SF Giants are pushing up their aces for essential series against Dodgers

The SF Giants begin a crucial three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at Oracle Park. San Francisco is going all out to win the series by pushing both of their aces, Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, up in the rotation.

This news comes per Giants insider Alex Pavlovic who shared it on social media:

SF Giants push up their aces for series vs. Dodgers

Neither Webb nor Ray will be pitching on short rest. Because the Giants had an off-day on Thursday, that means they can push them both up and have them pitch on their normal rest schedule. The Giants did something similar at the end of the first half when they moved Hayden Birdsong to the bullpen for the series against the Dodgers so they could bump up Webb and Ray.

This is a smart move because the Giants are going to need their best pitchers for this incredibly important series against a bitter foe. We have covered how outside of Verlander, Webb, and Ray the rotation is very iffy at best.

The Giants are a game and a half back of the New York Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot. With just a few weeks to go, it is very possible that they could make up that ground and make the playoffs. However, there is really not much margin for error so they cannot afford to get swept, or really even lose this series against the Dodgers if they want to have a chance.

It seems somewhat fitting that the Giants have to face the Dodgers seven more times the rest of this season. To get back into the playoffs it seems only right that the Giants will have to hold their own against their rival and the defending champs.

Even if the Dodgers have been struggling and showing signs of weakness as of late, it is still the Dodgers. They still have talent everywhere you look on the roster and the Giants are going to have to play the same sort of baseball they have played these last few weeks if they want a chance to win.

The Giants pushing up their aces makes for three great pitching matchups on paper. Justin Verlander vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Logan Webb vs. Clayton Kershaw, and Robbie Ray vs. Tyler Glasnow are three premier pitching matchups and should make for some great games this weekend.

The Giants are going to need to play their best in these three games so one hopes their aces can bring their best stuff in this important series coming down the stretch.

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