San Francisco Giants Can Help Themselves and Play Spoiler vs Dodgers

Game One: Bumgarner (4-4, 2.69 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) vs. Kershaw (5-5, 2.58 ERA, 1.07 WHIP)

Of course, what would a Giants-Dodgers series be without Madison Bumgarner against Clayton Kershaw? Nothing, really.

In Bumgarner’s last outing against the Dodgers, he went six innings and gave up three runs. He struggled with his command, giving up four walks and two home runs.

Enrique Hernandez has the best career numbers, going 15-for-33 with five doubles and four home runs. Manny Machado also has a double off of Bumgarner in their lone inter-league match up.

Kershaw hasn’t been his dominant self this season, including his last start against the A’s where he only got four swinging strikes the entire game. He hasn’t been going deep into games either, which some might attribute to age or injury.

Be that as it may, in both his starts against the Giants this season he has given up no more than one earned run in each game.

As we know, Joe Panik hammered a solo shot in the fifth inning to somewhat humanize Kershaw, ultimately giving the Giants the win. Andrew McCutchen is one of the better career hitters in the lineup against Kershaw, going 10-for-33 with two doubles and a home run.

Game Two: Suarez (4-8, 4.64 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) vs. Wood (7-6, 3.58 ERA, 1.17 WHIP)

Coming off a tough game against the Pirates, Andrew Suarez will be asked to start the middle game of the series. He is seeing the Dodgers for the first time, which might give him a good opportunity to right the ship.

The Dodgers do not hit lefties well, hitting for much less power than they do against righties. Both these things bode well, however, it’s clear that Suarez is not enjoying the long season, but there may still be something left in his tank.

Alex Wood has gotten the best of the Giants two times this season, both times at home. Fortunately, Joe Panik‘s late-inning heroics deprived him of his first win of the season.

In his last start at Dodger Stadium, Wood hurled 85 pitches over 5 2/3 innings. He allowed only one earned run against the Giants after giving up four hits and two walks.

Nick Hundley and Brandon Crawford have the best career numbers against wood, and both of them are starting to heat up as of late.

Game Three: Holland (6-8, 3.97 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) vs. Ryu (3-0. 2.12 ERA, 0.88 WHIP)

I say it time and time again, but Derek Holland is still impressing the hell out of me. The 31-year-old veteran benefited from a lot of run support in his last start on Friday, after going 6 1/3 innings and giving up 4 earned runs.

The Giants won three straight starts with Holland, and look to build onto that in the getaway game.

However, Holland has yet to win a game against the Dodgers on the road, which might not work well in his favor.

Newly acquired Brian Dozier has a good career line against Holland, stemming off their matchup in the American League.

Hyun-Jin Ryu is making his first start since May 2, when he departed early with a left groin strain. He saw the Giants in his limited starts this season, going 5 2/3 innings while giving up two runs. Before his departure, the Dodgers were 4-2 when Ryu has started this season.

Buster Posey and Hunter Pence have some pretty solid career numbers against Ryu, although Pence will likely not be starting in many games going forward.

Beating LA … for real this time

The Giants offense was all over the place this weekend, scoring 18 runs in their first two games. They then proceeded to get shutout in the third game and got some key hits and runs in the last game of the series.

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Twenty-two runs over four games sounds great, but only when it’s evenly distributed. The Giants need to focus on scoring runs on a consistent basis, as that has always been a challenge. Getting hits with runners in scoring position, again, is a glaring issue.

Not only that, but the bullpen has become a major concern. Although had it not been for Evan Longoria‘s error yesterday, the bullpen did fairly well in the final game against the Pirates. But even in their last two wins at home, the Pirates kept clawing back and the Giant’s bullpen obliged. K

ey guys like Will Smith, Tony Watson and Reyes Moronta need to keep it together if the Giants have any hopes of putting the Dodgers away.

The Giants biggest struggles also plague the Dodgers. They have had a lot of issues closing games out, and getting the key hits they need to pull ahead.

Both teams have issues hitting lefties, and of course, every game will feature a left-handed starter match up.

Getting our starters deep into games, and getting in the Dodgers bullpen is the goal for the Giants this series.

Two-out-of-three seems pretty reasonable before they head to Cincinnati, but don’t expect the Dodgers to roll over.

While the Dodgers have two solid lefties returning from the disabled list, the Giants see the return of Brandon Belt this series. Chase d’Arnaud is day-to-day for the time being, but his bat should help the Giants out.

Either way, this series will be a telltale as to whether or not the Giants have a fighting chance at the postseason.