San Francisco Giants Try to Close Gap Against Dodgers

The San Francisco Giants are back! This series with the Los Angeles Dodgers will have a completely different outlook for the Giants. The first time these two met in AT&T Park, San Francisco was 4-10, dead last in the National League West, had dropped nine out of 10 ballgames, and doom and gloom filled the air.

The orange and black shocked the world as they swept the first-place Dodgers in three straight games. That series was a jumpstart for the Giants, as they’ve won 16 out of 24 contest since the miserable start, and are two games over .500, at 20-18, for the first time since they were 3-1. The doom and gloom has been replaced by a happy energy and optimism.

Los Angeles is still leading the division with a 24-13 record, the third-best winning percentage in baseball. They’re up on the second-place Giants by 4.5 games.

This homestand will be a quick one, as the Giants return from a six-game trip to host the Dodgers for three, then head back on the road for seven. San Francisco is 11-9 at home, and the Dodgers are 7-8 on the road, including 0-3 at AT&T.

San Francisco enters the game riding a three-game win streak, as they took the last three against the Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers won two out of three against the Colorado Rockies, taking the first and last contests in a three-gamer.

Here are the scheduled starters for the series.

Game 1: Tim Hudson (1-3, 4.57 ERA) vs. Carlos Frias (3-0, 2.89 ERA)

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Since a masterful start against the Los Angeles Angels, Hudson has hit a wall. In his past two games, he’s allowed 21 hits and nine runs in 12 innings.

Hudson has avoided the Dodgers so far this year, and will enter his first start with a 6-6 record and 4.03 ERA in 17 starts against Los Angeles. Adrian Gonzalez is 10-27 (.370) against Hudson with a pair of home runs.

Jimmy Rollins will face his old NL East rival Hudson again. Rollins has 88 at-bats against Hudson, and 20 hits (.227) with five doubles, three triples, and three home runs.

Frias gets his first taste of this rivalry as a starter, after two previous relief appearances against the Giants. He’s made three starts this year, and was very good in his first, giving up just four hits in 5.1 shutout innings.

The last two haven’t been so kind, as he’s allowed six earned runs in 11 innings. He does have very good command, however, as he’s issued multiple walks just once in 20 major league appearances.

Brandon Crawford and Angel Pagan are the only Giants’ hitter with three at-bats versus Frias. Crawford has a home run as his only hit, and Pagan has a single.

Game 2: Tim Lincecum (3-2, 2.43 ERA) vs. Brett Anderson (2-1, 3.50 ERA)

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Lincecum had a weird start against the Reds, as he couldn’t find his footing, both figuratively and literally. He slipped off the mound multiple times, and issued five walks and surrendered five hits, but was lucky to give up just three runs in 4.2 innings.

He will be happy to return to the friendly confines of AT&T Park, where he is 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA and 1.000 WHIP this year. He’s also 5-2 against the Dodgers at home.

The Dodgers will be without Yasiel Puig, and that’s something else for Lincecum to be happy about. Puig is 10-17 (.588) with two doubles and two triples against Lincecum. He is still dealing with the hamstring problem that kept him out of the previous series.

Anderson has been solid over the past three starts, allowing just three runs (two earned) in 16 .1 innings to lower his season ERA from 5.49 to 3.50.

Anderson is 0-3 with a 6.19 ERA at AT&T Park, and took a loss the first time he pitched there this year. Against Anderson in his two starts this year facing the Giants, Nori Aoki is 4-6, Crawford is 3-4, and Justin Maxwell is 2-4 with a double and triple. Maxwell is 4-7 career versus Anderson.

Game 3: Madison Bumgarner (4-2, 3.20 ERA) vs. Clayton Kershaw (2-2, 4.24 ERA)

Getting tired of this matchup yet? Not if you’re a fan of great pitching battles. This matchup has lived up to the expectations the first two times, and it figures to do the same in this go around. The Giants have come away with victories in both matchups between the two this year, and have won four out of the five times they’ve met in their careers.

Bumgarner is coming off a strong outing against the Reds, who have given him problems in the past. In seven innings, he gave up a pair of runs on eight hits.

His control has been excellent this year, as he’s allowing just 1.4 walks per nine innings, and totals 5.8 strikeouts per walk. He owns a 12-5 record with a 2.46 ERA career against the Dodgers.

Kershaw hasn’t found his groove yet this year, and hasn’t been all that Kershaw-like. He’s allowed multiple runs in every one of his eight starts. His last two starts have come against the Rockies, and he’s given up eight runs in 12.1 innings, along with seven walks (very un-Kershaw-like).

If Kershaw is going to get his season on track, AT&T Park is the perfect place for him to do it. He’s 8-2 with a 0.97 ERA and 0.809 WHIP there.

Brandon Belt will likely get a day off for Kershaw’s start, as he’s 3-32 against him with 18 strikeouts. This year, he’s struck out in all five at-bats against Kershaw. One candidate to replace Belt is Joaquin Arias, who seems to be the one guy who has figured out Kershaw, if that’s possible. Arias is 12-37 (.324) career against Kershaw. This year, Arias is 4-5 (.800) facing Kershaw, and 2-22 (.091) against every other pitcher.

Hunter Pence‘s return has been a gigantic boost for San Francisco. In the two games he’s played, he’s 4-8 with a double, home run, and five runs scored. His bat in the middle of the order, along his infectious energy, is a welcome addition, and he hasn’t missed a beat yet.

Belt is one guy who has to be upset about leaving Cincinnati. After taking an 0-4 with a trio of strikeouts in the series opener, he caught fire in the blink of an eye. Over the final three games of the set, Belt went 9-14 (.643) with two doubles, seven RBI (doubling his season total), and hitting a home run in each game, his first three of the year.

Casey McGehee has seemed to find a bit of a groove. He’s riding a five-game hitting streak, including a hit off of a 101 mile-an-hour fastball from Aroldis Chapman on Sunday, that has put him back over the .200 average mark. One noticeable improvement McGehee has made is that he has started to use the whole field, which is when he excels. He’s also grounded into just one double play in the last seven games.

The Giants are trailing the Dodgers by 4.5 games, and they can’t catch first place in this series. They do have a chance to move a little closer to the top, and winning another series against the arch-nemesis would be a huge start. San Francisco will look to build off their 4-2 record against Los Angeles.