MLB Predictions: Dodgers vs Giants Lines
The San Francisco Giants host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday afternoon in game three of a three-game set. San Francisco won game two in the series on Wednesday, 2-1.
Los Angeles Dodgers (9-6) at San Francisco Giants (10-5)
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2014
Time: 3:45 PM ET
Venue: AT&T Park
City: San Francisco, California
O/U Odds: 7
Money Line: 118
Pitching Matchup: LH Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 2.57 ERA) at LH Madison Bumgarner (2-0, 3.31 ERA)
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Madison Bumgarner gets the nod for the Giants in this one. He hasn’t pitched up to par in his first three outings of the season. His base stats look fine, as he is 2-0 with a 3.31 ERA, but he has a 1.71 WHIP while allowing opposing batters to hit at a .329 clip in those contests.
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Bumgarner has allowed four unearned runs in his outings thus far, with the Giants’ opponents averaging 5.0 runs per game in his three starts. Luckily for him he’s received 7.3 runs of support per outing, leading the Giants to wins in each of those outings.
He’ll look to turn things around in this one against a Dodgers team that he had his best start of the year against. He allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings of work, striking out 10 and allowing eight hits in a win at Dodger Stadium.
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A year ago, Bumgarner posted a 3-1 record in four starts against the Dodgers, compiling a 1.93 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .155 batting average and posting a 0.64 WHIP in those contests.
He’ll be opposed by fellow southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu in this start. Ryu’s season has been the opposite of what Bumgarner’s endured thus far. Ryu has made four starts thus far, and has been dominant in three of them, but was rocked in his start against the Giants.
In his other three starts, Ryu has held opponents scoreless in 19 innings of work, allowing just seven hits in those outings. In his start against the Giants, Ryu lasted only two innings, allowing eight runs, six of them earned, surrendering eight hits, and walking three.
That’s well outside the norm of how he performed against the Giants a year ago, when he went 2-2 in five starts against them, posting a 2.48 ERA in those five starts. This time around, the team will also be without shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who took a pitch off the hand on Wednesday.
Bumgarner should turn things around in his home ballpark, while Ryu has to be dreading facing the Giants again after a rough outing the last time he faced them. There should be some runs in this game, and a low total makes the over an attractive proposition.
The Giants are 6-0 in Bumgarner’s last six starts overall, and 5-1 in his last six starts vs. the Dodgers.
The over is 3-0-1 in Bumgarner’s last four starts vs. National League West opponents, 15-3 in the Giants’ last 18 games overall, and 9-2 in their last 11 home games.
The play: San Francisco -118, Over 7
