Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The Giants haven’t really had time to recover from last week’s sweep from the Dodgers in their own stadium. The Giants swept the Diamondbacks in a 2 game series but the wounds from last weekend are still healing. The Dodgers on the other hand seem to still be riding high. They had a statement win against the Astros before splitting the series with their first lost in 9 games.
Dodgers sweep in San Francisco
The Dodgers swept the Giants in convincing fashion last week in San Francisco. It was enough to drop the Giants all the way to third place and boost the Dodgers to second place. Both are still chasing the red-hot Padres who are the new number one in the NL West. The Padres are going to be happy that both the Dodgers and Giants are playing each other since that gives the Padres the best chance to put some cushion in their lead. Unless the Dodgers sweep the Giants again.
The Dodgers are the best team in the NL West. There is simply no denying that. But the best teams don’t always win. The Dodgers have suffered more meaningful injuries than any other team in the league. Despite that, they find themselves only 1.5 games behind the Padres. Should the Dodgers sweep the Giants again, the message will be clear. The Dodgers will win the NL West.
Padres holding onto slim lead in NL West
The Padres lead the season series against the Dodgers four games to three. But if the Dodgers sweep the Giants again, that doesn’t matter anymore. The Padres will have to be scared. The next time the Dodgers play the Padres will be June 21 which is less than a month away. Bellinger is surely to be back by then and Seager as well.
If a wounded Dodgers team can sweep the Giants twice in the same week, the Padres don’t really seem to stand a chance. But great for them that they’ve been able to make it entertaining. It just can’t last. The playoffs might tell a different story since any team can win on any given day. But throughout a season, the Dodgers will outrun the Padres.
Four game series in LA could shape the rest of the season
The series will be a four game series in Los Angeles so the Dodgers can realistically knock the Giants out of contention for a first place NL West divisional finish. Okay, maybe not realistically but it will be a huge blow to where they will probably focus on just the Wild Card spot. The Giants can fall all the way to 5.5 games back of first place by the end of the week if they get swept.
The Dodgers have a bullpen game scheduled for the first game of the series on Thursday. Then they will send Buehler, Urias, and Kershaw. The key matchups here will be Alex Wood taking on the bullpen and Gausman taking on Kershaw.
Dodgers vs Giants series preview and predictions
If the Giants are able to get deep into the Dodgers’ bullpen in game 1 then that can set the tone for the rest of the series. Alex Wood will hope to keep dominating as he’s posted a 1.93 ERA with a 5-1 record this year. It is worth noting that his only loss came against the Dodgers on 5/21 but he only gave up 2 runs in 6 innings. Gausman and Kershaw will be a heavyweight matchup since bother arguably each team’s best starter. Gausman did not pitch in the last series against the Dodgers but he has a 1.53 ERA and 5-0 record this year. Kershaw is 7-3 with a 2.94 ERA and also did not pitch last weekend. My predictions are that the Dodgers will win the first 3 games but lose the finale.
Subscribe to The Ventric’s FREE Weekly Dodgers Newsletter!
