The Los Angeles Dodgers have been an absolute monster this season. They check in at 50-25 this season giving them baseball’s best record and making them the first team in the majors to hit the 50 win mark. On Thursday, they’ll finish a four game series against their divisional rivals San Francisco looking to take 3 of 4 from the Giants. San Francisco took the first game of the set on Monday by a 3-2 margin but it has been all Los Angeles since with the Dodgers winning the second and third games of the series by a combined margin of 18-2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
San Francisco remains mired in last place in the National League West. The Giants are 31-41 and a full 17.5 games behind the first place Dodgers. For that matter, they’re 5.5 games behind the fourth place Arizona Diamondbacks. They have the #29 team batting average in the Major Leagues (.223) and their pitching–typically a Giants’ strength–has also been substandard with SF checking in with the #19 team ERA in baseball (4.64). The Dodgers, meanwhile, have the #5 team batting average in the Major Leagues (.264) and the #1 team ERA (3.17). When a team can hit and pitch this well they’re going to win a lot of ball games and the Dodgers have done just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dodgers have been scary good at Chavez Ravine this year with a record of 30-9 +14-6 units. They’ve bludgeoned righthanders at home (20-4) though their 10-5 record against lefthanders isn’t too shabby either. They’ll face lefthander Madison Bumgarner who has been in reasonably good form this year with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.172 WHIP. The Dodgers are 16-9 against LHP overall this year. LA will send Jose Urias who hasn’t started a game since April 18. He’ll face a Giants’ offense that has been downright awful against LHP this year (3 runs per game, .210 BA) going 8-15 -3.8 units against southpaws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Los Angeles is statistically better than San Francisco in every phase of the game and the baseball betting odds<\/a> on this game are fairly reasonable due to Urias’ lack of recent activity. Anytime you can get the Dodgers at home for less than -200 it’s tough to pass up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n