Dodgers vs Giants Odds, Picks and Probable Pitchers (Sep. 5)

• The Los Angeles Dodgers are road favorites over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon
• The Dodgers send Walker Buehler (13-2, 2.05) to the mound, with the Giants leaning on their bullpen
• The odds and pitching matchups can be found below with a prediction

The National League West showdown series — and battle for the best record in MLB — between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants wraps up at 7:00 pm ET in the conclusion of a three-games set from Oracle Park.

LA and San Fran came into the matchup with identical 86-50 records. The Giants took Friday’s game 3-2 in 11 innings. Then, the Dodgers bounced back Saturday with a 6-1 win. With the Boys in Blue sending NL Cy Young Award candidate Walker Buehler to the bump Sunday — and a series on the line — the Dodgers are favored to come out on top.

Dodgers vs Giants Odds

Odds as of September 4th at FanDuel.

Probable Pitchers

On the mound, LA’s Walker Buehler (13-2, 2.05) will face a variety of Giants arms.

Buehler has been the rock of an LA rotation that has had its share of injuries and off-the-field drama in 2021. The 27-year-old has started 27 games this season — and 24 of them have been quality ones. That’s four better than any other pitcher in the bigs. Buehler’s 2.05 ERA is also the best in the majors, while his WHIP (0.91), innings pitched (176.1) and batting average against (.187) rank him second in each category across MLB.

The two-time All-Star has been especially filthy against the Giants in his career, owning a 7-0 record and 1.83 ERA in 12 appearances (ten starts) against the Dodgers’ archrival. Buehler is nearly as good all-time at Oracle Park, going 6-0 all-time with a 2.17 ERA in seven appearances (six starts).

With Alex Wood going on the COVID-19 List and Johnny Cueto going on the Injured List, manager Gabe Kapler will be covering Sunday’s game with a bunch of arms. With no set starter, let’s key on Buehler’s stats and highlight a few of the home team’s options.

Walker Buehler Key Stats

Buehler is coming off a seven-inning, four-hit effort Tuesday where he allowed a pair of earned runs and walks and struck out five in an eventual 3-2 victory over the Braves.

The right-hander is 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 11 road starts this season. In four day game starts this season, he’s been practically unhittable — going 4-0 record and 0.72 ERA.

#Dodgers Walker Buehler could become the 15th pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA and 200+ strikeouts since 1969.

He currently has 183 Ks. 💪 pic.twitter.com/kxCuJwRh6Q

— Dodgers Nation (@DodgerNationLAX) September 2, 2021

As for the Giants, expect to see a variety of arms that own MLB’s best bullpen (by ERA) since June 1st. Former All-Star starter José Quintana — who pitched 3.1 dominant innings in his Giants debut — is part of the crew. So are Sammy Long., Jarlin Garcia and Zack Littell. They have all made nine-plus out appearances over the past month.

The AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays have had nine different pitchers make at least five starts and 12 different pitchers record a save. They have thrown out traditional pitching roles and are thriving. Perhaps the Orange and Black can do the same over the last month of the season.

In 16 games against each other, Dodgers’ starters better, Giants’ relievers better.
The ERAs:
Rotation: Dodgers 2.85, Giants 4.75
Bullpen: Dodgers 5.43, Giants 3.13
Big reason Kapler says he’s confident using a “bunch of arms” this weekend.

— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) September 4, 2021

Evenly matched

In 18 head-to-head games this season, each team owns nine wins with the Dodgers scoring 76 total runs and the Giants putting up 72. The Giants have struggled coming in, going just 5-6 in their last 11 games, while manager Dave Roberts’ crew was 8-3. Trea Turner has been a welcome addition to the formidable LA lineup, sporting a .360 batting average (9-for-25) in the seven games leading into Sunday.

.@treavturner has his first 20 HR, 20 SB season. pic.twitter.com/J4XzmlHJzR

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 28, 2021

As for power, Mookie Betts and Max Muncy had each gone deep twice prior to Friday’s series opener — but only combined to go 8-for-46 (.174) in the seven games coming into Sunday. Then, there’s Buehler’s record against probable Giants hitters Sunday.