SF Giants-LA Dodgers series preview: A chance to build real momentum

The SF Giants and LA Dodgers go head-to-head 13 times per season, split across four series. And every one of those series is an opportunity to build momentum and give the fanbase a huge moral boost. There is nothing like defeating their Southern California foe in a multi-game set, something Giants fans haven't had the pleasure of celebrating since late June 2024. The Dodgers have claimed four consecutive series heading into tonight's matchup, and their supremacy is at its peak.

Despite being hampered by injuries early on — Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and closer Edwin Diaz are all out for various reasons — the Dodgers (16-6) and their $260 million payroll remain the team to beat. The Giants are coming off a bittersweet 4-5 road trip out east. They started it with the same lack of scoring punch that had already become too familiar, managing just 17 runs through the first two series. But finally showed signs of life in the first two games of the series against a shaky Nationals pitching staff, only to be shut out in the series finale.

However, the disparity between the lowly Nationals and the elite Dodgers is about as stark as it gets. So, let’s go over the key storylines heading into Tuesday’s series opener.

It’s not just the stars carrying Los Angeles

Maybe not by their standards, but basically everybody on the Dodgers is having a productive season, at least by MLB standards. Both Shohei Ohtani (.908) and Kyle Tucker (.738) have posted below-average OPS marks, but it hasn't stopped them from contributing to winning. Ohtani currently rides a 52-game on-base streak, which ranks third in Dodgers history and has already surpassed legend Babe Ruth's career-best 51-game streak. And Tucker's slow start has still translated into 13 RBI and 12 walks, both of which would team-best on this iteration of the Giants.

Meanwhile, Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing have turned into RBI and home run machines, respectively. Fresh off the most prolific season of his young major-league career, Pages has burst out of the gates. His .370 batting average, 30 hits, and 21 RBI all lead the league. As for the backup catcher Dalton Rushing, well, to put it harshly, he has more home runs (7) than the entire Giants core four — Adames, Devers, Chapman, and Lee — combined, and in more than 60 fewer at-bats. He’s on pace to hit 142 homers, which is utterly ridiculous.

If the bullpen sustains this level of play, the Giants will have a chance

Projected starters

Tuesday: Landen Roupp (RHP 3-1, 2.38 ERA) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (RHP 2-1, 2.10 ERA)

Wednesday: Tyler Mahle (RHP 0-3, 7.23 ERA) vs. Shohei Ohtani (RHP 2-0, 0.50 ERA)

Thursday: Logan Webb (RHP 2-2, 5.40 ERA) vs. Tyler Glasnow (RHP 2-0, 3.24 ERA)

While the road trip was, for the most part, disappointing from an offensive standpoint, the bullpen might have put together its best stretch of the early season. Over the nine games, their 2.43 ERA was the second-lowest in baseball, their 20 hits allowed were the fewest, their 1.11 WHIP and their .305 opponent slugging percentage were the third-lowest. And even though the closing role remains an unanswered question, multiple players have offered encouragement.

This Dodgers lineup should be a really interesting and telling challenge for this relief corps. If the bullpen limits the damage as much as realistically possible and gives the Giants an opportunity to win the late-innings battle, then the optimism around this group will only grow. Conversely, if this daunting L.A. lineup terrorizes every reliever that steps on the mound and basically puts the game on ice by the seventh inning, then it’s back to the drawing board, and the clamoring about calling up some guys will only get louder.

Because yes, this lineup is a lot to deal with, even with Betts and Freeman out. Through 22 games, this Dodgers offense ranks first in runs (133), home runs (42), batting average (.293), slugging percentage (.507), and OPS (.878). To emphasize this offense’s dominance while also illustrating how poor the Giants’ has been, let’s make some comparisons.

San Francisco has just one player with at least 60 plate appearances posting a higher OPS than the Dodgers as a team: Casey Schmitt, whose .878 mark is five points higher than Los Angeles’ .873. Now for the run production. L.A. has seven players with double-digit RBI; the Giants have two. The Dodgers, who lead the MLB in home runs (42), have seven players with at least three homers. The Giants, who rank last in MLB in home runs, have just one.

It cannot just come from one or two bats

The issue with the Giants’ offense hasn’t been getting knocks, as the team ranks sixth in total hits in the National League with 190, and their .251 batting average is also good for sixth. It hasn’t been driving in runners in scoring position either, as their .254 batting average in those situations is right at league average. The issue has been getting runners in scoring position, as evidenced by a second-to-last .293 on-base percentage and a league-low 43 walks. They need to do it by committee.

Basically everybody on the lineup, except maybe the most expected one, has gone through hot spells. From Adames' four-game multi-hit streak to Schmitt's sizzling stretch as the DH to Ramos finally breaking out over his last three games, the individual talent is here, now it's about bringing it all together.

And they’ve shown what that could look like in their 10-5 win over the Nationals last week. Five players collected multiple hits. Six players had extra-base hits. Three players homered. That should be the standard, and if they want to snap that maddening four-series losing streak, they’re going to have to do it again. The sooner, the better. Tuesday night would be a great time, for example.

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