The second half of the MLB season gets underway on Thursday in style with an NL West showdown between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. At home, the Dodgers are favored with a moneyline of -145, while San Francisco’s moneyline is set at +125. The game also has an over/under of eight runs.
The Dodgers are coming back from the all-star break with a comfortable 10-game lead atop the NL West and the best record in the National League. They won four in a row and 11 of their last 12 games heading into the break. They also hosted the all-star festivities and will have a seven-game homestand coming out of the break.
The Giants, meanwhile, were also heating up heading into the break, winning seven of their last nine games. That stretch moved San Francisco five games over .500 and helped to put a sluggish June behind them. However, the Giants are 12.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and still half a game out of a wild card spot.
All-Star Up
While he was named an all-star, Carlos Rodon didn’t pitch in Tuesday’s game, allowing him to start for the Giants on Thursday. The southpaw is 8-5 with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over his first 18 starts of the season. Rodon has been at the top of his game over the last couple of months, pitching to a 1.25 ERA in June and a 2.84 ERA over his first three starts in July.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco offense continues to run hot and cold. Heading into the break, the Giants scored at least eight runs in four of their last eight games, although they also scored three runs or less in six of their final 11 games. Outside of Joc Pederson, the Giants have been lacking in power this year while also missing Brandon Crawford and Tommy La Stella to injuries.
The Outlier
The Dodgers will turn to Mitch White to open up the second half of their season. In eight starts and five relief appearances this season, White is 1-2 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.
While he’s been good for four or five innings in most of his starts this season, he got knocked around for six runs on ten hits over five innings in his last start, while the Dodgers have lost four of the last five games he’s started.
Luckily, the Los Angeles offense is usually good for a few runs, as the Dodgers have averaged 6.1 runs per game over their last nine games. Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner have carried the Dodgers offensively for much of the season, with Mookie Betts performing like an all-star when healthy.
At the same time, Will Smith, Gavin Lux, and Justin Turner have all stepped up their production in July to lengthen the LA lineup.
Upset Alert
The Dodgers surely have the more dangerous lineup, but after a few days off, hitters on both sides could be a bit rusty. Meanwhile, the Giants have the better starting pitcher and have had some success at the plate lately.
Despite the Dodgers being red-hot before the break, the Giants have good value in an underdog role on Thursday night.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.