The Los Angeles Dodgers finally lost again, and this time it was to the lowly Giants. On Monday, it was the San Francisco Giants winning 3-2 over the Dodgers, trying to close the gap on the first-place Dodgers, who have gotten off to a fast start. The difference in the game was a bases-clearing double by Evan Longoria, giving the Giants a 3-2 lead that they wouldn’t surrender.
Tuesday night will be the second game of the three-game set when the Dodgers (19-12) travel to AT&T Park to take on the Giants (12-17). The pitching matchup for this one is set as the Dodgers will send righty Walker Buehler (2-0, 5.25 ERA) to the mound to square off with the Giants’ southpaw Drew Pomeranz (1-2, 3.65 ERA). First pitch for the contest is scheduled for 9:45 pm ET.
The moneyline for Tuesday’s game is set at the Los Angeles Dodgers -156 and the San Francisco Giants +146. The over/under for runs scored is set at 7.
Dodgers Continue To Ride Hot Bats
Cody Bellinger has had a phenomenal season thus far in 2019, but on Monday, it became historic. Already tied for the most home runs before May 1 at 14, Bellinger eclipsed a different record when he drove in Joc Pederson in the sixth inning. It was his 37th run batted in of the season, breaking a three-way tie with Mark McGwire and Juan Gonzalez, both who had season totals of 36 before May 1. Now, sitting alone atop the record books, Bellinger hopes not to stop when the calendar flips to May.
Coming into Monday, Bellinger was hitting .427/.500/.913 with 14 home runs, 36 runs batted in, 30 runs scored and 17 walks versus just 14 strikeouts. If he keeps this pace up, we may not just be talking about a phenomenal season; it may very well be an MVP one.
On the pitching side, Walker Buehler will be taking the mound for the Dodgers on Tuesday night. This season, Buehler is 2-0 in 5 starts with a 5.25 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and opponents are hitting .230 against him. In 24 innings, he has allowed 20 hits, 14 earned runs, 2 home runs and has struck out 18 while walking 8.
In his last outing, a 7-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Buehler went 5.2 innings, allowing 4 hits and 3 earned runs, while walking 2 and striking out just 1. He will try to improve on that outing against a weak-hitting Giants team in a pitcher-friendly stadium.
Giants Hoping Win Gets Them Rolling
Once again, Monday night showed that the Giants’ offense is relatively lifeless with not a whole lot of optimism that it will improve. They will hope, though, that they can find some hits against a Walker Buehler who has not quite found his form from last season. While all in limited at-bats, Buster Posey is 1 for 1 against the righty and Pablo Sandoval is 1 for 2.
Gerardo Parra probably has the most exposure to him, having hit .273 in 11 at-bats with a solo home run to his name. Regardless, the Giants will just hope that they can muster a few runs to give their starter, Drew Pomeranz, a chance.
Speaking of Pomeranz, on the season, he is 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and opponents are hitting .258 against him. In 24.2 innings, he has given up 24 hits, 10 earned runs, 4 home runs and has struck out 28 while walking 10.
In his last outing, he picked up a win as the Giants beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0. In that game, Pomeranz had a quality start, going 6 innings, allowing just 2 hits, 2 walks and striking out 5. He will hope to keep that level of pitching going against a much better offensive team in the Dodgers.
Dodgers Take Game Two
Sadly for the Giants’ pitching staff, I just have no confidence that their offense will be able to score them enough runs on a night-to-night basis. While Walker Buehler has been far from dominant, I still like the Dodgers’ chance of squeaking out more runs against the Giants than the other way around.
Obviously, the Giants were able to do it on Monday, but I am just not sure they can consistently do that. Again, the Giants might surprise, but I think the safer money is on Buehler and the Dodgers. For my money, I am taking them at -156.