The Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the San Francisco Giants following the Dodgers 3-1 victory over the Cardinals Wednesday night. Powered by Chris Taylor’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning, the reigning World Series champions will advance to the NLDS to meet a familiar foe. This will be the first time the Giants and Dodgers will meet in the postseason.
San Francisco edged out the Dodgers for the NL West divisional crown by posting the most wins in franchise history with 107. The Dodgers “settled” for 2nd place and finished the season with 106 wins. The 106 wins by the Dodgers set the new MLB record for the most wins by a second-place team. San Francisco won the season series 10-9.
In-game one of the NLDS, the Giants will pitch Logan Webb. He ended the season with a 3.03 ERA, but was outstanding after the All-Star break with a 2.71 ERA. In the second half of the season, Webb was the Giants’ best pitcher and earned the right to start game one of the NLDS.
Giants All-Star pitcher Kevin Gausman will pitch in game two of the series. Gausman finished the season 14-6 with a 2.81 ERA; and was nearly unhittable in the first half of the season but struggled down the stretch. Over his last two starts, he pitched well, and that is good news for Giants hoping the righty has sorted out his late season issues.
Webb started three games against the Dodgers and went 1-0 while posting an ERA of 2.25 in 16 innings. Gausman also started three games as well and went 1-1 with an ERA of 3.21.
Los Angeles will turn to Walker Buehler in game one and Julio Urias in game two. Buehler pitched great for the Dodgers this season, going 16-4 with a 2.47 ERA. Against the Giants, Buehler started six games with a 3-1 record. He also posted a 2.10 ERA. Buehler was magnificent against the Giants, but San Francisco did rough him up last time he pitched in San Francisco.
Urias finished the season with 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA and seems to be finally lived up to his potential. Against the Giants, Urias is 2-1 with a 3.38 in five starts.
Both Teams are putting solid starters on the mound, and runs could be tough to come by if pitchers are on their game. It remains to be seen who will pitch games 3 through five, but Webbs says he and Gausman will be available to pitch in game five if it goes that far.
“No matter who throws [Game 1 and 2], we’re both going to be available for (Game 5),” Webb said, per Kerry Crowley of The Mercury News. “That’s huge for both of us. We’re both confident.”
This series could add another exciting chapter to the already bitter rivalry between LA and San Francisco. While runs could be at a premium, this series is certainly not lacking star power, storylines, and interesting subplots. The Dodgers vs. Giants NLDS is officially must watch TV.
-LaMarr Fields
Twitter: @raiderway83