After a disappointing series in St. Louis, the San Francisco Giants will have every chance to prove they still belong at the top of the National League West standings with a 4 game series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s time to dive into this series and see who the players will be, the matchups, the odds and what to look forward to in this critical series at Dodger Stadium.

The San Francisco Giants had an amazing first half thanks in large part to their offense. They currently have more home runs than any team in the National League and have crushed fastballs all season long. However, they have struggled at cashing in with runners in scoring position, especially recently. The Dodgers lead most offensive categories over San Francisco and have crushed righties this season. They lead the National League in OPS and will not be an easy offense to tame.

The Dodgers may be a bit short on starters with injuries to Dustin May and Clayton Kershaw along with the absence of Trevor Bauer, but they still have solid arms like Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, and David Price to go along with the ace Walker Buehler. However, the Dodgers have been taxing their bullpen a lot with just four starters and are considering promoting top prospect Josiah Gray very soon, possibly for tomorrow’s game. Offensively, the Dodgers are near full-strength although Corey Seager is on the 60-day IL with a hand fracture. They have plenty of depth in the infield though with Gavin Lux and All Star Chris Taylor.

The Giants will be without Buster Posey this series and are still waiting for the returns of infielders Brandon Belt, Tommy La Stella and Evan Longoria. However, this team has had an amazing next-man-up mentality and have still maintained a winning culture thanks to key hits by Lamonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores. Healthy and ready to contribute will be All Star Brandon Crawford and second baseman Donovan Solono, whose .309 batting average since 2019 is the 9th best in all of baseball.

Game 1 (7/19/2021):

San Francisco Giants: Kevin Gausman (RHP) 9-3, 1.73 ERA

Los Angeles Dodgers: Tony Gonsolin (RHP) 1-0, 2.13 ERA

Tonight, the San Francisco Giants will be going with the amazing Kevin Gausman, returning from a short absence due to a family emergency. He has been absolutely dominant this season and should be in the Cy Young Award conversation, although Jacob DeGrom is probably the frontrunner. His control has been on point all season long, but his main out pitch - the splitter - has been near untouchable.

The Dodgers faced Gausman on May 30th and were shutout for 6 innings, striking out 7 times and managing just 2 hits. They fared better against Gausman on June 29th when they loaded the bases in the first inning and brought in 2 runs with a big hit by Chris Taylor. Giants-killer Max Muncy also homered against Gausman that day. The Dodgers scored 3 runs with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. One hitter to worry about is Mookie Betts, who has some ownage on Gausman with a career .351 average in 37 at bats including 3 home runs.

The Giants offense will face Tony Gonsolin, who has been solid this year but walks too many at 5.3 per 9 innings. However, he has been improving and has just walked 2 batters in his last 9 innings. He has struck out 31 batters this season in just 26 innings mostly using a nice splitter of his own and a nasty slider. The Giants haven’t faced him much but when they have, there hasn’t been much success. The current active roster is just 1 for 8 against Gonsolin.

This should be a very intriguing matchup although the obvious advantage has to go to Gausman, who has been one of the best starters in baseball.

Prediction: Giants 5 Dodgers 3

Game 2 (7/20/2021):

San Francisco Giants: Alex Wood (LHP) 8-3, 3.67 ERA

Los Angeles Dodgers: Bullpen Game?

The Giants currently have Alex Wood lined up to start Game 2 and the former Dodger has been one of the best free agent signings of the off-season for San Francisco. He won 8 games in the first half with a 3.67 ERA and the Giants have won 4 of the last 5 games he started. He hasn’t fared too well against his former team this season though, giving up four home runs in 12 innings. However, other than the long ball, he has done well, striking out 15 batters and walking just 2. Keeping the ball in the ballpark will be a big key for Wood in Game 2 of this series.

The Dodgers may go with an opener, which means it could be a bullpen game, with Julio Urias slated to start Wednesday and no one yet announced for Tuesday. There have been major concerns that the Dodgers have been pushing their pen too hard recently, with the bullpen throwing more innings than the starters so far this month. The All Star Break helped but LA had to use 6 relievers in their 10 inning loss to Colorado on Sunday. The Dodgers may decide to start Josiah Gray, who missed most of the season with a shoulder injury, but recently returned and has a 2.87 ERA through three starts with Triple A Oklahoma City this season. The Dodgers ideally would like him to have more time in the minors, but desperate times call for desperate measures and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make his big league debut against the Giants on Tuesday.

