Both of tonight’s starting pitchers are searching for their first career victory in this NL West rivalry.
Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles looks to avoid being swept in this three-game weekend series, after dropping a 2-1 contest on Saturday night to the Giants at AT&T Park. The loss was the Dodgers’ fourth straight, leaving them seven games behind first-place San Diego and 5.5 games back of today’s opponent in the NL Wild Card race. “All we’re doing is digging ourselves a deeper hole that we’re going to have to come back out of if we expect to do anything,” manager Joe Torre said. The team was shorthanded on Saturday due to the trade of Blake Dewitt, Andre Ethier going home to see the birth of his second child and Manny Ramirez still on the disabled list. Los Angeles is 9-7 when playing on Sunday this year (+70) and 37-33 on this day the past three seasons (-160). The club is still 26-15 at tonight’s venue since the 2006 season and have a solid 25-12 record against the division (+1,320).
Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is 10-5 with a 2.96 ERA in 21 starts this season and is coming off one of his better outings of the year. Last time out, he tossed eight shutout innings in leading the team to a 1-0 home victory over the Mets, scattering seven hits while striking out three. The 22-year-old left-hander has gone 9-3 and limited opponents to a .213 average with a 2.34 ERA over his last 15 starts. In four career games (three starts) against the Giants, he has yet to record a decision while compiling an outstanding 1.71 ERA. Kershaw has made two starts against San Francisco this year, allowing three runs in 13 innings of work.
San Francisco has been one of the hottest teams in the league, boasting a league-best 20-6 record since July 3. The Giants have picked up four games in the standings over that span and will enjoy a day off after today’s series finale. Currently sitting second in the West and having won four of five against Los Angeles, the club is in position to pick up its first home sweep of their rivals since taking four games in June 21-24, 2004. San Francisco ended up scoring 149 runs in July, which was the most in the Majors and the first time they’ve led the league in runs scored in a single month since June 2004. The Giants are still just 17-21 against divisional foes (-700) while logging a 36-16 record against Central and East opponents. In 28 games against left-handed starters, the team has posted a 15-13 record (-60), averaging 4.6 runs per game and hitting for a combined .268 average (.262 season).
Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain is an even 8-8 with a 3.14 ERA in 21 starts this season, leading his team to three consecutive victories. Over that span, he has allowed five runs and 11 hits over 22 innings of work. Before this recent stretch, the Giants had dropped five consecutive games with him on the hill. The right-hander is a solid 5-3 with a 2.75 ERA in 10 home starts this year, as opponents are hitting just .191 against him. Cain is making his second 2010 start and 15th of his career against the Dodgers, posting an 0-8 record and 4.32 ERA over his first 14 tries. Los Angeles is the only NL West club the he hasn’t defeated in his career.
Bettors will find the Dodgers in an advantageous spot from a pitching matchup point-of-view, as the team is 8-1 in Kershaw’s last nine starts versus divisional opponents. The Giants have an uphill climb with Cain’s career numbers versus the Blue Crew and the club being 4-9 in his last 13 starts versus the NL West overall.
