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The Dodgers will take on the Giants at Dodger Stadium in a three-game series this weekend in what will be their first meeting since April 29. That was the last game that Corey Seager would play this season as the Dodgers announced the next day that Seager needed Tommy John surgery.
It didn’t get any better a week later when Clayton Kershaw ended up on the disabled list with bicep tendinitis. The Dodgers would lose a total of nine different players — six pitchers and some of them multiple times — to the DL over the next few weeks and fall to 16-26 before pulling out of the tailspin.
Series Snapshot
| 2018 | Giants | 2018 | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Giants | 2018 | Dodgers |
| Road W-L | 15-24 | Home W-L | 18-18 |
| Run Differential | -29 | Run Differential | 56 |
| Runs Scored | 291 | Runs Scored | 327 |
| Runs Allowed | 320 | Runs Allowed | 271 |
| Team ERA | 4.26 | Team ERA | 3.68 |
| 2018 head-to-head | 6-4 Giants | ||
| 2017 head-to-head | 11-8 Dodgers |
Needless to say, this Dodgers team is a different one than the Giants played 10 times before the calendar flipped to May. Los Angeles has won 19 of the last 25 games, including nine of 11 in June.
San Francisco currently owns the second-worst road record in the National League at 15-24, losing 15 of the last 21 away from home. The two teams split a four-game series in Los Angeles to open the year.
The Giants are no strangers to injury either and another one was announced Thursday with Evan Longoria fracturing his finger on his left hand. Longoria will join Brandon Belt (appendicitis) on a disabled list that also features Johnny Cueto (right elbow) and Jeff Samardzija (right shoulder).
While it’s undetermined just how long Longoria will miss, the Giants just got Madison Bumgarner back last week after he suffered a similar injury in spring training.
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The Dodgers are 15-7 when facing a left-handed starter this season. They will face two over the next three days, one of which they are most familiar with.
Friday, 7:10 p.m. PT (SportsNet LA)
Ross Stripling will move up to go on regular rest, looking to continue his unlikely run as the best pitcher the Dodgers have at the moment. Chicken Strip is 5-0 with a 1.33 ERA as a starter since the start of May, striking out 53 of the 156 batters he faced in that time and walking only four.
The Dodgers will see Derek Holland for the third time in 2018 when he takes the mound Friday. The lefty has allowed nine runs (seven earned) over 8.1 innings pitched in the previous two starts.
Holland has allowed at least three runs in nine of his 13 starts in 2018.
Saturday, 5:15 p.m. PT (Fox)
Bumgarner will make his third start of the year after missing the first two months of the season due to a broken pitching hand. The lefty is 15-9 with a 2.55 ERA in 28 career starts against the Dodgers, but Los Angeles has won seven of the last nine Bumgarner starts.
Alex Wood will get the ball on an extra day of rest as he tries to turn his season around. The 27-year-old is 1-5 with a 4.43 ERA and has allowed at least four runs in each of his last three starts.
Sunday, 1:10 p.m. PT (SportsNet LA)
The Giants will start Chris Stratton for the fourth time against the Dodgers this season. The right-hander has given up at least three runs in each of those outings, allowing 12 runs (11 earned), 15 hits and eight walks over 11.2 innings.
The last time out, Stratton made 63 pitches and only got four outs in what ended up being a 15-6 Dodger win.
The Dodgers haven’t announced a starter for Sunday.