The battle for the NL West title is heating up, as the Dodgers and Giants lock horns in their ultimate clash of the 2021 MLB regular season, so here’s the best betting pick for Sunday night’s showdown at Oracle Park in San Francisco with the first pitch at 7:00 PM ET.

The Giants have won eight of their first 17 games against the reigning champs this season, including last Friday’s opener of a three-game home set. They are listed as underdogs for this one on BetDSI Sportsbook, as the Giants still haven’t announced their starting pitcher, while the Dodgers will send Walker Buehler to the mound. 

The Blue Crew stopped a three-game win streak        

The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a tough 3-2 loss in 11 innings at Oracle Park last Friday to snap their three-game winning streak and fall to 85-50 on the season. Trea Turner’s error decided the winner, so the Dodgers were one game behind the NL West-leading Giants on Saturday (the middle game of this series has been excluded). 

Walker Buehler will get the Giants on Sunday, and he’s 7-0 with a shiny 1.83 ERA in ten career starts and a couple of relief appearances against San Francisco. The righty tossed 34 innings in five starts against the Giants in 2021, allowing only five runs (three earned) on 20 hits and eight walks while striking out 32.

Buehler is enjoying a wonderful season, boasting a 13-2 record, 2.05 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 183/44 K/BB ratio across 176 innings of work. He’s registered a 1.56 ERA and a .179 batting average against through six starts in August.

The Giants continue to lean on their depleted pitching staff 

Over the last 30 days, the Giants have recorded the second-lowest ERA in the majors (2.84). In the last couple of weeks, they’ve been even better, posting a 2.69 ERA, but that’s still enough for the second-best in baseball, as the Dodgers have registered a 2.55 ERA to go with a sparkly .178 batting average against and 1.00 WHIP.

The Giants have some serious problems, as both Alex Wood and Johnny Cueto are on the IL. Therefore, the Giants haven’t announced who’ll get the call Sunday. Sammy Long could get the nod, and he’s 2-1 with a 5.63 ERA in five starts and five relief apps this term, but the problem is that San Francisco hasn’t announced who’ll take the hill Saturday either.

Trends:

LA Dodgers:

  • 16-4 in the last 20 games overall 
  • 5-0 in Walker Buehler’s last five starts

San Francisco:

  • 2-4 in the last six games overall

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants Pick

This is probably a bullpen day for the Giants, and their relievers have registered a strong 2.59 ERA and 2.95 FIP over the last two weeks of action. On the other side, the Dodgers’ pen has recorded a 2.87 ERA in that span, but a 5.13 FIP is concerning.

Anyway, this is a tricky matchup because both teams have struggled mightily at the plate as of late. In that two-week stretch, the Dodgers have recorded a terrible .201/.272/.363 batting line, while the Giants have slashed just .211/.290/.386. I would lean on Walker Buehler to shut down the Giants once more, hopping for the Dodgers to finally get things going offensively.

Pick: Take Los Angeles Dodgers  

The Total:

Both teams heavily lean on their pitching, so betting on the under is a logical choice. The under is 6-3-1 in their previous ten H2H duels. Also, the under is 14-1-2 in the Dodgers’ previous 17 games which is a ridiculous record, while 12 of the Giants’ last 16 contests went in the under as well.

Pick: Go under