Dodgers take a trip to San Francisco to face the Giants

The oldest rivalry in baseball meets again. This time around the Dodgers are visiting the Giants at Oracle Park for a three-game series beginning on Friday.

San Francisco has been having a hard time this season, falling behind early in the standings and are still struggling to find their groove. Their overall season record is 25-35 and they sit in last place in the National League West division. The Giants have not announced their starting pitchers for the upcoming series against the Dodgers.

On the other side, the Dodgers have had a start to remember. They boast a 42-20 record thus far and were the first team in the entire MLB to reach 40 wins. The key to the Dodgers’ success is with their strong starting pitching. They have a solid rotation going and even have a couple players in the bullpen who could step into a starter role if necessary. What good is pitching if there are no runs to back it up? Well, this is not a problem the Dodgers have not faced this season.

In 2019, the two teams have played each other for a total of six times. The season series is currently split at three games a piece.

As previously mentioned, the Giants have not announced their starting pitchers for the series.

Game one: Clayton Kershaw (5-0, 3.20 ERA) vs. TBD

Friday, June 7 - 7:15 p.m. PDT

No. 22 will make his 10th start of the season at Oracle Park, where he absolutely dominates his opponent. Clayton Kershaw has a career record of 13-4 at this ballpark and boasts a 1.70 ERA in 22 starts there. It’s the ballpark where he performs his best, with the lowest ERA of ballparks he’s pitched one or more games in.

Kershaw has also been dominant with his team in general, with the Dodgers winning every single game in which he has started this season. The odds are stacked in Kershaw’s favor for Friday’s contest, no matter who the opposing pitcher may end up being.

Game two: Rich Hill (2-1, 2.25 ERA) vs. TBD

Saturday, June 8 - 7:15 p.m. PDT

Taking the hill for game two will be veteran pitcher Rich Hill. His most recent start against the Philadelphia Phillies was great, throwing seven scoreless innings and a few hits and nine strikeouts. Overall this season, Hill has been consistent, holding his opponents to two or fewer runs scored in five of his seven starts .

In his career against the Giants, Hill has a 7-2 record against San Francisco and holds a 2.26 ERA against them too.

Game three: Walker Buehler (6-1, 3.69 ERA) vs. TBD

Sunday, June 9 - 1:05 p.m. PDT

Walker Buehler’s most recent start against the Arizona Diamondbacks was quite easily his best outing this season. He tossed eight innings and only allowed two hits (one of which was a solo home run). While he was at it, he also struck out a total of eleven batters. Yes. ELEVEN. Unfortunately, his outing was outshined by day one of the MLB Draft, but his performance ultimately set the stage for a Dodgers victory.

Overall, Buehler looks like he is starting to heat up, and this Sunday start is his chance to prove that.