It is never a bad day to Beat LA

It feels weird that the San Francisco Giants had to wait a month to see the Los Angeles Dodgers. And it feels doubly weird that it’s only a two-game series — when did these become such a thing? I do not like it.

But I do like when the Giants Beat LA, and they’ll have two opportunities to do that. Will they capitalize on those opportunities? Stay tuned to find out. Should they? Hell yeah.

Did I say Beat LA?

Beat LA.

Oh, and Beat LA.

Series details

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
When: Tuesday (7:10 p.m. PT) and Wednesday (7:10 p.m. PT)
National broadcasts: Tuesday (TBS, out of market only)

Projected starters:
Tuesday: Carlos Rodón vs. Julio Urías
Wednesday: Alex Wood vs. TBD

Where they stand

Giants

Record: 14-8, 3rd in the NL West
Run differential: +34, T-2nd in the NL
Momentum: 1-game losing streak, 6-4 in their last 10 games

Dodgers

Record: 14-7, 1st in the NL West
Run differential: +47, 1st in the NL
Momentum: 1-game winning streak, 6-4 in their last 10 games

Three Giants to watch

Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images

LaMonte Wade Jr.: It seems that Wade is ready to make his season debut after starting the season on the Injured List. He hasn’t yet been added to the roster, but he’s in Los Angeles. Perhaps the Giants wait until Wednesday, since they’re scheduled to face a lefty on Tuesday, but we’ll likely see the return of Late Night LaMonte in this series.

Carlos Rodón: Here’s Rodón’s line on the season: 23 innings, 11 hits, 8 walks, 3 earned runs, 38 strikeouts, 1.17 ERA, 0.95 FIP. There’s only one thing left to do in his quest to endear himself to every Giants fan in the world: do it against the Dodgers.

Mauricio Dubón: With the Giants seeing at least one lefty in this series, Dubón should get a rare start. With the Giants needing to trim spots on both their active and 40-man rosters, Dubi probably feels a little heat to perform. There’s no guarantee that his spot on the roster is secure, so some nice play against the Dodgers sure would help, and he’s familiar with Urías, having faced him more than any other MLB pitcher.

Three Dodgers to watch

Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images

Julio Urías: It’s wild to think that Urías is only 25 years old. He’s already faced the Giants 22 times in his career, including twice during the NLDS last year. He’s terrifying, but also provides a rare chance for the righties in the Giants lineup to get some starts and at-bats.

Cody Bellinger: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Bellinger is bouncing back after his pitcher-esque offensive season a year ago. He’s nowhere near his MVP levels, but he’s been an above-average hitter so far this season. But he’s striking out a ton, and not walking much, so there are areas for the Giants to exploit.

Freddie Freeman: The Dodgers were being pretty rude — albeit smart — when they went out and acquired a fourth MVP this offseason. And so far Freeman is playing like one, hitting .309/.387/.481, which makes him comfortably the Dodgers best hitter this season. The longer the Giants can keep him from being the next Dodger thorn in their side, the better.

On Friday, 140 people voted on how the Giants series against the Washington Nationals would go. And those 140 were optimistic, as there were exactly two votes for the Nats to win the series (and those people, likely trolling, predicted a sweep — no one saw a 2-1 Washington win).