Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — For the first time this year, divisional rivals the San Francisco Giants will be heading into Los Angeles, for a quick two-game series with the Dodgers. And while fan rivalry will surely be as hot as ever, it is a different Giants club that will be taking the field on Tuesday night.
Big stars out of the lineup
The most striking thing about the 2022 Giants is who won’t be on the field this week. Gone is Buster Posey. The perennial Dodger killer has retired. Evan Longoria, Tommy LaStella, and Brandon Belt are all on the IL. Kevin Gausman left for Toronto during the off-season. Even our old buddy Joc Pederson, a new addition, is nursing an injury and not likely to see time in this series.
Granted, the Dodgers have their share of injuries, too. Mostly on the pitching side. No Blake Treinen is the biggest hurdle for the the late innings. But the core nine is pretty much intact, and will be ready for action in this series.
Pitching responsible for Giant success
Still, despite their depleted lineup, the Giants’ record is an impressive 14-8, just a half game behind the division-leading Dodgers. They’ve been able to amass this record with a remarkable 8-3 record on the road. So obviously, they are still a formidable foe in the division. The reason they’re nipping at the Dodgers’ heels right now is the Giants’ pitching: their team ERA is third in the National League, and the San Francisco bullpen is even better, boasting an NL-best ERA of 2.59. Clearly runs will be at premium in this series, which is not great news for a Dodger team that was scuffling against the lesser pitching of Arizona and Detroit last week.
Urias vs. Rodon on Tuesday
Game One of the series on Tuesday night will feature the marquee pitching match-up of the series. Julio Urias will take the mound for the Dodgers, and Carlos Rodon will get the ball for the Giants. Rodon is a new addition to the team this season, coming over from the Chicago White Sox via free agency in March. Rodon, who as you may recall threw a no-hitter last year, has been worth every penny of his new contract so far. His record sits at 3-0, with an ERA of a gaudy 1.17. There won’t be much meat on the bone for Dodger hitters, so they had better be ready to pounce when the opportunity presents itself.
Wednesday’s starters still TBA
On Wednesday, the pitching matchup is a little murkier. We know that former Dodger Alex Wood will be on the bump for the Giants, but Dave Roberts has been a little coy about his plans for the evening. It is usually Tony Gonsolin‘s spot in the rotation, and he may very well end up getting the start. But there is also a possibility of a bullpen game on Wednesday, to give the Giant hitters as many different looks as possible in nine innings of baseball.
I would imagine whether on not Roberts adopts that strategy might depend on how deep Urias can get into the game on Tuesday. The bullpen is rested, but a bit banged up. In addition to Treinen’s absence, David Price and Mitch White are both on the IL, so it remains to be seen whether Roberts has the quality arms to make a bullpen day work at this point in the season.
Let’s get it on…
Last year, the Giants and Dodgers battled to the last pitch of the NLDS, and to be honest, they both knocked each other out. The depleted Dodgers weren’t much of a match for the streaking Braves, especially without home field advantage. (Darren Ruf did go around, and, yeah, I’m still salty about that). There is sure to be plenty of fireworks in this year’s iterative of the rivalry. Let’s get things rolling….
