The San Francisco Giants are set to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game series in Los Angeles starting today. The Giants hope to make one final push in the National League West standings.
Although it’s unlikely that the Giants will win the division, it’s still possible. The Dodgers have clinched a playoff berth, but they have not yet clinched the division. As of today, the Giants have a 84-71 record and are 4.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West with seven games left in the season.
The Giants have a 99.5 percent chance to make the playoffs as of now, but they still have to play near perfect baseball in this series and the rest of the season to ensure a playoff spot. No pressure.
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The Giants currently have a 42-36 record on the road, and the Dodgers have a 40-35 record at home. The Dodgers have a much better record on the road (49-32), so perhaps the Giants can use this to their advantage.
The Giants faced the Dodgers abouta week and a half ago in San Francisco. That series was emotionally draining for many fans, as the Giants got off to a great start to the series on September 12th by winning 9-0.
The Giants then suffered a brutal 17-0 loss on September 13th, in which they gave up 24 hits, themost hits by any team at AT&T Parkever. This loss ended the Giants’ 10-game winning streak at home, and the 17 runs they surrendered were the most runs scored by an opponent at AT&T Park ever.
In the last game of the series on September 14th, the Giants couldn’t overcome the emotional beatdown from the day before and lost 4-2. They committed a couple careless, avoidable errors early in the game, which sealed their fate, given the fact that they were facing the nearly unbeatbleClayton Kershaw.
Now, the rivalry continues in Los Angeles. The Giants won’t have their home crowd to energize them, so they will have to get quality starts out of their starting pitchers, execute with runners in scoring position, and play perfect defense to get these important wins on the road.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the pitching matchups for this series:
Monday Sept. 22nd at 7:10 pm PT:Jake Peavy(6-4, 2.16 ERA) vs.Dan Haren(13-11, 4.14 ERA)
Jul 27, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jake Peavy (43) attempts to tag out Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon (9) at home plate during the fifth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Even though he hasn’t been a Giant that long, Peavy has beenexcited about this startfor a while now. Peavy has gone 14-3 against the Dodgersin his career, and he has a 7-1 record and a 2.85 ERA in 13 career starts at Dodgers Stadium. He hasone startagainst the Dodgers this season, and he gave up six hits and four runs (three earned runs) in six innings.
Dodgers managerDon Mattinglydecided he’d rather start Haren against the Giants than in the series finale they just played against the Chicago Cubs, so Mattingly gave him an extra day of rest before this start. Haren hasn’t faced the Giants so far this season, butin his last outing, he gave up five earned runs in five innings in a loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Tuesday Sept. 23rd at 7:10 pm PT:Madison Bumgarner(18-9, 2.91 ERA) vs.Zack Greinke(15-8, 2.76 ERA)
Infour starts against the Dodgers this season, Bumgarner has gone 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA.In his last start against the Dodgerson September 12th, he pitched seven scoreless innings, struck out nine, and gave up just three hits.
Greinke gave up nine hits and four runs in five inningsin his last startagainst the Cubs, but he has a 4-0 record and a 1.38 ERA infour starts against the Giantsthis season.
Wednesday Sept. 24th at 7:10 pm PT:Tim Hudson(9-12, 3.52 ERA) vs. Clayton Kershaw (20-3, 1.80 ERA)
In the month of September, Hudson has a 9.92 ERA in 16.1 innings. Inhis last start against the Dodgerson September, he lasted just one inning and gave up six earned runs and eight hits.
Every Giants fan knows about Kershaw’s dominance over the Giants, and the numbers prove that, as he has a 2-0 record and a 1.88 ERAagainst them this seasonin three starts. However, Kershaw struggled a little in his last start against the Cubs, as the Cubs used a verypatient approachto try to beat him.
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