The Los Angeles Dodgers are undefeated and sit atop the National League West division after historic three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
The Dodgers currently boast a 27 scoreless innings streak, and join the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals as only the teams in Major League Baseball history to open a season with three straight shutouts.
Up next for Los Angeles is a four-game series against storied rival San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, beginning with an afternoon affair on Thursday. The series opener also marks the Giants’ first home game of 2016.
San Francisco is fresh off taking two of three against the Milwaukee Brewers. Both the Dodgers and Giants start pitchers who take the mound for their first outing of the year in Alex Wood and Jake Peavy, respectively.
For Peavy it’s another start against a club he’s quite familiar with, having spent eight seasons with the Padres and now his third with the Giants. The veteran right-hander via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Opening Day at home? San Francisco-L.A.? Where do I sign up?” … I’m very excited to have a chance to get us off on the right foot in the division against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Of course, you want to be the guy who runs out there.”
Peavy started four season openers during his time with the Padres. Lifetime against the Dodgers, he’s 14-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over 29 starts (193 innings). Since being traded the Giants in 2014, Peavy is 1-1 with a 2.67 ERA in five starts against the Dodgers.
AT&T Park was a house of horrors for the Dodgers last season, as they were just 2-8 in the Giants’ home stadium; with both wins not coming until September. However, the Dodgers did manage to clinch their third consecutive NL West title at AT&T Park, behind a complete-game shutout from Clayton Kershaw.
