The Giants-Dodgers epic National League Division Series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Monday night tied 1-1. Which way to lean at BMR’s top-rated books?
San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Monday, October 11, 2021 – 09:37 PM EDT at Dodger Stadium
This is the late game on Monday’s MLB playoff schedule and TBS has the national telecast as the Dodgers host the Giants in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Neither of the first two games was very close as San Francisco took the opener 4-0 and then Los Angeles won 9-2 in Game 2 on Saturday. That score is a bit misleading as the Dodgers led just 2-1 entering the sixth inning.
The Dodgers remain +110 favorites on the MLB futures odds with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)to win the National League pennant with San Francisco next at +275. On the series line, LA is -175 and the Giants +155. The favored exact result is Dodgers in four at +135. Game 4 is Tuesday night also in Los Angeles. A fifth game would be Thursday back in San Francisco.
Giants Probable Pitcher: Alex Wood
Just a reminder that San Francisco is without one of its best hitters in the first baseman Brandon Belt due to a fracture in his left thumb. If the Giants make the NLCS, he should be ready. Belt hit .274 in 97 regular-season games with a career-high and team-best 29 homers. Wilmer Flores has played first base in both these games and is 0-for-7 with a run scored. The Giants are hitting just .213 in the series. Buster Posey is 4-for-8 with a double, homer, and two RBIs. Brandon Crawford is 3-for-8 with a homer.
It’s lefty Alex Wood getting the call on the mound – he pitched for the Dodgers from 2015-20. In his first year with the Giants, Wood was 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 152 strikeouts in 138.2 innings. He hasn’t pitched since throwing six shutout innings in a no-decision against awful Arizona on Sept. 29. Wood has taken the mound 13 times this season following a Giants loss and the team is 12-1 in those games.
“If there’s anybody that knows how to pitch at Dodger Stadium, it’s Woody -- especially against that team, that lineup, and in that environment,” said reliever Dominic Leone.
Wood, who gets the call over a struggling Anthony DeSclafani, started against the Dodgers three times this year and was 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 17 innings. LA batters hit a collective .290 off him. Career, AJ Pollock hammers Wood, going 10-for-25 with two homers. Chris Taylor is 4-for-12 with two homers and two doubles.
This will be Wood’s 21st career playoff appearance (most in relief), and he has a 1-2 record and 3.55 ERA. The Dodgers are a stellar 39-16 on MLB picks in their past 55 at home vs. lefties.
Dodgers Probable Pitcher: Max Scherzer
Also, a reminder that the Dodgers remain without their slugging first baseman as well in Max Muncy, who hit .249 with a team-best 36 homers and 94 RBIs in 144 regular-season games. Muncy suffered a dislocated left elbow in the finale against the Braves. Maybe he can get back by the World Series if the Dodgers get there. Manager Dave Roberts started Matt Beaty at first in Game 1 and Cody Bellinger in Game 2.
Bellinger, the former NL MVP, had a historically bad season in hitting .165 – a shoulder injury hurt him both physically and mentally as he lost confidence -- but had a big two-RBI double in Saturday’s Game 2 victory.
It’s three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer on the mound. He pitched in the wild-card game against St. Louis but didn’t look all that sharp, pulled after only 4.1 innings, and has allowed a run with three hits and three walks.
After coming over via trade from Washington, Scherzer put his name in the Cy Young conversation – he and Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes essentially closed as co-favorites at BMR’s top-rated books to win it – by going 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 68.1 innings for the Dodgers.
In his playoff career, Scherzer is 7-5 with a 3.33 ERA in 23 games and 19 stars. He was of course a big reason the Nationals won the 2019 World Series. Scherzer has gone 4-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 11 career starts against the Giants. He faced the Giants once this season and it was still while with Washington on June 11, leaving after 12 pitches with right triceps discomfort. Prior to that, he hadn’t faced them since 2018.
Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford is a 6-for-15 career off him with three doubles and two homers. Tommy La Stella is 4-for-10 with two doubles, a triple, and a homer. Buster Posey 1-for-12 and Kris Bryant 2-for-16 with 10 strikeouts. San Francisco is 1-4 on MLB odds in its past five as a postseason underdog.
MLB Pick: Dodgers at -204 with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
