San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Pitching to Stifle Hitters

The San Francisco Giants look for a second straight win over their NL West rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, when the teams clash on Saturday night. San Francisco Giants won Friday night, 8-5 in 10 innings after Los Angeles won the series opener 4-3 on Thursday night. Both teams are 31-20 and 1½ games behind the first-place San Diego Padres in the tight NL West race. This one will likely be another tight contest, but will it be high-scoring? Let’s look at the MLB odds and put together a pick for the total runs of the game.

Game: San Francisco Giants (31-20) at Los Angeles Dodgers (31-20) Location: Dodger Stadium Time: 7:15 p.m. ET

Betting Lines

Giants’ Pitching

The Giants will have right-hander Logan Webb on the mound. The 24-year-old is 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA, making eight starts among his nine appearances. Webb has wins in his last two starts, including a six-inning stint against Cincinnati on May 17 in which he allowed no runs on six hits. Webb went on the injured list after that game with a shoulder strain. Saturday will be his first start since the injury.

Dodgers’ Offense

The Dodgers are the second-highest scoring team in baseball, having scored 263 runs entering Saturday. Los Angeles also has the second-best on-base percentage in the majors at .341. Outfielder Mookie Betts has been in a bit of a slump of late, with just one hit over his last five games, including an 0-for-6 showing on Friday night. There is plenty of depth to the Dodgers’ lineup, though, with Matt Beaty and Austin Barnes leading the charge with home runs on Friday night.

Dodgers’ Pitching

Los Angeles will send left-hander Julio Urias to the mound as he looks to improve on his 7-1 record and 3.03 ERA. The 24-year-old has struck out 70 and walked just seven in 62⅓ innings. His last start came Sunday against the Giants, as he picked up the win by going six innings and allowing two runs on three hits, including a home run. He struck out 10 and walked none, giving him a total of one walk in five starts in May.

Giants’ Offense

San Francisco’s offense can be hit or miss at times, but it had the punch on Friday night. Catcher Buster Posey hit his 10th home run — and second against the Dodgers in a week — to lead the way. Shortstop Brandon Crawford has been the most consistent San Francisco hitter, leading the team with 11 home runs and 32 RBI. He’s struggled against the Dodgers this season, though, hitting just .176 with two doubles and no RBI.

Weather

It will be cool but clear with temperatures expected in the low 70s and no chance of precipitation.

Line Moves

The line for this game has stayed at 7½ runs since opening at that point

Pick

Urias has been hard to touch on the mound, though the Giants may have a little better handle on him after facing him recently. Los Angeles should be able to hold up its end of the 7½ runs, but whether or not the Giants can is the big question. It says here that Urias is able to keep San Francisco in check. With that in mind, when making your MLB betting picks, take the under in this NL West showdown.