did suffer one of their worst losses of the season Tuesday night, they bounced back the next day in a convincing win over those same Padres. The Giants are riding an even higher wave. As of right now, they were winners of seven straight before getting walked off by the Colorado Rockies in a stunner just a few moments ago. One notable point for the Giants is that six of their seven straight wins were by just one run.
Friday 6/13 - 7:10 p.m. PST
There’s no better way to kickstart the season series between these two bitter foes than an ace showdown between Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers and Logan Webb for the Giants. Both righties are coming off impressive starts, with Yamamoto dealing six shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. In comparison, Webb delivered six innings of work and struck out 10 against the Atlanta Braves in his last appearance. Yamamoto has pitched once against the Giants in his career, and it was a rough one, going five innings, allowing four runs on five hits. Webb himself has a record of 4-6 with an ERA of four and 71 strikeouts in 16 regular-season appearances against the Dodgers in his career. Webb has struggled immensely in his last two starts at Dodger Stadium, going a combined eight innings pitched while allowing nine runs.
Saturday 6/14 - 7:10 p.m. PST
The second night kicks off with Clayton Kershaw getting the starting nod for the men in blue. Kershaw is no stranger to these Giants, boasting a career record of 26-16 with an ERA of two and 408 strikeouts in 60 regular-season appearances versus the Giants in his career. It’s safe to say the future Hall of Famer has owned San Francisco throughout his career. He delivered his best start of the season against the Cardinals in his last appearance, going five innings, allowing just one run and striking out seven. Landen Roupp will be getting the ball for the Giants in this one. In his two short career appearances against the Dodgers before becoming a full-time starter, it was a tale of two sides. He pitched two shutout innings in his first appearance, and in his second one, he struggled, allowing three runs over two innings.
Sunday 6/15 - 4:00 p.m. PST
Once again, Los Angeles will play on Sunday Night Baseball, with Dustin May taking the mound in the final game. It’s been an up-and-down season for May; he has had moments where he looked great and stretches where he has looked out of it. In his last start, which came against the Padres Monday night, he went a total of five innings, allowing six runs, five of which were earned, while allowing six hits and striking out just one batter. For the Dodgers, they can only hope May brings his A-game, as it could be a crucial game to see who leaves this series atop the NL West standings. The Giants will throw out the lefty Kyle Harrison. Harrison, like May, has had an up-and-down career and has struggled with inconsistencies. Harrison carries a season four and a half ERA with a 1-1 record over eight starts. He has been impressive in three starts against the Dodgers, even carrying a no-hitter through the fifth inning in one of his previous starts against Los Angeles.
Offense Will Be The Main Key
The Dodgers need their big three of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman desperately in this series to show out. Even a great series performance from Teoscar Hernández can boost the offensive performance. Although Hernández has been struggling, he hit a huge home run in the team’s series win over the Padres Wednesday afternoon. For the Dodgers, hopefully, that’s a great sign that he gets things going. The Giants have relied on their pitching staff all year long to carry them to the current spot they are in at this point. The Giants rank fifth in terms of pitching in Major League Baseball. While their offense has been the complete opposite, ranking towards the bottom half in most offensive statistics.
