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The Dodgers and Giants were the two best teams in baseball last season, which culminated in the first-ever postseason matchup between the longtime rivals. Los Angeles and San Francisco are back at it again this week, with a brief two-game set at Dodger Stadium, their first meeting of the season.
Dodgers-Giants matchup
| Stat | Giants | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|
| Stat | Giants | Dodgers |
| Record | 14-8 (.636) | 14-7 (.667) |
| Split | 8-3 away | 8-2 home |
| Run diff. | +34 (4th) | +47 (1st) |
| wRC+ | 107 (15th) | 110 (t-8th) |
| HR | 24 (t-7th) | 21 (t-13th) |
| SB | 14 (t-5th) | 16 (t-2nd) |
| ERA | 3.06 (5th) | 2.33 (1st) |
| FIP | 2.77 (1st) | 2.81 (2nd) |
| IP/start | 4.83 (9th) | 4.83 (9th) |
| K rate | 24.1% (11th) | 26.6% (3rd) |
| BB rate | 7.2% (4th) | 6.5% (1st) |
This year, the Dodgers are on pace for 108 wins with the Giants on a 103-win pace. For now, they are separated by just a half-game, which sounds very familiar after the 2021 stretch run.
San Francisco leads the majors in runs scored per game (4.95), with the Dodgers in second place (4.86), even if it hasn’t seemed so of late.
The Dodgers are on top in fewest runs allowed (2.62 runs per game), with the Giants seventh at 3.41.
It’s a recipe for success for both teams, even though both lost a series to a last-place team in the last week. LA dropped two of three in Arizona, while the Giants lost two of three to the Nationals at home over the weekend.
That San Francisco has scored so much is a testament to their depth, because they are missing several key players. Brandon Belt and Mike Yastrzemski are on the COVID-related injured list, and Tommy La Stella is out with right achilles inflammation.
In addition, Giants relievers Dominic Leone and Zack Littell are both on the COVID-related IL. The Dodgers have a pair of pitchers on the COVID-related injured list as well, with neither David Price nor Mitch White expected back for this series.
LaMonte Wade Jr. has been on the IL all season with left knee inflammation, but after a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento he seems ready to return to the Giants lineup.
According to his Instagram, LaMonte Wade Jr. is in Los Angeles. So he either had a really rough travel day on the way back from the Triple-A trip or he’s going to make his season debut on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 2, 2022
Julio Urías starts on five days rest in the series opener on Tuesday night. Wednesday’s Dodgers starting pitcher is to be announced. With three off days in an eight-day stretch, that could be conducive to a bullpen game, depending on who pitches after Urías on Tuesday. Tony Gonsolin very well could start Wednesday, or he could have his next start pushed back to the road trip.
The Dodgers will have many chances this week to improve on their .223/.289/.348 mark and 90 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers this week, likely facing southpaw starters in four of their five games. Carlos Ródon has been amazing with a 1.17 ERA and 38 strikeouts in his first 23 innings (a 43-percent strikeout rate) with San Francisco, making his two-year, $44 million contract look like a potential bargain. He starts Tuesday night, followed by old friend Alex Wood on Wednesday.
Both games are 7:10 p.m. starts and will be televised locally by SportsNet LA. For folks out of market, TBS will also broadcast Tuesday night, with Bob Costas on play-by-play, Ron Darling as analyst, and Kelly Crull as reporter.
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