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The Giants vs. Dodgers line was now available for Thursday night’s game featuring a line of -110 favoring the Giants and 6.5.
Defending World Series champion San Francisco opens its season on the road against rival Los Angeles on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
San Francisco will start right-hander Tim Lincecum (16-10, 3.43 ERA) against L.A. on Thursday. Lincecum struck out 231 hitters last season to lead the National League for the third straight year. He pitched 212.1 IP and compiled a 1.27 WHIP with a .242 Opp. BA. Lincecum was also 7-3 on the road in 2010 with a 3.17 ERA. He started three games versus the Dodgers and went 2-0, allowing seven earned runs total in 17.2 IP (3.57 ERA) with 18 K's. For his career, Lincecum is 4-1 with a 3.51 ERA and 1.19 WHIP versus L.A., helping the Giants go 7-2 in his nine starts. Don't expect L.A. to improve on those numbers Thursday, as the Dodgers ranked 21st in runs scored (667) last season. The Giants will be without All-Star closer Brian Wilson (48 saves, 74.2 IP, 1.81 ERA), who is on the disabled list with a strained oblique, while postseason hero Cody Ross (.269 BA, 14 HR, 65 RBI) is out with a strained calf.
Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw will counter San Francisco's ace on the mound. Kershaw finished with a pedestrian 13-10 record last season, his third in the big leagues, but his ERA was outstanding (2.91 ERA), and he tallied a career-high 212 strikeouts, which were the fifth-most in the NL. He also pitched over 200 innings (204.1) and had a WHIP of 1.18. In 17 starts at Dodger Stadium, the lefty was 7-5 with a 3.33 ERA, but his numbers against the Giants were impressive. In four starts in 2010 versus San Francisco, Kershaw was 1-1 with a shutout, but that doesn't tell the whole story. He pitched a total of 29 innings against L.A., surrendering only 18 hits and five earned runs while striking out 25 with an Opp. BA of .176.
