Dodgers, Giants meet up
October 1, 2015
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (88-70) at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (83-75)
First pitch: Thursday, 3:45 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: Los Angeles -115, San Francisco +105, Total: 7.5
The Giants will be going for their fifth win in six games when they host the Dodgers on Thursday.
The Dodgers have already clinched the division and the Giants are eliminated from the NL wild card race, but both teams are still fighting hard at this point in the season. Los Angeles has really struggled in recent weeks, going 3-7 over the past 10 games and the team will be looking to get itself going with a win on Thursday. The Dodgers do not want to enter the postseason cold, so it’ll be important to try to defeat this Giants team that has won four of its past five games.
The starters in this game are going to be LHP Brett Anderson (9-9, 3.80 ERA, 113 K) for the Dodgers and RHP Tim Hudson (8-8, 4.30 ERA, 63 K) for the Giants. Playing to the Dodgers’ advantage in this one is the fact that they are 23-6 against the money line after a game where they had four or less hits over the past two seasons. The Giants, however, are 23-12 against the money line at home when the money line is +125 to -125 this season.
A few key players are injured in this game on both teams, as OF Yasiel Puig (Hamstring) is out for the Dodgers and 1B Brandon Belt (Concussion), OF Nori Aoki (Concussion), OF Gregor Blanco (Concussion), 2B Joe Panik (Back) and OF Hunter Pence (Oblique) are all out for the Giants.
The Dodgers have not played very well lately, but they did clinch the division a few nights ago and will be playing in this year’s postseason. To the team, that is all that matters but it will definitely not want to go into the playoffs playing this poorly. Brett Anderson will be tasked with righting the ship on Thursday and he has really struggled in his past two starts. Anderson has allowed 11 earned runs and 20 hits in the 8.2 innings he’s pitched in those two outings and he needs to get himself together on Thursday. The last time he faced the Giants, Anderson pitched 5.0 innings and gave up just three earned runs. The Dodgers would certainly sign up for another performance like that in this game.
Offensively, this team really needs to be more consistent. The Dodgers were shutout on Wednesday after winning 8-0 the game before and they need to start putting up more runs on a night-to-night basis. 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.276, 28 HR, 88 RBI) is going to have to get himself going in order for the Dodgers to make a run in the postseason. He has been a bit better for the team recently, hitting four homers and driving in four RBI in the past 10 games. 3B Justin Turner (.290, 15 HR, 57 RBI) also needs to produce at the plate after getting the night off on Wednesday. He struggled in the month of September, batting just .275 and will need to get back to his average moving forward.
Tim Hudson is going to be the starter for the Giants on Thursday and he has been spectacular for the team recently. Hudson pitched just 1.1 innings of two run ball the last time he took the mound, but he allowed a combined two earned runs in the 18.2 innings of work he had before that outing. He does not work very deep into games, but he is capable of getting the Giants to the sixth or seventh inning with a lead and that is all the team will be asking from him on Thursday.
Offensively, the Giants are counting on 3B Matt Duffy (.300, 12 HR, 76 RBI) a bit more than they should. He has, however, been excellent for the team and he hit a homer in Wednesday’s win over Los Angeles. Another guy San Francisco will really need to keep hitting is 2B Kelby Tomlinson (.292, 1 HR, 18 RBI). Tomlinson has been on a tear recently, going 12-for-32 with three RBI over the past seven games. The Giants need him to continue getting on base, as he has the speed to score on any ball that is hit into the outfield.
October 1, 2015
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (88-70) at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (83-75)
First pitch: Thursday, 3:45 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: Los Angeles -115, San Francisco +105, Total: 7.5
The Giants will be going for their fifth win in six games when they host the Dodgers on Thursday.
The Dodgers have already clinched the division and the Giants are eliminated from the NL wild card race, but both teams are still fighting hard at this point in the season. Los Angeles has really struggled in recent weeks, going 3-7 over the past 10 games and the team will be looking to get itself going with a win on Thursday. The Dodgers do not want to enter the postseason cold, so it’ll be important to try to defeat this Giants team that has won four of its past five games.
The starters in this game are going to be LHP Brett Anderson (9-9, 3.80 ERA, 113 K) for the Dodgers and RHP Tim Hudson (8-8, 4.30 ERA, 63 K) for the Giants. Playing to the Dodgers’ advantage in this one is the fact that they are 23-6 against the money line after a game where they had four or less hits over the past two seasons. The Giants, however, are 23-12 against the money line at home when the money line is +125 to -125 this season.
A few key players are injured in this game on both teams, as OF Yasiel Puig (Hamstring) is out for the Dodgers and 1B Brandon Belt (Concussion), OF Nori Aoki (Concussion), OF Gregor Blanco (Concussion), 2B Joe Panik (Back) and OF Hunter Pence (Oblique) are all out for the Giants.
The Dodgers have not played very well lately, but they did clinch the division a few nights ago and will be playing in this year’s postseason. To the team, that is all that matters but it will definitely not want to go into the playoffs playing this poorly. Brett Anderson will be tasked with righting the ship on Thursday and he has really struggled in his past two starts. Anderson has allowed 11 earned runs and 20 hits in the 8.2 innings he’s pitched in those two outings and he needs to get himself together on Thursday. The last time he faced the Giants, Anderson pitched 5.0 innings and gave up just three earned runs. The Dodgers would certainly sign up for another performance like that in this game.
Offensively, this team really needs to be more consistent. The Dodgers were shutout on Wednesday after winning 8-0 the game before and they need to start putting up more runs on a night-to-night basis. 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.276, 28 HR, 88 RBI) is going to have to get himself going in order for the Dodgers to make a run in the postseason. He has been a bit better for the team recently, hitting four homers and driving in four RBI in the past 10 games. 3B Justin Turner (.290, 15 HR, 57 RBI) also needs to produce at the plate after getting the night off on Wednesday. He struggled in the month of September, batting just .275 and will need to get back to his average moving forward.
Tim Hudson is going to be the starter for the Giants on Thursday and he has been spectacular for the team recently. Hudson pitched just 1.1 innings of two run ball the last time he took the mound, but he allowed a combined two earned runs in the 18.2 innings of work he had before that outing. He does not work very deep into games, but he is capable of getting the Giants to the sixth or seventh inning with a lead and that is all the team will be asking from him on Thursday.
Offensively, the Giants are counting on 3B Matt Duffy (.300, 12 HR, 76 RBI) a bit more than they should. He has, however, been excellent for the team and he hit a homer in Wednesday’s win over Los Angeles. Another guy San Francisco will really need to keep hitting is 2B Kelby Tomlinson (.292, 1 HR, 18 RBI). Tomlinson has been on a tear recently, going 12-for-32 with three RBI over the past seven games. The Giants need him to continue getting on base, as he has the speed to score on any ball that is hit into the outfield.
