Dodgers vs Giants Picks and Odds – Aug. 25
By Robert Duff in MLB Baseball
Published:
- The Los Angeles Dodgers are -200 road favorites on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at Oracle Park against the San Francisco Giants
- LA reached midseason at 22-8, the best record in baseball
- The Giants (+170) are 14-16 and eight games behind the Dodgers in the NL West
The Los Angeles Dodgers are 22-8 this season. At the midway point of the 60-game season, that’s the best record in MLB.
Three of those eight losses were handed to LA by the San Francisco Giants. That only serves to validate a point about this long-standing rivalry: when the Dodgers and Giants take to the diamond, throw away the records. These hated rivals are always ready to throw down.
Nonetheless, Los Angeles is listed as the -200 road favorite in the Dodgers vs Giants odds for the opener of this three-game series at Oracle Park on Tuesday evening (9:45 pm ET, Aug. 25).
Dodgers vs Giants Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total FanDuel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | -200 | -1.5 (-127) | O 9.0 (-115) |
| San Francisco Giants | +170 | +1.5 (+108) | U 9.0 (-106) |
Odds as of Aug. 24.
Los Angeles has won two of the last three meetings. San Francisco owns a 3-2 edge over the last five games between the two ball clubs.
Dodgers Dominance
Los Angeles punished the Colorado Rockies with seven home runs in Sunday’s finale of a three-game sweep of their weekend series. In Sunday’s 11-3 win, outfielder Mookie Betts homered twice and stole two bases. In the long history of the Dodgers, no player had done that before Betts.
The @Dodgers are officially halfway through the 2020 season and they have the best record in MLB (22-8).
Is this finally the year? pic.twitter.com/0jfZmz2g4f
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 24, 2020
Third baseman Justin Turner (sore hamstring) was held out of Sunday’s lineup. Turner was hit by a Kyle Freeland pitch in LA’s Saturday win over Colorado.
Indications from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts are that Turner should be good to go for Tuesday.
A Giants Decision
Amazingly, despite being two games under .500, the Giants occupy an NL wildcard playoff spot. A six-game winning streak put them into that odd position.
It’s also left the club in a bit of a quandary. In the midst of a rebuild, are they buyers or sellers at the Aug. 31st MLB trade deadline?
Home sweep home. 🧹
#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/Ay12WWSthD— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 23, 2020
Veteran pitchers Drew Smyly, Kevin Gausman and Trevor Cahill are all on one-year contracts, as is closer Tony Watson. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval and first baseman Darin Ruf are headed for free agency.
If any of them are sought by a contender, should the Giants ship them out? San Francisco made one move on Sunday, designating one-time World Series hero Hunter Pence for assignment.
Cueto Knows Dodgers Well
Over his big-league career, Johnny Cueto has stared down his fair share of Dodger blue. This will be his 23rd career start against LA.
Johnny Cueto, Kevin Gausman and Logan Webb will start for the Giants in the upcoming series against the Dodgers.
— Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) August 23, 2020
Cueto is 8-9 with a 3.62 ERA against them over the years.
Dodgers Career Stats vs Cueto
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Barnes | 7 | 0 | 2 | .143 |
| Matt Beaty | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Cody Bellinger | 21 | 1 | 1 | .286 |
| Mookie Betts | 9 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
| Enrique Hernandez | 12 | 0 | 2 | .333 |
| Max Muncy | 6 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| Joc Pederson | 24 | 1 | 2 | .125 |
| AJ Pollock | 12 | 0 | 0 | .167 |
| Corey Seager | 36 | 3 | 6 | .361 |
| Will Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Chris Taylor | 13 | 0 | 1 | .231 |
| Justin Turner | 30 | 2 | 5 | .333 |
In his last start, the veteran right-hander got the win against LA’s other team, the Angels. He allowed four hits and two earned runs over 5.2 innings.
For the season, he’s 2-0 with a 4.35 ERA.
Urias Looking to Rebound
On the surface, the numbers next to Julio Urias on the stats sheet look to be solid. The Dodgers lefty is 2-0 with a 2.74 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched. Unfortunately, the last time he toed the rubber, El Culichi didn’t gain much of a toehold.
He was roughed by by the Seattle Mariners for four hits in 1.2 innings of work. It should be noted, though, that all five of the outs recorded by Urias were via strikeout.
Giants Career Stats vs Urias
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joey Bart | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Brandon Belt | 12 | 1 | 3 | .250 |
| Brandon Crawford | 8 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Alex Dickerson | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Mauricio Dubon | 4 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Steven Duggar | 4 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| Wilmer Flores | 5 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
| Evan Longoria | 8 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Darin Ruf | 4 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
| Pablo Sandoval | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Donovan Solano | 7 | 0 | 1 | .143 |
| Chadwick Tromp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Mike Yastrzemski | 6 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
Urias has already faced the Giants twice this season. Although he’s without a decision, he’s pitched effectively. He held the Giants to two earned runs and eight hits over nine innings of work.
#Dodgers Julio Urias in 1st inning of 1st 5 starts — 4 runs, 8 for 23 (.348)
Every other inning — 3 runs, 12 for 61 (.197)— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 20, 2020
San Francisco will want to take advantage of the opportunity against Urias. The Dodgers will close out the series by sending Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler to the mound.
Pick: San Francisco Giants (+170).
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
