the march of The Angels Dodgers toward 100 wins for the third straight full season continues on Friday night as they open a three-game series against last year’s regular season leader, host San Francisco Giants .
A year after a classic duel took place at the top of the National League West, who won the Giants for a single game, Dodgers (98-44) have already captured the division crown and now have their sights set on the best record in both the league and all of baseball.
Los Dodgers they can become the first to reach 100 wins if they take two out of three against the Giants (69-74), who have been eliminated from the division race and have little hope of landing one of the three NL playoff spots.
The Angels has won 12 of 16 in San Francisco this year in a season series that has included a three-game home sweep of Giants in June and a four-game sweep of the highway from Dodgers in August.
Los Dodgers have yet to win since capturing the NL West title on Tuesday in Arizona. They were defeated 5-3 in 10 innings by the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, and then they had Thursday off.
Mookie Betts hopes there is no disappointment with more work to be done.
“You just have to keep playing,” he insisted. “It’s not like we’re going to start throwing bats or throwing pitches. We just keep playing the same.”
Among the things on the to-do list Dodgers it’s determining a role for right-hander Dustin May (1-2, 4.29) going forward.
After sitting out nearly the first five months of the season following Tommy John surgery, May is scheduled to make his fifth start in the series opener. The Dodgers they have lost the last three, during which he has allowed 10 earned runs in 16 innings.
The 25-year-old has not faced Giants this season. In their three previous matchups, including one start, he’s gone 1-0 with an ERA of 1.42.
May is scheduled to face Logan Webb (13-8, 2.88), the right-hander from Giantswho will make his 30th start of the season, the best of his career.
Webb has started three previous games against Dodgers this season, going 1-1 and allowing nine runs in 17 innings. He is 2-3 in the regular season against The Angels with an ERA of 4.05 in nine career starts.
He also faced the Dodgers twice in last year’s NL Division Series, limiting them to one run on nine hits in 14 2/3 innings. He was the winning pitcher in a 4-0 win in Game 1, and then had a no-decision in a 2-1 loss in Game 5 of the series.
The 25-year-old has won his last two outings, limiting the Dodgers y Chicago Cubs to a total of four wins in 13 innings.
Los Giants have won four of five, including two of three against another division leader, the Atlanta Braves from NL-Este.
Right now, apart from playing the spoilsport, the main goal of the Giants is to finish with a winning record.
“I think we are more than capable of being a winning team,” insisted Carlos Rodon, the winning pitcher in Wednesday’s 4-1 home win over the Braves. “Unfortunately, the way this year has gone has been up and down for us. Lately, we’ve been playing really well. It’s good to see it showing now.”
— Field Level Media
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
