Los Angeles Dodgers: First time in San Francisco since scoring 15 runs

The Los Angeles Dodgers head to San Francisco for a three-game series against the Giants for the first time in the 2019 season.

The last time that the Los Angeles Dodgers played in San Francisco Oracle Park was named AT&T Park. It was game 162 of the 2018 regular season and the Dodgers thoroughly defeated the Giants 15-0 to force a tiebreaker game 163 against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers obviously won that game and went on to win the National League Pennant for the second year in a row before losing in the World Series for the second year in a row. Maybe the heartbreak would have been better if the Dodgers just lost game 162 and then the wild card.

We’re kidding, obviously, but the Dodgers’ first trip up to the Bay Area is with a fairly different team than it was to end last season. Manny Machado, Brian Dozier, Yasmani Grandal and Matt Kemp all started in that game and are all on different teams in 2019.

Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and Kyle Farmer are also gone as they are in Cincinnati with Matt Kemp. It is a completely different team, but is still a team that can easily put up 15 runs on the Giants.

The Dodgers have the most wins in the MLB and have the best winning percentage in the National League. Cody Bellinger is the hottest hitter in baseball and has put together one of the best months in recent memory.

The pitching staff is finally fully healthy and the bullpen now looks much better with the additions of Ross Stripling and Julio Urias.

This is without a hot start from Justin Turner and Corey Seager, who have only been a fraction of their usual selves to start the year. If Turner and Seager get hot and Bellinger stays hot then the Dodgers could have the best three-hitter stretch of the lineup in the Majors.

The Dodgers are facing two southpaws in this series but the first game of the series belongs to Jeff Samardzija. With two southpaws in a row, you should fully expect the Dodgers to run all of their left-handed bats out there on Monday night.

As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, here is who we think will get at least one base hit in the process.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 1): Joc Pederson

The first inclination is always to pick Cody Bellinger but we want to change things up and instead are going to go with the guy that will likely hit lead-off for the Dodgers tonight, Joc Pederson.

I would not be surprised if we see a full left-handed outfield out of the Dodgers tonight. Dave Roberts could decide to give A.J. Pollock the night off and start Alex Verdugo in center field. If that is what the team ends up doing, the only right-handed hitters in the lineup will likely be Enrique Hernandez, Justin Turner and Austin Barnes.

Pederson is my selection as he is due for a home run over that short, but tall, right-field wall. Pederson has two hits off of Samardzija in four at-bats with a home run and two RBIs.

Pederson is going to hit his second homer off of Samardzija in his career and I would not be surprised if it yet another lead-off homer for Pederson and the Los Angeles Dodgers.