Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player at bat during game against San Francisco Giants.
- 5 Min Read

Giants vs. Dodgers Sunday Night Baseball Betting Preview

BASEBALL
MLB

A good old fashioned MLB rivalry takes center stage when the San Francisco Giants visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The clubs are forever linked from their days in New York and the rivalry just continued when they relocated to California in the late 1950s. There have been some memorable moments between the clubs and the division race this season looks like it could be another. The defending World Series champions are heavily favored to repeat in the futures market, but they might have to lose the battle to win the war. And so far this season LA is losing the injury fight. Exceptional depth has kept the Dodgers at the top of the NL West despite more than 10 pitchers currently on the IL.

Pitching hasn’t been an issue for the Giants, who have surprised most pundits with their strong first half. The best bullpen in the majors in terms of ERA has allowed SF to win more than 58 percent of their games. However, if the pitching falters there isn’t much offense to pick up the slack. They rank near the bottom in batting average, OPS and home runs and score just 4.1 runs per game.

First pitch for this NL West showdown between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers is set for 7:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 15, 2025. The game will air live on ESPN from Dodger Stadium.

Game Preview

Both clubs have had success taking a different approach. The Giants planned their strategy while the Dodgers’ was more out of necessity. The Giants have won their games with stellar pitching and timely hitting. They boast the second-lowest ERA in the majors and the bullpen has been dominant. They haven’t had to score a lot of runs and that’s a good thing since they haven’t. Fast starts by Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski have subsided leaving the club scraping and clawing for runs.

They have hit in the clutch, though, with their team batting average with runners in scoring position nearly 30 points higher than their overall average. And that’s allowed the Giants to win a lot of close games. They extended a winning streak to six games with a 6-5 win over Colorado on Tuesday with every game decided by one run. They also lost the two previous games by a single tally giving them 17 one-run victories, easily the most in MLB.

Behind Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman among others, the Dodgers possess one of the top offenses. Their collective batting average is the best and they rank second in runs scored and home runs. Ohtani is a spectacle, hitting nearly .300 with 23 homers. He doesn’t drive in a lot of runs from the leadoff spot, instead leaving that up to Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez, who have each driven in more than 40 runs. On a roster of superstars some lesser known talents have emerged. Andy Pages is batting .285 and his 12 homers are second on the team to Ohtani. Hyeseong Kim is hitting over .400 in the 28 games he’s played.

What makes the Dodgers scary in the futures market is that they will get some pitchers back from the infirmary before the season ends. Tony Gonsolin recently went on the IL, joining Tyler Glasnow and former Cy Young award winner Blake Snell. Several high leverage relievers are also currently on the shelf. With a strong offense the Dodgers lead MLB in comeback wins. And with their clutch play the Giants aren’t too far behind boasting the third most wins after trailing at any point.

Probable Pitchers

Kyle Harrison (1-1, 4.56 ERA) has taken the rotation spot vacated by Justin Verlander and is the Giants probable starter on Sunday. Considering he hasn’t gone more than five innings in any of his four starts don’t expect him to pitch deep in the game. And the Giants will use all available arms in the bullpen since the relievers are the best in the game. In his last start at Dodger Stadium in 2024, Harrison was roughed up for six hits and four earned runs in a loss.

Manager Dave Roberts doesn’t know who will start for his club given the number of injuries. During their series in San Diego the team had two bullpen games and could turn to Dustin May (3-4, 4.46 ERA), who labored in his last start but survived five innings in a game the Dodgers eventually won. The team is 3-1 in his last four starts and May looks like he’s getting stronger after missing all of last season due to a second Tommy John surgery.

Giants at Dodgers MLB pick

The old baseball saying that good pitching stops good hitting might be true, but I trust the Dodgers offense against SF’s fifth starter. LA has a lot of options at the dish and their pen isn’t bad either, which is why backing the home team is a smart play.

MLB Odds Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers / OVER

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