Online sportsbooks are preparing themselves to be huge San Francisco Giants fans in the nightcap of Thursday night’s ESPN doubleheader when the team invades Chavez Ravine to run up against the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers. Cody Bellinger and his mates went on to win 12 of the hated rivals 19 overall skirmishes a short season ago, and oddsmakers have them tabbed enormous home chalk in the first of 10 scheduled regular season matchups. Clayton Kershaw will toe the bump for the ninth time in a season opener and do so against veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto who is still battling back from his 2018 Tommy John surgery. While the chips are heavily stacked against the visitors, does any team seriously deserve to be lined such a prohibitive favorite with so many questions entering the regular season?
First pitch for the game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled for Thursday, July 23, 2020, at 10:08 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. The matchup will be shown live on ESPN. You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
MLB Betting Odds
San Francisco Giants +255
Los Angeles Dodgers -290
Total: 8
Odds Analysis
With the Dodgers owning the recent rivalry and Mookie Betts making his debut on the west coast, it comes as no surprise to see LA getting the attention of MLB bettors leading up to first pitch. Seriously, books are going to be heavily exposed to Dodgers money if the current betting trends continue come Thursday night. As it stands at the time of this writing, LA has received 77 percent of the action on the run-line and 72 percent of money line wagers. With sharp bettors steering clear of the matchup due to the absurd market price, the line continues to steam north mostly because of public bettors blindly throwing as much as they possibly can on Los Angeles. It’s not going to stop either and it’ll be a blood bath for the books on Opening Night should both the Yankees and Dodgers cover the run-line!
Probable Pitchers
Now four-years removed from his last All-Star appearance, Johnny Cueto is most definitely in the twilight of his career. Having made just 13 overall starts the last two seasons combined, the end results haven’t been pretty. Though his 3.23 ERA in 2018 was solid, it was masked by a 4.71 FIP and pedestrian 6.5 K/9 ratio. Then last season through just three starts, he pitched to a 5.06 ERA and 1.250 WHIP while tallying a 13:9 K/BB ratio and conceding 11 hits (3 HR) and 9 ER through 16 total innings of work. He was ripped for 5 ER and 3 HR through just two innings in his lone start versus the Dodgers last season, and stands 7-9 with a 3.53 ERA and .269 BAA against them lifetime. He does however own an impressive 2.36 ERA and 1.07 WHIP through 10 career Dodger Stadium starts.
With Dave Roberts taking it very slow with Walker Buehler and not wanting to jeopardize his throwing arm long term, the Dodgers are going with Kershaw yet again on Opening Day. One of the faces of the franchise, the lefty will make his season debut looking to build off a stellar 2019 campaign that saw him go 16-5 with a 3.03 ERA and 189:41 K/BB ratio through just over 178 total innings of work. That said, he was nothing short of awful in the postseason versus the Nationals who ripped him for eight hits (2 HR) and 5 ER through 6.1 total innings of work. Still, he’s been near money in the bank at home where he’s logged a 93-36 record and pitched to a miniscule 2.15 ERA and 0.97 WHIP through 180 total starts. He’s also dominated the Giants throughout his career in going 23-12 with a 1.74 ERA and .234 BAA through 47 overall starts.
MLB Betting
“I practiced a lot in the Dominican Republic, I worked hard and kept myself in pitching shape,” Cueto said. “I’m ready.” He was already anointed the Opening Day starter back in March before the coronavirus shut the season down. Nearly four months later, Cueto had the info relayed to him once again after throwing 60+ pitches and giving up four hits and two runs while striking out three in an intrasquad game. The stat line was hardly impressive, but it just goes to show what type of talent resides on a Giants roster that’s been trending in the wrong direction for a number of seasons now. The Giants are just 3-8 the last 11 times they squared off against a south paw, while the Dodgers have been dominant in Tinseltown where they’ve cashed money line betting tickets 55 of the last 75 times.
MLB Pick
Without a doubt, LA deserves to be installed heavy favorites to come out on top of the opener in this series. A quick glance at the rosters paired with the Dodgers recent dominance of the rivalry doesn’t leave much to the imagination; it’s pretty cut and dry. However, there’s no shot I’m ponying up nearly $300 to make $100 in the first game of the season not knowing what to expect from either starting pitcher. Heck, I’m not even interested in laying the -145 on the run-line even with only three of LA’s 12 wins coming by a single tally last season. If forced to make a wager on what looks to be a one-sided matchup on paper, I’d take the +1.5 with San Francisco. The Giants are considered to be one of the best bad teams in baseball evidenced by their 25.5-game season win total odds. They’re a young team with loads of untapped talent. Here’s to hoping they make this game competitive for those booking the bets.
MLB Odds: Dodgers 5, Giants 4
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