Word Count: 627 Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 2:48 PM
Los Angeles Dodgers Tickets - Opening Day at Dodgers Stadium vs SF
The Los Angeles Dodgers will start out the regular season on a road trip, playing a three-game series against the Padres in San Diego. Then they'll play another three-game series matched up with the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. They'll play their home opener at Dodger Stadium on April 13th against San Francisco.
After two more home games vs. their rivals, they'll play three more at home against the Colorado Rockies, thus completing a thorough, early-season prospectus as to how they stack up against all of their NL West Division opponents. For many Dodger fans, the first game they'll buy Los Angeles Dodgers tickets for will be the home opener, so we're going to take a look at just how the Dodgers will compare to the Giants as the game draws near.
Pitcher's Duel
The home opener will be the seventh game of the season for the Dodgers, so they will likely have gone through their five starters and will start back going through the order. It's very hard to predict who will start for these two teams on April 13th, because you never know what the injury situation will look like a month from now. However, it's worthwhile to compare their respective bullpens to see who has the edge on any given day.
The Dodgers ended the 2008 regular season with the best team ERA in the National League (3.68). They gave up the fewest home runs, the second fewest walks and the second fewest hits in the NL. Chad Billingsley led the pitching staff with an ERA of 3.14, Derek Lowe was not far behind with 3.24 and Hiroki Kuroda rounded out the aces with a 3.73 ERA. Billingsley, 23 years old last season, won 16 games and struck out 201 batters. The bullpen contained arguably the best relievers and closers in the league. The Giants were no slackers, and despite the fact that it's unlikely Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum will pitch in this particular game, they also boast Matt Cain, Randy Johnson and closer Brian Wilson, an All-Star last year.
The Dodgers lost Brad Penny and Derek Lowe, so these pitching staffs look fairly evenly matched. Fans who try to get Los Angeles Dodgers tickets at StubHub will want to see Tim Lincecum battle Chad Billingsley, but they might have to wait for that dream game sometime later in the year. As it is, the pitching staffs look even.
Batter's Battle
In 2008 the Giants hit the fewest home runs in the National League and scored the second fewest total runs in the league. While the team batting average was boosted by players like Randy Winn, Ray Durham and Fred Lewis, the team's slugging percentage was among the worst in the business. On offense for the Dodgers last season, Manny hit 17 home runs and averaged .396 after his trade.
Russell Martin continued to be one of the best hitting catchers in baseball, and Andre Ethier slugged .510. The Dodger kept Manny, lost Jeff Kent but look otherwise just like they did last year. The Dodgers look better on offense at this point in the preseason, but not by much. Manny really puts L.A. over the top in the batter's box battle, barring any unforeseen free agent pickup from the Giants.
Projected Outcome
Even though it's a fool's gambit to wager a bet on the score of this opening day game, given the fact that we have no idea who the pitchers will be and predicting baseball scores is notoriously hard, let's give it a go anyhow. The Dodgers will win their home opener 5-2. Hiroki Kuroda will start vs. Randy Johnson, and the Big Unit will give up homers to both Manny and Russell Martin.
About the Author
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