NL West

In the top of the sixth inning Monday night, the Colorado Rockies knocked out San Francisco Giants' starter Madison Bumgarner. They coaxed five walks out of him on the night and cut the Giants' 3-0 lead to 3-2 against him.

Before the 2012 season, San Francisco Giants fans cringed when they heard Barry Zito’s name.

Barry Zito seems to have discovered a dominance over the St. Louis Cardinals recently.

Friday night was the much-anticipated debut of Zack Greinke in Dodger blue, and it went very well.  He pitched 6.1 strong innings, striking out six and allowing just two hits without conceding any walks.

A number of players enjoyed big games on Opening Day, but Clayton Kershaw bested them all in his first start of the new season for the Dodgers.

The San Francisco Giants won't have to face Clayton Kershaw Tuesday night, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks, as they face the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Sports bettors will find that the Giants are minus-101 road underdogs in the pro baseball odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total varies between 6.5 and seven in the market.

Let's take a closer look at this National League West matchup from a betting perspective, while offering an official pick along the way.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' record-breaking annual payroll of approximately $223 million shows how much the Guggenheim Partners group desires to resurrect the franchise. However, the product that appears on the field on Opening Day will be less than stellar.

New season. New players. New enthusiasm. A beautifully renovated stadium. For the first time in four years, hearts are thumping in anticipation amongst Dodgers' fans everywhere.

Nobody predicted that the San Francisco Giants would conquer improbable playoff series deficits to climb atop the baseball world for the second time in three seasons.

With Opening Day quickly approaching, only three National League teams have a better winning percentage than the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, they sit in the middle of the Cactus League standings. Wins say a lot during the regular season, but we need to look deeper to find meaning in those numbers during spring training.

What makes a fresh baseball season so beautiful? Maybe it's that moment when you first open the newspaper and see the standings, to find every team tied at zero. It's the only time during the season where every team has an equal chance to succeed. Even the Astros, however briefly, take comfort in not yet being mathematically eliminated.