Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants Game Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/18/2022

Game Time: 4:08 pm ET, Sunday, September 18th, 2022

Venue: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings: Moneyline:  Dodgers -204, Giants +175; O/U 7.5

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  

PointsBet:  Moneyline: 

 

Dodgers: 99-44, 1st place NL West

Giants: 69-7, 3rd place NL West

This prediction is for Game 3 of the Dodgers/Giants series Sunday night.  Game 1 played Friday night and landed as we predicted for Game 1 with a Dodgers 5-0 win.  If you had followed the betting prediction of spotting your book 2.5 runs… you would have made real cash!  I pushed my bet to spot 3.5 runs (bit my fingernails all day) and gratefully cashed a big win.  The prediction for Game 2 is out already and will play tonight.  

A National League West matchup that was all the rage last season.  ReMember? Do ya?... Last season the National League West was on fire with the Giants and the Dodgers both going for 100+ wins… They finished 1 game apart with the Giants winning just one more game of the team’s head to head matchups.  It was a race for the AGES!  It was a battle of real rivals… cut razor thin by hope, expectations, and angst.  The result was that the Dodgers won just one more game against the Giants in the postseason…  the Dodgers made the World Series and the Giants went home.  This season the rivalry from last season is just an afterthought… The Dodgers will be at 100+ wins very very soon… and if the Giants play their cards right?  They may finish with a .500 record… but only if they play well.  The Giants will certainly be stuck in 3rd place and not even considered for postseason play. The Dodgers have already clinched a postseason spot.   However… even if the results of this one don’t matter to the standings… They do represent a Great Betting Opportunity.  Let’s check the pitching matchup and the Betting Trends and swell that bankroll.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are racing toward 100 wins.  We skipped the prediction in their last game against Arizona because they paid very big on the game before.  No reason to give it back… and the Dodgers in fact lost the last game against Arizona. They have won 7 of their last ten games.  They went 2-1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2-1 against the San Diego Padres, 2-1 against the San Francisco Giants, and 1-0 against the San Diego Padres.  It is beginning to feel like Groundhog’s Day (the Bill Murray one)... Someone keeps setting up either the Padres or the Giants and the Dodgers keep on mowing them down.

The San Francisco Giants have won 4 of their last 10 games.  They have had rough times on the road and at home.  It doesn’t seem to matter where they play this season.  It tends to be rough times.  They went 2-1 against the Atlanta Braves, 1-2 against the Chicago Cubs, 0-2 against the Milwaukee Brewers, and 0-2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers during that stretch.  The numbers are average to slightly below average in most categories and it has been rough sledding to get any momentum.  The Giants injury list is loaded and full of names that shined during the 100+ win last season.  Also they lost Humphries and Chris Bassett among others to free agency this last offseason.  

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LAD 97-43, 1396 ML, 61-66-13 O/U, 48-25 in road games.

SFG 69-74, -2329 ML, 67-68-8 O/U, 39-33 in home games.

  

The Dodgers are 1st in scoring with 5.45 runs per game, 3rd in batting average with .263, and 1st in OBP with .338

The Giants are 14th in runs scored with 4.38 per game, 23rd in batting average with .232, and 15th in OBP with .315

The Dodgers pitchers are 1st in ERA with 2.89, 1st in WHIP with 1.07 (that is a team average!), and the fielders are 8th in errors with 54 on the season so far.

The Giants pitchers are 13th in ERA with 3.86, 16th in WHIP with 1.28, and the fielders are 25th in errors with 89 on the season so far.

 

Our prediction for Sunday, September 18th is… Dodgers 6 - Giants 3

Game 3 is when the players start looking ahead to simply going home.  The Dodgers have been in the team hotel for 4 days after being in the team hotel in Phoenix for 4 days.  They could easily slip up and watch the Giants jump out to an early lead… but the writing is on the wall and the Giants bullpen simply can not pitch to the best line-up in baseball.  Especially a lineup that has seen a resurgence of Max Muncy and the re-discovery of Trace Thompson.  They keep getting better.

The BET is to bet the Dodgers while spotting JUST 1.5 runs… so ATS.  The advice on the last two games has been to push that number to 2.5 which paid in Game 1 and we will see if it will pay in Game 2 (tonight, Saturday).  But after doing that a few times it is best to dial back and secure the wins.

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The Dodgers are 12-4 against San Fran (+4.7 UNITS) this season.

3 of 5 games in this series at San Fran have gone UNDER this season.

The Dodgers are 42-14 as a favorite of -125 to -175 this season.

Dodgers: C Austin Barnes (personal) Out ** 3B E. Rios (hammy) Out ** CF K Pillar (shoulder) Out ** 

Giants: CF Luis Gonzalez Quest ** 2B T La Stella Out ** LF A Slater Out ** 1B B Belt Out **

Dodgers: LHP Andrew Heaney, 3-2, 2.84 ERA, 84 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched.  1.07 WHIP.  “Heandog” is working hard to get in the postseason rotation.  The 31 year old may end up just a middle reliever… but a good one.

Giants: RHP Alex Cobb, 6-6, 3.48 ERA, 133 strikeouts in 129 innings pitched.  1.27 WHIP.  The 34 year old is having very consistent numbers this season to his career averages… which turns out is just average .500 W/L.

Dodgers: RF Mookie Betts, SS Trea Turner, 1B Freddie Freeman, C Will Smith, 3B Max Muncy, DH Justin Turner, 2B Gavin Lux, LF Joey Gallo, CF Cody Bellinger

Giants: RF LaMonte Wade Jr, CF Mike Yastremski, 2B Wilmer Flores, LF Joc Pederson, 3B David Villar, SS Brandon Crawford, 1B JD Davis, DH Willie Calhoun, C Austin Wynns

Dodgers: Dave “Is this heaven?” Roberts

Giants: Gabe “laser trimmed beard” Kapler

Rain.  Rainy, gross San Francisco weather.  70* during the day, Humidity 73%.  Wind 16 mph.  It will cool down as the sun goes down… but in San Francisco it is always a bit chilly.