San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction and Betting Odds August 4
San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Preview
WagerTalk MLB analyst Brian Ochsner offers his analysis of Thursday’s San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers clash at Oracle Park. This hasn’t been a rivalry as of late with the Dodgers winning 7-straight between these two teams.
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| Thursday, August 4 | MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Moneyline: | San Francisco Giants +175 vs Los Angeles Dodgers -210 |
| Runline: | Giants +1.5 (+110) / Dodgers -1.5 (-130) |
| Total: | 8 Runs (Over -105 / Under -115) |
| Game Time: | 3:45pm ET / 12:45pm PT |
| Where: | Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA |
| Weather: | 70 Degrees / Clear |
San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Analysis
The San Francisco Giants host the Los Angeles Dodgers in the matinee finale of a four-game series. Southpaw Clayton Kershaw toes the rubber against right-hander Jakob Junis, first pitch scheduled for 3:45 PM EDT / 12:45 PDT.
Although he isn’t the pitcher he used to be, Clayton Kershaw has still pitched pretty well for the Dodgers this season. The veteran southpaw has posted a 2.66 ERA with a 0.98 WHIP in 14 starts and 81.1 innings, and allowed just 14 walks and six home runs with 84 strikeouts.
Dodgers Destroying The Opposition
Kershaw has faced the Giants twice this year, once at home and once on the road. His June 11th start in Oracle Park was limited to 4.0 innings, giving up three hits, two earned runs and one home run. When he faced them at home on July 24th, he went 4.1 innings giving up five hits, four earned runs and one home run, with six strikeouts and two walks.
Big Blue has the highest team OPS and lowest staff ERA in MLB, and the 6th lowest bullpen ERA. They also have the highest OPS on the road versus righties at .795. Pret-ty, pret-ty good, as Larry David would say, and there’s not much else I can add to these impressive stats.
Bullpen Becoming Giant Issue
When he’s been healthy, Jakob Junis has pitched well and put up good numbers for the Giants in 2022. The righty has posted a 2.78 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 12 games, nine starts and 58.1 innings. He pitched his first game of the season on April 22, and was out for five weeks in June and July due to a left hamstring strain.
Junis has been limited in his last three starts to no more than 4.1 innings in each outing, so it looks like he’s on a tight pitch count from manager Gabe Kapler. That’s not good news for the Giants, who have seen their bullpen implode to the 5th highest ERA of any firemen in MLB.
The G-Men have hit right-handers well at Oracle Park, with a 4th best OPS of .813, a team batting average of .252. They also have the most home runs at home versus right-handers of any team in baseball with 33 – that’s one more than the Yankees.
San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction
Although both pitchers have great season-long numbers, the Giants have had some success off Kershaw this season. And it doesn’t look like Junis will go more than five innings.
I don’t want to rely on a San Fran bullpen (one of the worst in MLB) to try and hold down one of the best lineups in baseball. That’s why I’ll take the full game over total runs scored.
Prediction: Over 8 Total Runs Scored (-105)
First Pitch | MLB Predictions for Thursday, August 4
Join Drew Martin and a rotating panel of guests for First Pitch as we break down the daily baseball slate from a betting perspective. Join WagerTalk’s team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the MLB moneylines, run lines and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s baseball games, including this San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Brian Ochsner graduated from Kansas State University with degrees in Accounting and Agribusiness. He’s a life-long baseball fan and “numbers guy” who tolerates the Colorado Rockies (bad ownership), and is a Denver Broncos and Kansas State Wildcats fan. Along with his interest in the sports wagering industry, he enjoys eating good BBQ, reading books on marketing, finance and economics, and playing Texas Hold ‘Em poker.
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