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Kershaw, Bumgarner square off in pitchers' duel
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 9/19/2016  at  12:31:00 PM
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By Brad Kallet

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (79-70)

at LOS ANGELES DODGERS (84-65)

First pitch: Monday, 10:10 p.m. ET
Line: San Francisco +155, Los Angeles -170, Total: 6.0

As the Giants fight for their division lives—and playoff lives, for that matter—they send Madison Bumgarner to the mound against Clayton Kershaw and the rival Dodgers.

The second-place Giants (79-70) enter this crucial three-game series five games behind the first-place Dodgers (84-65) in the National League West. San Francisco trails the Mets by a game for the first wild-card spot and leads the Cardinals by a game for the second. The Giants have struggled in August, going just 7-10. The Dodgers, coming off a four-game split with the D-backs, are 10-6 this month and haven’t lost two in a row since the end of August. These two teams have been pretty evenly matched this season, with the Dodgers going 7-6 in their 13 meetings. Eight of those 13 games have gone under the total. Over the past three seasons, Bruce Bochy’s club has gone 27-24 against L.A. The Dodgers and Giants have met six times at Dodger Stadium in 2016, with the Dodgers winning four of them. This game figures to be a low-scoring affair, with Giants LHP Bumgarner (14-9, 2.66 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) taking on Dodgers LHP Kershaw (11-3, 1.81 ERA, 0.73 WHIP). The Giants are 39-35 away from AT&T Park this season. The Dodgers have played brilliantly at home, going 47-27.

C Buster Posey (.292, 13 HR, 68 RBI) has been the Giants’ most dangerous hitter this season. RF Hunter Pence (.294, 12 HR, 52 RBI), LF Angel Pagan (.274, 11 HR, 48 RBI), 3B Eduardo Nunez (.290, 15 HR, 65 RBI), 1B Brandon Belt (.271, 15 HR, 75 RBI, .389 OBP), SS Brandon Crawford (.266, 12 HR, 80 RBI) and CF Denard Span (.261, 10 HR, 49 RBI) have all been solid, but the Giants are missing that big bat in the middle of their lineup. Belt leads the club in homers with 15, as the Giants are third to last in the National League in long balls (121). The Giants, as expected, have had very little success against Kershaw. Belt is 3-for-46 against him with 25 strikeouts, Crawford is 2-for-24 with 10 strikeouts and Pence is 6-for-61 with 16 strikeouts. Pagan (18-for-63, 5 2B) has seen the ball well against the left-handed ace. Bumgarner is 0-2 against the Dodgers this season (SF is 0-3) in three starts, having allowed 10 earned runs in 16 innings. For his career, he’s 13-9 with a 2.79 ERA against the Dodgers.

In his first full big-league season, SS Corey Seager (.313, 25 HR, 69 RBI) has been the Dodgers’ best hitter. 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.285, 17 HR, 82 RBI), 3B Justin Turner (.268, 27 HR, 85 RBI) and CF Joc Pederson (.245, 23 HR, 60 RBI) are power threats, as well. Since being traded to the Dodgers on Aug. 1, RF Josh Reddick (.276, 9 HR, 31 RBI) has hit just .238 with one homer and three RBIs in 130 at-bats. Utility player Enrique Hernandez (.203, 7 HR, 17 RBI), Pederson, backup OF Yasiel Puig (.255, 10 HR, 40 RBI), Reddick, backup C Carlos Ruiz (.246, 3 HR, 12 RBI), Turner and utility player Rob Segedin (.237, 2 HR, 12 RBI) have all homered off Bumgarner. In three starts against the Giants this season, Kershaw is 2-0 (Dodgers are 3-0), having allowed just six earned runs in 23 innings and recording 24 strikeouts to one walk. For his career, Kershaw is 18-7 against the Giants with a 1.62 ERA.


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