As a Giants fan, I would personally prefer it to be a bullpen game. I could easily see Josiah Gray dominating in his debut and becoming a spark for this Dodgers team trying to catch the Giants and prove that they are the best in the west.

Prediction: Giants 6 Dodgers 5 (If bullpen game), Giants 3 Dodgers 5 (If Gray starts)

Game 3 (07/21/2021):

San Francisco Giants: Logan Webb (RHP) 4-3, 3.53 ERA

Los Angeles Dodgers: Julio Urias (LHP) 12-3, 3.78 ERA

Game 3 will feature young right-hander Logan Webb going for the Giants. Webb had an insanely impressive Spring Training but then struggled to start the regular season. Throughout his last 5 starts, Webb has given up only 3 earned runs, although he missed all of June with a strained shoulder. He came back July 9th and threw 3 outstanding innings against the Nationals, giving up just 1 hit and striking out four. He made another start last Friday against St. Louis throwing 4 innings, giving up a run with just one walk and 2 strikeouts. He should be ready to go at least five assuming he pitches well.

However, the Giants will have to face Julio Urias, who has been very good this season, with 12 wins already. He went 7-1 to start the season with a 3.03 ERA. However, Urias has struggled somewhat lately. He gave up 4 runs in 5 innings against the Rockies last Friday. He has already thrown more innings in a season than he ever has. The Giants had success against him earlier this season with 11 hits and 6 earned runs through 5 innings on May 29th. He did dominate the Marlins on July 8th allowing just 1 run with 7 strong innings, 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. The big question is which Urias will show up? And for that matter, which Webb will show up?

This matchup is very hard to predict, but I am a bit nervous about Webb facing this potent offense and wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers score some runs early. If Urias is shaky like he was against the Rockies, the Giants will have a chance to do the same. But if the Urias we saw during most of the early part of the season shows up, the Giants could be in a for long night. Out of respect for his dominance for the majority of the season, I’ll have to say the Dodgers have the edge in Game 3, but anything can happen in this one.

Prediction: Giants 4 Dodgers 7

Game 4 (07/22/2021):

San Francisco Giants: Anthony DeSclafani (RHP) 10-4, 2.78 ERA

Los Angeles Dodgers: Walker Buehler (RHP) 10-1, 2.37 ERA

A fitting matchup for the finale are two of the best pitchers in the National League despite the fact that DeSclafani was not selected to the All Star Game. Buehler has given up just 2 runs in his last 13 innings (2 starts) and is 10-1 on the season with a 2.37 ERA. However, the Giants have Anthony DeSclafani, who also has 10 wins with 4 losses and a 2.78 ERA. In his last 7 games, Disco is 5-2 with a 1.74 ERA with wins in his last two starts against the Nationals and Diamondbacks.

The Giants did hit Buehler well earlier this season but it’s still Walker Buehler and the majority of the active roster hasn’t hit him too well with the exception of Steven Duggar, who is 3 for 10 with a homer. The Dodger hitters with success against DeSclafani include Matt Beatty, who is 3 for 3 with a home run, Gavin Lux, who is 3 for 8 with a homer and Will Smith, who is 3 for 5 with a homer. Max Muncy also has 2 home runs off DeSclafani in 11 career at bats, but he simply destroys any one in a Giants uniform.

This very well could be a pitching duel to end out the series. The Dodgers, with a healthy and powerful lineup, will be considered the favorites in most if not all of these games as far as the official betting lines go, but the Giants have been proving those lines wrong all season long. This last game, regardless of what happens in the first three, will be a fun one. I’m predicting the game is decided in the late innings and that the Giants will take advantage of an overworked Dodgers pen and find a way to get the win.

Prediction: Giants 3 Dodgers 2

I believe the Giants are for real and will somehow find a way to win or split this series, but they must at a minimum not get swept, as the Dodgers will be looking to take the lead in the National League West. This is going to be a massive series - I can’t wait! Let’s go Giants!