Rivalry Series: Dodger Blue Rolls Into Orange Friday

Jun 26, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman

(19) turns a double play against Los Angeles Dodgers catcher

(17) during the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Maybe I’m reaching for straws here, but maybe, quite possibly, the Giants could get a spark from their home crowd. They’re hosting the Dodgers, so I have no doubt the San Francisco fans will be riled up in all their orange glory.

But will the Giants feed off the energy and turn it into a string of wins? The W word has been a little bit foreign as of late, to the eyes and ears of the orange and black faithful.

Fans are uneasy about the words ‘road’ and ‘trip’ used in succession, because well, the Giants are pretty terrible on the road. They proved it again on the last roadie, first getting swept by the Dodgers, losing two out of three in Colorado, and dropping three games to the Reds. One of which, they got no-hit by Homer Bailey that was a Gregor Blanco walk shy of a perfect game. The fourth game was postponed due to weather, but for all intents and purposes, the Giants got swept in Cincinnati.

The Giants will face their broom-wielding rival Dodgers, who swept them in Chavez Ravine in their last series just a little over a week ago. If history repeats itself, the Giants will attempt to sweep them right back, as they swept their last home series against L.A.

In semi good news, the G-Men will face Hyun-Jin Ryu in the first game, whom they historically have success against. Although that doesn’t guarantee a win, as proven last time they faced Ryu, where he held them to one run. Hunter Pence will look to continue his ownage of Ryu, boasting a .750 batting average, logging six hits in nine plate appearances.

It’ll be Matt Cain making the first pitch against the Dodgers, who didn’t get a start against them in L.A. He had an excellent last start, although in a no-decision for him as the Giants lost 1-0 on a walk-off hit in Colorado by Nolan Arenado. He tossed 8 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts.

The surging Yasiel Puig and the Dodgers will introduce Puigmania to San Francisco which should definitely come with a warm AT&T welcome (sarcasm).

This is definitely a huge series for the Giants as they try to drag themselves out of the cellar of the NL West. They sit 1 game behind the second place Dodgers and 4.5 behind league leading Arizona.

Here are the pitching matchups for the rivalry series:

Hyun-Jin Ryu vs Matt Cain

Stephen Fife vs Madison Bumgarner

Clayton Kershaw vs Chad Gaudin