Dodgers vs Giants Predictions, Picks, Odds: Wood, Giants Undervalued at Home

The San Francisco Giants are being disrespected by the MLB odds on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers rocked the, on Monday night in a lopsided victory, but they’ll be up against a familiar face in Alex Wood on Tuesday.

Furthermore, they won’t have the luxury of trotting out their best pitcher with the volatile Dustin May on the bump.

Without further ado, let’s break down Dodgers vs. Giants in our MLB picks and predictions.

Dodgers vs Giants odds

Dodgers vs Giants predictions

Alex Wood may have had a poor first start, but that’s not reason enough for me to give up on the veteran lefty. In fact, I think he will enjoy some success against his former team here on Tuesday in San Francisco.

Wood’s 5.74 xERA may scare some off here, but it’s not only born out of a small sample size (literally three innings) but should also have no bearing on how this matchup goes. He’s been pretty sturdy over his last two seasons in just about every department, even if he’s not the dominant guy we remember from 2019.

The Los Angeles Dodgers may be second in all of baseball in wRC+, but they’ve once again been a bit worse against lefties, ranking second in that regard. On top of that, this is a team that feasts off of walks, and Wood has never been one to issue too many free passes even if he did in his first start of the season.

The San Francisco Giants are a powerful offensive team in their own right. They rank seventh in wRC+ and own a .197 ISO even though they've struck out in a ridiculous 29.3% of plate appearances.

While you’d think this plays right into Dustin May’s hands, this is ultimately a player whose strikeout rate is just a tick better than league average at 23.6%.

Furthermore, I love San Francisco’s large collection of left-handed bats and think the Giants are prime candidates to pounce on May.

My best bet: Giants moneyline (+143 at Pinnacle)

Dodgers vs Giants moneyline analysis

Carrying over the discussion from above, the Giants are surely a better team than they showed on Monday night.

Not only did they have to deal with facing one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award in Julio Urias, but they also had to deal with facing a left-handed pitcher – something that’s not very easy to do with the way this offense is constructed.

Ultimately, it’s going to come down to how many home runs this power-heavy offense can slug. With Joc Pederson and Michael Conforto coming at you from the left side, you’re always going to have a better chance against a righty – and a hard thrower at that.

I don’t really understand the discrepancy in price here given the Dodgers are worse against lefties and the Giants better. Both pitchers are roughly the same as well with a slight nod to May. I’d price this one much closer to a pick‘em, particularly in San Francisco.

Dodgers vs Giants Over/Under analysis

I’m definitely loving the Under here even if my best bet is on the Giants. The fact remains, the edge you’re getting on the moneyline is hard to ignore. For those who’d rather bet the total, though, I think this is pretty safe.

May isn’t one to crowd the bases and will likely be undone here by a couple of Giants homers if he’s undone at all. Wood is likely a better pitcher than we saw in his first start, as we touched on above, and therefore, I don’t think this number is really all that fair to either pitcher.

Both bullpens are struggling here, though we know the talent that both teams have at the back end of games. Furthermore, the FIP and xFIP numbers would tell us they’ve been rather unlucky, and we’re likely just dealing with a small sample here. 

Dodgers vs Giants game info

Dodgers vs Giants betting preview

Starting pitchers

Dustin May (1-0, 0.69 ERA): May is in his fifth Big League season but has thrown just 156 2/3 innings to this point in his career. His 2023 season is off to a nice start with just one earned run in 13 innings, but both starts came against the Diamondbacks. 

Alex Wood (0-0, 3.00 ERA): A former top prospect with the Braves, Wood went to L.A. in 2015 and perfected his craft. His career peaked in 2017 when he finished Top 10 in Cy Young Award voting, and while a couple of crummy years followed, the lefty has posted a sub-4.00 FIP in back-to-back campaigns heading into his 32-year-old season.

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The Under is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings between these teams in San Francisco. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Giants

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