MLB Betting – Bay Area Rivals Open Weekend Series

The first-place San Francisco Giants head to L.A. to take on the rival Dodgers in the opener of a three-game weekend series.

MLB Game Odds:
San Francisco Giants +135
Todd Wellemeyer – R
Los Angeles Dodgers -155
Vicente Padilla –R

Run Line:
Giants +1.5 -155
Dodgers -1.5 +135

Total:
9 O -115
9 U -105

Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Game Time: Friday, April 16, 2010 10:10 pm EST
TV: KCAL/KNTV

The Week That Was: Giants

The Giants took four of six games, winning home series against the Braves and Pirates, to climb to first place in the N.L. West. Last Friday in their home opener, the Giants beat Atlanta 5-4 in 13 innings.

Saturday, the Braves handed the Giants their first loss of the season. After tossing five scoreless innings, San Francisco starting pitcher Todd Wellemeyer gave up four earned runs and was yanked after six and a third, as the Giants lost, 7-2.

Sunday, the Giants took the rubber match 6-3 behind a 10-strikeout performance by Tim Lincecum.

The Pittsburgh Pirates came calling on Monday and paid a visit to the city by the bay. The Giants rode Bengie Molina’s 4-for-4 effort to a 9-3 win in the series opener. Tuesday, Pittsburgh took advantage of a botched eighth-inning double play to win 6-5.

This past Wednesday, starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez struck out 11 and gave up just three hits over eight innings as the Giants blanked the Pirates, 6-0, to improve to 7-2 on the season.

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The Week That Was: Dodgers

With Jonathan Broxton unavailable, the once-powerful Dodgers pen has been poor thus far.
After riding Hiroki Kuroda’s excellent start to a 7-3 win over Florida in the Marlins’home opener last Friday, the L.A. bullpen coughed up a lead and cost the Dodgers a win on Saturday, April 10. The Marlins scored three in the bottom of the ninth – two off struggling lefty George Sherrill – to win, 7-6.

Sunday, the Marlins came from behind with two runs off Dodger reliever Jeff Weaver in the seventh to win by a 6-5 count.

After a day off, the Dodgers opened their home schedule on Tuesday, April 13, with a major fireworks display. Los Angeles rode four homers to a 9-5 win over Arizona. Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier hit bombs for L.A.

Wednesday the Dodgers were once again pen-poor, losing 9-7 to the Diamondbacks in 11 innings.

The Matchup

The Giants’lineup appears to be one of the National League’s finest so far, with five regulars hitting .300 or better.

Dodger starting pitcher Vicente Padilla has had a difficult start to his 2010 season, getting shelled in both outings and not surviving the fifth inning in either one of them. At 32, he can’t possibly be finished, but Friday night’s start against a division rival might serve as a turning point for the journeyman righty, who can’t afford another bad start. Expect a strong outing from Padilla. The Dodgers will need him.

Wellemeyer, on the other hand, simply isn’t a starting pitcher. Look for the Dodgers to take advantage of his control issues, particularly in the middle innings as he starts to wear down.
Despite an outstanding start to the season, the Giants, like any other team, are vulnerable when their pitching is mediocre or worse. The Giants are a better team, but with the decidedly suspect Wellemeyer on the hill, the Dodgers will slug their way to victory.

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