The Major League Baseball season is picking up a little bit of steam, although for nearly every team, it’s still too early to panic or overreact based on one series or even a full week. Yet, it will still be important for various divisional rivals to win head-to-head meetings in order to set a tone and not fall too far off the pace in the first month of the journey to the World Series. Los Angeles and San Francisco, two fierce rivals, are not going to want to suffer a sweep right now, that much is certain.
Series Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers @ San Francisco Giants
Game 1: Tuesday, April 15
10:15 PM ET
The matchup here is going to attract a lot of attention for reasons that go beyond the Dodger-Giant rivalry. Josh Beckett and Tim Lincecum have both been part of pitching staffs that have won World Series. They have both been aces for great teams. They have both pitched at a level that so many pitchers have not been able to reach throughout a whole career. Beckett and Lincecum have accomplished great things in baseball, but now they’re both at points where their best days certainly seem to be behind them. Can Beckett or Lincecum be great on one night? They can. Yet, their successes don’t seem to last very long. As soon as they throw one really good game, they get battered in the next one and they don’t manage to string together several great starts. It’s hard to put too much faith in either pitcher, so that’s why this game is a tough one to handicap. The Dodgers are playing better baseball right now, having swept the Arizona Diamondbacks on the road over the weekend, but the Giants probably have a little more to prove after being out of the playoff picture last season. Take San Francisco here.
Pick: San Francisco
Game 2: Wednesday, April 16
10:15 PM ET
This is a matchup between two good pitchers at different stages of their careers. Los Angeles starter Hyun-Jin Ryu is just beginning to realize his potential at age 27. He should still have a live arm for many years to come, and he can remain a number three or number four starter in the Dodgers’ rotation if he’s up to the task. Ryu doesn’t need to be a number two starter on another rotation, not when he can back up Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Ryu knows that he doesn’t have to dominate every game, but he also knows that he can become a third elite pitcher for this team.
Ryan Vogelsong of the Giants is 36 years old. He was a vital member of the 2012 World Series championship team, and he still has something left to offer San Francisco. He and Ryu are evenly matched, but if the Giants do wind up winning game one of this series, the edge would probably flow to the Dodgers in game two, purely as an extension of odds and percentages. Neither team is likely to sweep this series.
Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers
Game 3: Thursday, April 17
3:45 PM ET
The matinee finale of this series pits Greinke, the Dodgers’ “second ace” behind Kershaw, and Madison Bumgarner of the Giants. The thing to notice here is that Bumgarner helped win his previous start by hitting a grand slam home run. That’s not likely to happen again anytime soon, and that’s a reason to go with the Dodgers. It’s also wise to pick Los Angeles because Greinke is simply very good at what he does. In the midst of focusing on Bumgarner’s grand slam homer from his previous start, one should not forget that Greinke is one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball, a player who very rarely gives up an easy out from his pitcher’s spot at ninth in the Dodgers’ batting order. Go with Los Angeles in this day game by the San Francisco Bay.
Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers
