San Francisco Giants (60-94 SU, 66-88 RL, 71-71-12 O/U) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (98-56 SU, 76-78 RL, 75-74-5 O/U)
When: 4:10 PM EDT, Sunday, September 24, 2017
Where: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California
Lines: Los Angeles -290/ San Francisco +255
Total: 7
Sunday afternoon bases and a couple of teams from the National League West will square off as the San Francisco Giants invade Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California to rumble with the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of their three-game series. Pitching Probables: Chris Stratton (3-3, 3.94 ERA) will toe the slab for the Giants in this one and he will be opposed by Clayton Kershaw (17-4, 2.26 ERA).
It’s Almost Over San Fran Fans
The San Francisco Giants have not had a good season at all and they currently own the worst record in the league. They have really struggled on the road as they have gone just 24-52 away from home, which is also the worst mark in the league. They are now taking on the team with the best record in their league, so it will be hard for them to improve on their record in this series. They played hard in game one of this series but still fell by a 4-2 score. Their pitching has been much better for them down the stretch, but still, this is an offensively inept team and unless they find a couple of big bats for next year, they will not be a part of the postseason party once again. Toeing the rubber for the Giants in this one will be Chris Stratton and he has gone 3-3 with a 3.94 ERa in 11 games (eight starts) on the year, including 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA in his last three starts and 1-2 with a 3.42 ERA in five games (four starts) on the road. Stratton has gone 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA in nine games (five starts) in the daytime in his career and is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in two games (one start) against the Dodgers.
The Giants have been a very poor offensive team so far as they come in ranked 29th in the league in scoring, putting up just 3.93 rpg, while also ranking 23rd in hitting at .248 and 30th in homers with 123. On the mound, they have been below average so far as they come in ranked 17th in the league in ERA at 4.55 while also ranking 22nd in WHIP at 1.39.
Dodgers Clinch National League West
The Los Angeles Dodgers have gone just 7-20 in their last 27 games, but because they had such an amazing 1st three quarters of the season, they were able to build a huge lead in their division and thanks to that big lead they have now clinched the National League West title after taking down the Giants by a score of 4-2 in game one of this series. It is their 5th straight division title. Rich Hill had a solid out as he allowed just one ERA on five hits and one walk while striking out nine in 6.0 innings of work. Kenley Jansen did allow a run in the 9th but still got his 40th save in the game, while getting the big blow on offense was Cody Bellinger, who had a three-run homer in the 3rd inning. He now has 39 homers on the year and is pretty much a lock for National League Rookie Of The Year honors. The Dodgers have gone 53-23 here at home for the year and they have averaged 4.83 rpg and have allowed 3.43 rpg in those games. Getting the nod for the Dodgers in this one will be Clayton Kershaw and he has gone 17-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 25 starts on the year, including 1-2 with a 5.17 in his last three starts and 8-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 13 starts here at home. Kershaw has gone 27-10 with a 1.99 ERA in 51 games (49 starts) in Sept/ Oct and he has gone 79-31 with a 2.05 ERA in 150 career starts here at Dodger Stadium, while against the Giants overall he has gone 21-9 with a 1.62 ERA in 40 games (39 starts).
The Dodgers have been a decent offensive team so far as they come in ranked 13th in the league in scoring, putting up 4.71 rpg, while also ranking 22nd in hitting at .248 and 11th in homers with 210. On the mound, they come in ranked 2nd in the league in with an ERA of 3.43, while ranking 1st in WHIP at 1.15.
Trends
San Francisco is:
- 15-36 in their last 51 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600
- 4-11 in their last 15 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15
Los Angeles is:
- 48-22 in their last 70 games vs. a starter with a WHIP greater than 1.30
- 9-2 in Kershaw’s last 11 starts vs. the Giants
The Dodgers have really been struggling of late, and Clayton Kershaw has a 5.27 ERA in his last three starts, but the Giants have been a horrible road team and Chris Stratton has a 4.35 ERA in his last three starts. The Dodgers are still trying to lock down home field advantage in the playoffs and Clayton Kershaw would like to finish strong as he heads to the postseason, so I look for a very good outing from home in this one, while Chris Stratton will struggle to keep a good Los Angeles offense down. The Dodgers have gone 53-23 here at home for the year, while the Giants are just 24-52 on the road. Take the Dodgers to win this one easily.