Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Dodgers (26-18) have won four straight games following a home sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks that ended with a 3-2 victory as -207 betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com at Chavez Ravine on Thursday (how the moneyline works).
The problem is, the two teams the third-place Dodgers are chasing in the National League West both have longer winning streaks, including the division-leading San Francisco Giants (28-16), who have won five games in a row heading into this important home series between the two rivals. The second-place San Diego Padres (27-17) have won their last six.
Dodgers vs. Giants | OddsShark Matchup Report
Regardless, San Francisco has struggled against Los Angeles lately, losing the past two meetings along with 10 of the last 14, according to the OddsShark MLB Database. That includes a 5-1 mark for the Dodgers at Oracle Park during that stretch and incredibly four shutouts.
However, Los Angeles has had an extremely difficult time winning on the road so far this season with a 10-12 record away from home compared to 16-6 at Dodger Stadium. The defending World Series champions went 2-8 on their last road trip between April 28 and May 9, but they did bounce back to complete an 8-1 homestand, capped by the sweep of the Diamondbacks.
The Giants are coming off a 19-4 rout of the Cincinnati Reds as +130 road underdogs at sports betting sites on Thursday, outscoring their opponent 33-9 in a four-game sweep themselves. San Francisco has gone 14-4 at home this year as well compared to 14-12 on the road, yet the team opened as a +139 underdog for the series opener on Friday with former Los Angeles pitcher Alex Wood (5-0, 1.75 ERA), who was an All-Star there in 2017.
Maybe that is because Wood will be opposed by reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer (4-2, 2.20 ERA). Bauer has gone 1-2 on the road this season with a 2.89 ERA, but he has also totaled 49 of his league-leading 77 strikeouts in just 37.1 innings away from home.
The last two games of the series on Saturday and Sunday also look to favor the Dodgers, with Walker Buehler (2-0, 2.98 ERA) and Julio Urias (6-1, 3.04 ERA) toeing the rubber, respectively. The Giants are still undecided on their starting pitcher for the second game while Anthony DeSclafani (4-1, 2.03 ERA) is expected to close out the series opposite Urias in the finale on Sunday afternoon.
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