Major League Baseball sees a historic matchup midway through the season as the Los Angeles Dodgers face the San Francisco Giants for a three-game series at Oracle Park.
These two franchises have met nine times already this season with the Dodgers leading 6-3. Last time out the Giants were swept by their inter-divisional rival at Dodger Stadium. However, the last three games at Oracle Park, saw the Giants win 3-0.
The Dodgers (68-33) lead the National League West by 12 games, over the second-placed San Diego Padres.
| What | Los Angeles Dodgers @ San Francisco Giants, MLB |
| Where | Oracle Park, San Francisco, California |
| When | 18:45 PDT Monday August 1st 2022 |
| How to watch | SportsNet LA, NBCS BA |
| Odds | Dodgers -140, Giants +120 |
Trade market
With the Giants having an up and down season, currently (51-51), but sitting just four games off the Wild Card spot in the National League, do they go big to try and push for one of the three spots available?
In the short-term, the Giants traded for infielder Dixon Machado from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for right-handed pitcher, Raynel Espinal. It seems that unless the Giants go big by getting a player, Juan Soto for example, the management seems happy to wait until their injured stars are back on the roster.
San Francisco has Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, and Trevor Rosenthal all on the short-term injured list, expected back in August. It's a risk for the players to get back up to speed with the end of the regular season, now only two months away.
Could the Giants be sellers?
Pitcher Carlos Rodon could be used as a potential trade chip for the Giants to use. They could buy and sell, they could move free agents such as Carlos Rodon or even Pederson (free agent after this year) away, in exchange for Major League ready talent which would allow them to make a playoff push. Or they could throw all of their cards in and wait until next season, to make a Divisional title challenge.
Speaking to the official San Francisco Giants' website, team manager Gabe Kapler spoke about Rodon, but wouldn't get drawn on any trade talks, he said: "I think his fire on the mound is pretty contagious. Although I think the version that we saw today of Carlos was a little subdued, I think that it's possibly the best version."
Where do the Dodgers sit in the trade market?
The Dodgers are looking to win a second World Series title in three years, but how do they go about it? The Roster is already stacked with talent. The Dodgers have talked to the Washington Nationals about Soto, but what Washington wants, is maybe too much of what Los Angeles are willing to part with in terms of their prospect pool, plus a Dustin May or Gavin Lux, as the Dodgers see these two players as vital for their future.
May is continuing his rehab from Tommy John surgery and pitched three scoreless innings this week while Walker Buehler is expected back before long. The Dodgers don't really think that starting pitching is an area in which they need a huge requirement.
It seems likely that the San Diego Padres is a huge destination for Soto, but we'll find out this week.
One for the future
What a day for James Outman, the Dodgers’ No.17 prospect on his debut on Sunday. In his first Major League plate appearance, Outman launched a home run off of Colorado Rockies' starter German Marquez.
The 25-year-old became the eighth player in franchise history to homer in his first big league plate appearance and first since Keibert Ruiz on 16th August 2020.
Current form
The Giants started poorly after the All-Star break, going 0-7, but have dragged that back, winning three out of their past four games against the Chicago Cubs.
San Francisco will put Logan Webb on the mound for the opening game against the Dodgers. The 25-year-old is 9-4 this season with an ERA of 2.91, the right-hander has three no-decisions in his last five starts against Los Angeles.
The Dodgers will have Andrew Heaney pitching in the first game. The 31-year-old is 1-0 this season after coming off the injured list.
The lefty has made only four starts this season, following a shoulder strain that has kept him out for the most of the campaign.
Discover more from the world's favourite online betting brand
Win more with our US sports parlay bonus
