Giants vs Dodgers Series Odds: Rivalry Renewed

Rodon Opposes Urias in Opener

The Los Angeles Dodgers welcome division rival San Francisco to town on Tuesday night for a two-game series between National League West rivals. The teams certainly know how to get a series rolling as Carlos Rodon, who is off to a sensational start in his first season with the Giants, gets the ball in Tuesday’s opener. He will be opposed by Julio Urias, who is coming off a 20-3 season.

The Giants vs Dodgers series odds favor Los Angeles in the first meeting between teams who finished with the best records in the majors last season.

The teams are not only both in the top five in team ERA, but rank third and fifth in the major leagues in stolen bases. The Dodgers have given up the fewest runs in baseball and are also 8-2 at home.

Game Information

Team records: San Francisco Giants 14-8 (third in the NL West), Los Angeles Dodgers 14-7 (tied for first in the NL West)
Date: Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. ET (teams also play on Wednesday at 10:10 p.m.)
Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Television: Tuesday’s game is on TBS

Giants vs Dodgers Probable Starting Pitchers

Tuesday: Carlos Rodon (Giants) vs Julio Urias (Dodgers)
Wednesday: Alex Wood (Giants) vs TBA

Giants Need Consistency from Lineup

The San Francisco Giants are one of the highest-scoring teams in the majors, but there is still room for growth and that could be a key part in the Giants vs Dodgers series odds.

The Giants are batting .237, which is well off their pace from a year ago. The good news is that when the hitters do get a piece of the ball, they tend to drive in runs — especially when they are away from home.

The Giants are fifth in the National League with a road slugging percentage of .387. Much of that can be credited to outfielder Joc Pederson, who has seven extra-base hits, including five homers in 10 road games.

Four different San Francisco players are hitting over .300 on the road, led by Pederson’s .382 mark, but getting more hitters to contribute will be a point of emphasis moving forward.

Even with some ups and downs, the Giants have the best road winning percentage in the National League with an 8-3 record.

Dodgers off to Impressive Start

Any team that has Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler figures to have the makings of a pretty solid starting rotation. That is exactly the case for the Dodgers.

Even with an injury to Andrew Heaney, Los Angeles leads baseball with a 2.01 ERA from its starting pitchers. Opponents are hitting only .194 against the Dodger starters, which trails only the New York Mets. The Dodgers and Mets are the only teams that have their starting staff allowing less than one runner per inning.

Five different pitchers have quality starts while 10 of Los Angeles’ 14 wins have come from its starting rotation.

The team is dealing with some injuries to its staff so this will be a key stretch as Los Angeles waits to get some of its top pitchers back on the mound. In the meantime, there are enough healthy pitchers for the Giants vs Dodgers series odds to favor Los Angeles.

Who’s Hot

Mookie Betts, Dodgers OF: Betts is 6-for-15 with a home run and four runs scored in his last four games to raise his average from .190 to .231.
Carlos Rodon, Giants P: Rodon allowed three hits and one run with nine strikeouts in six innings in his last start.
Alex Vesia, Dodgers P: Vesia hasn’t allowed a hit in his last four appearances. He has struck out six of the last 10 batters he has faced.
Jason Vosler, Giants IF: Vosler is 4-for-9 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs over his last three games.

Who’s Not

Cody Bellinger, Dodgers IF-OF: Bellinger is 1-for-22 with eight strikeouts in his last six games as his batting average dropped to .208.
Thairo Estrada, Giants IF: Estrada is 2-for-15 with four strikeouts in his last four games.
Jake McGee, Giants P: McGee has allowed four hits and three runs over three innings in his last three appearances.
Evan Phillips, Dodgers P: Phillips allowed two hits and three runs in less than an inning in his last outing and suffered his first loss of the season

Injury Update

San Francisco infielders Tommy LaStella (Achilles) and Evan Longoria (finger) are both on the 10-day injured list and could return to the field later this month. Outfielder Steven Duggar is on the 60-day injured list with an oblique strain. Starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani (ankle) is on the 10-day injured list while relievers Dominic Leone and Zack Littell are on the COVID-19 list.

For the Dodgers, pitchers Danny Duffy (hand), Caleb Ferguson (elbow), Victor Gonzalez (elbow), Heaney (shoulder), Dustin May (elbow) and Jimmy Nelson (elbow) are currently sidelined.

The Dodgers have won three of the last four meetings, but going back a little further, the Giants are 8-5 in the last 13 games in the series.

Three of the last five games between the NL West rivals have featured four runs or less, with Tuesday’s opener having the potential to be another low-scoring affair. Four of the last eight games have been decided by two runs or less.

Giants vs Dodgers Betting Tips

Betts and Will Smith combined to hit three homers in the five-game playoff series against the Giants in 2021. Those hits are among the top San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers highlights. The Giants hit just .182 as a team in that series with 49 strikeouts in five games.

When looking at the MLB series betting odds, the Dodgers are currently the favorite to win the National League while the Giants have the sixth-best odds.

The series opener has a total of seven runs, which is tied for the second-lowest number among Tuesday’s games.

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