The Los Angeles Dodgers (9-3) will visit the San Francisco Giants (4-10) on Tuesday night to begin a three-game set. It's the first meeting between these division rivals since last September when Clayton Kershaw defeated Tim Hudson.
San Francisco has lost nine of their last 10 games, including eight in a row to a combination of the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. They've lost three straight series against division opponents and will now face the NL West leading Dodgers tonight at 10:15 p.m. ET.
Giants' starter Tim Lincecum will take the mound and face Dodgers' left-hander Brett Anderson. Lincecum blanked the Padres over seven innings in his first outing of the season, which was his first start since August 23 (when he was demoted to the bullpen). However, the Giants lost that game 1-0 and then the right-hander surrendered four runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk in a loss against the Rockies last week.
He's 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.167 WHIP and nine strikeouts in 12 innings of work this season. Tonight will be his first start against the Dodgers since July 25. The 30-year-old owns a 9-7 record against Los Angeles with a 3.38 ERA, 1.367 WHIP and 152 strikeouts in 26 games (24 starts), totaling 154 1/3 innings, throughout his nine-year career.
On the other hand, Anderson has had immense troubles staying on the field since coming into the league back in 2009. He has pitched in only 94 games over his seven-year career, including just 32 since 2012 because of Tommy John surgery and back surgery.
However, he signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Dodgers in the offseason and hopes to remain on the field with his new team. In two starts against the Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, the left-hander is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA and 1.182 WHIP over 11 innings.
He's had bad luck against the Giants in three career starts, amassing an 0-2 record with a 5.25 ERA, 1.417 WHIP and 13 strikeouts over just 12 innings. But the Giants' offense has been anemic thus far in 2015, ranking 28th in runs scored (37) and 26th in home runs (8). They've scored a paltry 20 runs over their past 10 games.
Anderson will also have the advantage of riding the Dodgers' seven-game win streak, during which they've scored 37 runs in series sweeps over the Mariners and Rockies.
Check out the live stream for tonight's game here as well as the live radio broadcast here (if you're a Giants fan) or here (if you're a Dodgers fan).
