While the Yankees and Red Sox were playing over the weekend, another rivalry is getting underway in San Francisco on Monday. The Dodgers took three out of four from the Giants to start out the season. Two of those wins were only by a run though.
Not much is known about this west coast rivalry, but this series will be carefully monitored. Giants fan Bryan Stow was brutally beaten following the end of an opening day 2-1 win by the Dodgers. This series will have a lot of drama on and off the field. The Giants have already come out and said that the game on Monday will have World Series level security.
The Dodgers are currently 5-4 with a 2-3 road record. They were swept in Colorado, and nearly swept the Padres on the road.
Dodgers stats to consider:
- Runs scored: 26 (24th)
- Batting average: .255 (15th)
- OBP: .319 (19th)
- Slugging PCT: .358 (20th)
The Dodgers have not been extremely effective offensively as these stats show. They have scored more than two runs in five of their nine games.
The Giants currently are 4-5 with a 2-1 home record. They just got two out of three from the Cardinals after a busy weekend, where they received their World Series banner and rings. Buster Posey also received his rookie of the year award on Sunday.
Giants stats to consider:
- Runs scored: 37 (16th)
- Batting average: .259 (14th)
- OBP: .324 (13th)
- Slugging PCT: .401 (16th)
The Giants offense has started out somewhat slow. They have scored two or fewer runs in four of their games, just like the Dodgers. The Giants went off against Ted Lilly for 10 runs in their lone win against the Dodgers.
Pitching matchups:
- Monday April 11th, 2011—Clayton Kershaw vs. Madison Bumgarner. Without a doubt, Kershaw gets the leg up in this one as he is 1-1 on the season and shut down the Giants on opening day. Kershaw did get tagged for three runs in six innings against the Rockies. Bumgarner only lasted three innings in his one and only start. He allowed five hits and three runs in those short few innings. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back.
- Tuesday April 12th, 2011—Chad Billingsley vs. Tim Lincecum. Billingsley did beat the Giants in the second game of the season, but he got rocked for five runs in three innings against the Rockies. Lincecum has been outstanding only allowing one run in 14 innings of work thus far. He is however 1-1, do to an offense that sometimes won't pull its own weight. Lincecum has 18 strikeouts through two starts.
- Wednesday April 13th, 2011—Ted Lilly vs. Jonathan Sanchez. Lily has only went nine innings in his first two starts combined. He has allowed 13 hits and six runs during that time. Lily is 0-1. Jonathan Sanchez has went a total of 10 and 1/3 innings through two starts. He has allowed a total of 11 hits and three earned runs. The worrying stat is his five walks, although he does have 15 strikeouts.
Offensive keys:
- Dodgers center field Matt Kemp leads the team with a .438 batting average, one home run, a .514 OBP and 14 hits. Kemp has four RBI as well.
- Dodgers right fielder Andre Eithier leads the team with five RBI. Eithier is hitting .353 thus far.
- Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe returns to AT&T for the first time since heading to the Dodgers. He has been hitting a very poor .111 and will hear it from the fans.
- Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval leads the team with a .400 average, a .438 OBP and 12 hits.
- Giants right fielder Aubrey Huff leads the team with seven RBI. Huff is only hitting .222 this far into the season.
- Giants left fielder Pat Burrell leads the team with three RBI. Burrell is currently hitting .160, which is a team worse.
When breaking down the pitching matchups, Monday's goes to the Dodgers as Kershaw has officially reached ace status. The guy is one of the best pitchers in the game and shut down the Giants on opening day. It will be interesting to see how Bumgarner bounces back for the Giants as well.
On Tuesday, the Giants have their ace on the mound in Lincecum. Lincecum has been dominant this year and struck out six of the nine batters faced against the Padres in his last start. You can never count out Dodgers starter Billingsley as he is a very solid No. 2 starter and beat the Giants in the second game of the season.
Wednesday will feature two lefties. Lilly got tagged for four runs off six hits in four and two thirds innings against the Giants. Lilly has not made it passed five innings in his first two starts. Sanchez has walked a total of five in his first two starts. He has also struck out 15 as well.
Without a doubt, this series will be very interesting. The Dodgers got three out of four from the Giants in the opening series. Look for the Giants to come out and play with some confidence after nearly sweeping the Cardinals. The Dodgers will play the same way after they nearly swept San Diego on the road.
Prediction: The Giants will win the series 2-1 after losing the first game to Kershaw.
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