The World Champion San Francisco Giants open up the 2011 baseball betting season on the road against division rival Los Angeles on Thursday night. The game will be televised on ESPN and it should be a great pitching matchup with Tim Lincecum going for the Giants while the Dodgers counter with Clayton Kershaw.
The current betting line at SBG Global.com is Dodgers – 107, Total 6.5 Over – 115
The Giants begin defense of their World Series title without two very important players as closer Brian Wilson is on the DL with an oblique injury while postseason hero Cody Ross is out for a couple of weeks with a calf injury. The Giants still have a great pitching rotation led by Tim Lincecum. He was great last year in the betting season opener for the Giants as he struck out seven in seven shutout innings against the Astros. He has pitched well against the Dodgers going 5-1 in his career with a 3.43 ERA.
The Dodgers will send their ace on Thursday night as Clayton Kershaw heads to the mound. He was great last season within the division as he went 9-2 against the National League West. He was almost unhittable against the Giants last season with a 1.55 ERA. In his career against San Francisco he is 1-1 with a 1.46 ERA.
The Giants and Dodgers have split their last 20 meetings overall and they have also split the last ten games in Los Angeles. Here are more betting stats for Thursday’s game. The Giants are 4-0 in their last 4 road games vs. a left-handed starter. The Giants are 8-3 in their last 11 vs. the National League West. The Giants are 5-0 in Lincecum’s last 5 road starts. The Giants are 7-1 in Lincecum’s last 8 starts vs. the Dodgers. The Dodgers are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. the National League West. The Dodgers are 5-1 in their last 6 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Dodgers are 13-3 in Kershaw’s last 16 starts vs. the National League West
The Under is 4-0-1 in the Giants last 5 road games. The Over is 4-0 in Lincecum’s last 4 starts vs. the Dodgers. The Under is 5-1 in the Dodgers last 6 home games. The Under is 15-5 in Kershaw’s last 20 starts vs. the National League West. In this series, the Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Los Angeles.
