Los Angeles Dodgers: Madison Bumgarner faces his worst matchup

The Los Angeles Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw to the mound in a much-needed win over Madison Bumgarner and the San Fransisco Giants.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are returning home after a brief six-game road trip to host the team’s biggest rival, the San Francisco Giants.

Playing the Giants alone is enough of a factor to make this series a must-win for the Dodgers. Throw in the team’s results against the Colorado Rockies and the Dodgers really need to respond in a great way.

The Dodgers dropped three of four in the series against Colorado and arguably should have won all four games if it wasn’t for the bullpen. Without Kenley Jansen, who will miss a month due to irregular heartbeat, the Dodgers’ pen really underperformed and was the team’s main reason for losing all three games.

In game two, the Dodgers took a 4-3 lead into the seventh inning before Zac Rosscup allowed two runs, which led to the team losing, 5-4.

In game three, the Dodgers held a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. Seems like a surefire victory. Ryan McMahon hit his fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot off J.T. Chargois to win the game for the Rockies.

In game four, the Dodgers rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the top of the eighth. After a successful eighth inning, the Dodgers looked to take the game into extra innings. With two outs and runners on second and third, the team intentionally walked McMahon to reach Chris Iannetta.

Dylan Floro walked Iannetta on five pitches to lose the game. Two situations Jansen would have been in and may or may not have converted.

Because of this, and the return of Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Dodgers opted to move Ross Stripling and Kenta Maeda to the bullpen; a great move by the Dodgers brass.

Now, with a new-look bullpen, the Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw to the mound looking for a vintage Kershaw performance against the Giants and Madison Bumgarner. With Bumgarner on the mound, my Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak selection is an easy one.

Sarah’s pick — Current streak 6: Manny Machado

My pick for tonight’s first game against the Giants is Manny Machado. The Dodgers haven’t played their rival since before the All-Star break, meaning they haven’t played San Francisco since Manny Machado became a Dodger.

Tonight the Giants send their best to the mound in Madison Bumgarner. MadBum has pitched pretty well since returning from injury but the Dodgers offense seems to be getting better, and Manny Machado could be the reason they get the W tonight.

Jason’s pick — Current streak 0: Enrique Hernandez

I was really gaining some steam with my Beat the Streak selections and if Manny Machado would have gotten a hit on Sunday I would be sitting at a nice seven games. Instead, I am back down to zero.

With Bumgarner on the mound, there really is only one pick to make: Enrique Hernandez. Everyone knows by now that Hernandez absolutely smashes Bumgarner and is Bumgarner’s worst matchup throughout the league.

Hernandez is a lifetime 15-33 (.455) of Bumgarner with five doubles, four home runs and eight RBIs. In the last matchup against Bumgarner, Hernandez went 1-4 with a two-run home run that put the Dodgers up 3-1 in the fifth inning and ultimately led to that final tally.

Picking Hernandez against Bumgarner is one of the safest picks to make in the league. Hopefully, it pans out for Hernandez and my streak.