The Los Angeles Dodgers have whiffed in the Juan Soto sweepstakes but their play as of late suggests that they may be more than capable as-is, with a 24-5 mark since June 29.
That includes a win in their series opener against the San Francisco Giants (51-52) yesterday, whose recent slide has them falling further and further out of the final National League Wild Card spot.
Can the Giants turn things around and get their playoff aspirations back on track or will the scorching hot Dodgers continue to blaze?
Continue reading for free MLB picks for the Dodgers vs. Giants matchup on Tuesday, August 2.
Dodgers vs Giants odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Dodgers opened as -140 favorites and have largely stayed at that number across most shops, with some moves adding a little more juice to their side. The total opened at 8 and that number has also held, with some books shading more juice towards the Under.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until first pitch and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Dodgers vs Giants predictions
Picks made on 8/2/2022 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Dodgers vs Giants game info
• Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
• Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2022
• First pitch: 9:45 p.m. ET
• TV: TBS
Dodgers vs Giants betting preview
Starting pitchers
Tyler Anderson (11-1, 2.61 ERA): Anderson has been one of baseball's pleasant surprises in 2022. After serving as a middle-of-rotation type arm in his first four seasons with the Rockies and with three other clubs in the last two seasons, the Dodgers scooped up the lefty on a one-year $8 million deal this past offseason.
He has outperformed that contract thus far, posting a 2.61 ERA and 0.99 WHIP, both career bests by a wide margin.
Alex Wood (7-8, 4.11 ERA): Wood's career was seemingly coming to a close two seasons ago after posting a 5.80 ERA in 2019 and 6.39 ERA in 2020. The former Dodger All-Star instead gave his career new life after signing with the Giants last year, pitching to a 3.83 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
He was showing regression to start the season, notching a 5.03 ERA through June, but allowed just five earned runs in his five July starts (1.65 ERA).
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Dodgers are 24-5 in their last 29 games. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Giants
Dodgers vs Giants picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The Dodgers and Giants, longtime NL West rivals, are heading in completely opposite directions as of late.
Los Angeles was once a respectable 45-28, in the closing moments of June, but has since ripped off a 24-5 record that has given it the best record in all of baseball and firm control of the National League's top seed.
On the other hand, San Francisco was 37-27 in mid-June and a shoo-in to be a playoff team but has since gone 14-25. That includes a 3-9 record since the All-Star break, with an 8-2 series-opening loss yesterday.
While these teams are on opposite trajectories, they’ll send two pitchers to the mound for Tuesday's matchup that have had similar developments in their careers as of late. The Giants will send former Dodger All-Star Alex Wood (7-8. 4.11 ERA) to the mound in hopes of reversing their luck, much like has with his own career in the last year and a half.
Wood experienced some fortune reversal to begin the season, pitching to a 5.03 ERA through June. But, like he had last year, he put his struggles behind him and pitched to a 1.65 ERA in his five July starts, improving his ERA on the year to 4.11 in that short span.
He will face off against the Dodgers' Tyler Anderson, who like Wood, will pitch against a former club of his. After four middling years with the Rockies to start his big-league career, Anderson landed in San Francisco in 2020 and more or less was the same middle-of-rotation innings-eater pitcher (4.37 ERA, 1.39 WHIP).
After similar stints with the Pirates and Mariners last year, the Dodgers took a chance this past offseason on Anderson with a one-year deal. The now 32-year-old, just like Wood did last year, has outperformed his contract value with a 2.61 ERA and his first All-Star appearance a few weeks ago.
Anderson has not only been the better pitcher this year, but he has also been the better pitcher against the opposing lineup across his and Wood's careers.
Anderson has allowed a .213 batting average and .344 slugging percentage against this Giants’ roster while maintaining a 28.4% strikeout rate and 3.0% walk rate. Wood, for comparison, has allowed a .264 BA and .507 SLG while posting a worse strikeout rate (22.9%) and walk rate (7.0%).
Given the form of the two pitchers and the two teams, the juice is worth paying up for.
Prediction: Dodgers moneyline (-137 at WynnBet)
Over/Under analysis
San Francisco has gone slightly towards the Over at 50-48-5 (51.0%) while the Dodgers have the third-best record towards Unders at 54-40-8 (57.5%). They have played even heavier towards the Under in road games (29-19-4, 60.4%).
Anderson and Wood have combined for just one start in which they’ve allowed three runs (and never more than three), and they’ve had a combined five starts (out of ten) in which they allowed no runs.
But, with the wind blowing out 16mph towards left center and the humidity projected to reach 85% or higher, tonight's conditions project to be extremely hitter-friendly.
On top of that, the Giants' bullpen has been the worst in baseball in the last month, notching a league-worst 6.09 ERA.
If Wood gets in any sort of trouble early, the weather and bullpen could have the Dodgers plating runs frequently.
Prediction: Over 8 (-104 at Unibet)
Best bet
It doesn't take a genius to see that the Dodgers and Giants have been on entirely different ends of the spectrum when it comes to recent play.
The Dodgers, now the best team in baseball, have seemingly been unbeatable for the last month.
The Giants, on the other hand, seemingly can't string together even a few wins together at a time.
To Alex Wood's credit, he pitched extremely well in July, with a 1.65 ERA, and led the Giants to three rare wins in those five appearances.
Tyler Anderson, somehow, put together an even better month of July with a 1.11 ERA, and the Dodgers went 5-0 in those starts of his.
Throw in the fact that the Dodgers' offense and bullpen has been worlds better than the Giants and you have yourself a great value proposition given the relatively low odds.
Pick: Dodgers moneyline (-137 at WynnBet)
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