A pair of bitter NL West rivals close out a series on the diamond with a matinee tilt in the city by the bay. The Los Angeles Dodgers finish up a four-game series with the San Francisco Giants Thursday afternoon as the teams meet for the eighth time since the All-Star break. Los Angeles won the first two games of the series, rolling to an 8-2 win in the opening game of the set Monday night and following that up with a 9-5 triumph on Tuesday night. Which team gets the upper hand on getaway day and rolls into the weekend with momentum? This article was published prior to the conclusion of Wednesday night’s contest at Oracle Park.
Los Angeles won for the sixth time in seven games and improved to 10-3 since the All-Star break as they knocked off San Francisco again Tuesday night. The Dodgers entered Wednesday with a commanding 11.5-game lead over the Padres in the NL West race. On Tuesday night, Los Angeles got three hits from Mookie Betts (run, three RBI) while Hanser Alberto (run), Gavin Lux (two runs, two RBI) and Austin Barnes (two runs, RBI) each added two hits in the victory. Betts drilled his 24th homer of the season in the win. Tyler Anderson (12-1) earned the win on the mound as he threw five innings, allowing five runs on six hits with four walks and three strikeouts. Four relievers blanked the Giants the rest of the way en route to the victory.
Clayton Kershaw is slated to take the hill and make his 15th start of the season for the Dodgers in this contest. He is 7-3 with a 2.66 ERA, a 0.984 WHI P, 14 walks and 84 strikeouts over 81.1 innings of work. Kershaw took the loss in his last start, which came Saturday on the road against the Rockies. He threw 5.1 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts in a 5-3 Dodgers defeat. In his last three starts, Kershaw is 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, two walks and 15 strikeouts over 17.2 innings of work. Kershaw makes his 55th career appearance and 53rd start against the Giants in this contest. He comes in 24-15 with a 1.99 ERA, a 0.902 WHIP, 60 walks and 376 strikeouts over 367 innings of work against them. Kershaw is 14-6 with a 1.58 ERA, a 0.835 WHIP, 29 walks and 169 strikeouts over 182 innings in 27 career appearances, 25 starts, at Oracle Park.