LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs. GIANTS: RHP DUSTIN MAY (1-0, 0.69 ERA in 2 GS in 2023)
2023 NOTES:
• Earned his first win of the season last Thursday against the D-Backs, firing 6.0 innings and only giving up two hits, one run and two walks while striking out five
• Texas native took the mound in five games (four starts) during Cactus League play, posting a 5-4 record with 2.95 ERA (6 ER/18.1 IP) and 20
strikeouts against just seven walks
• Pitched in Spring Training for the first time since 2021…missed 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery
vs. GIANTS:
• Will face the Giants for the fifth time in his career…he has allowed one earned run over 11.1 innings in four games (two starts) against
the G-Men
2022 NOTES:
• Split season between ACL Dodgers, Triple-A Oklahoma City, and Los Angeles Dodgers…pitched in one game, five games, and six games respectively as he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery suffered on May 1, 2021
• Struck out three batters in 2.0 innings in lone Arizona Complex League game…with Triple-A Oklahoma City, went 1-0 in 5 starts, posting a 1.89 ERA (4 ER/19.0 IP) and giving up four hits and two homers
• Appeared in six Major League games and posted a 4.50 ERA (15 ER/30.0 IP), fanning 29 batters against 14 walks…pitched aggressively against Major League lefties holding them to a .148
CAREER NOTES:
• In his fifth big league season with a 9-8 record and a 3.04 ERA in 39 Major League games (27 starts) with the Dodgers in 2019-23…has limited opponents to a .209 batting average with a 1.05 WHIP
• Started just five Major League games last season before suffering a UCL injury on May 1
• Made his big league debut on August 2, 2019 against San Diego, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits in 5.2 innings, taking the loss in the Dodgers’ 5-2 defeat
• Earned his first win on August 13, 2019 at Miami after tossing 5.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out five batters while allowing a walk
• Has an 24-17 mark with a 3.50 ERA in 78 games (73 starts) in four minor league seasons…has 394 strikeouts in 403.2 minor league innings
• Named 2018 California League Post-Season All-Star, as well as 2017 Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star
• Originally selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft
TOMORROW’S STARTER vs. GIANTS: LHP CLAYTON KERSHAW (1-1, 3.75 ERA IN 2 GS in 2023)
• Became the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader on April 30, 2022 against Detroit, striking out Spencer Torkelson in the fourth inning, passing Don Sutton (2,696)…has 2,816 career strikeouts and stands 23rd on the all-time Major League strikeout list…passed Mike Mussina last season
• Started his first Midsummer Classic in 2022 at Dodger Stadium, firing a scoreless frame and striking out one…was a member of his ninth All-Star team
vs. GIANTS:
• Pitched against the club four times last season for a 0-1 record, giving up nine earned runs on 16 combined hits in 18.1 innings…struck out 22 batters and walked five
• In his career against the Giants, he is 24-15 with a 2.01 ERA (84 ER/377.0 IP) and 388 strikeouts in 56 games (54 starts)…owns a 0.90 WHIP against the club
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Giants and Dodgers face off tonight for the second game of a three-game set that concludes SF’s first homestand of the year…after tomorrow, the Giants won’t host their NL West rival again until SF’s last series of the regular season on September 29-October 1 here at Oracle Park.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Last season, the Giants were just 4-15 (.211) vs. the Dodgers (3-7 here at home and 1-8 on the road)… the .211 winning percentage vs. LA last year was the worst in a single season by any Giants club since both teams moved west in 1958…the previous low was in 1977 and 1979 when both of those Giants teams went 4-14 (.222) vs. the Dodgers…the Giants 15 losses to LA last year were also the most by any Giants team in a single season vs. LA since moving to SF.
NO FREE PARKING (ON 1ST BASE ANYWAYS…): Giants starters have done a terrific job at limiting walks in the early going this season…through 10 games, SF’s starters have issued just nine free passes, tied for third-fewest by a Giants starting staff through the first 10 games since at least 1901… SF’s nine walks by are also fewest in the Majors this season, with the Dodgers coming in second with 10. Giants,
Fewest Walks Allowed By Starters in 1st 10 Games of a Season (Stats, LLC)
Year, Team Walks
1967 SF Giants 7
1987 SF Giants 8
2023 SF Giants 9
Year, Team Walks
2014 SF Giants 9
1988 SF Giants 11
1920 NY Giants 11
¡ADIÓS PELOTA!: With IF Wilmer Flores’ solo shot in the 4th inning last night, the Giants now have 18 home runs in the year…the 18 homers are tied with the 2000 club for third-most by a Giants team through its first 10 games of a season behind the 2003 Giants and 2016 Giants (19 apiece)..the ’03 team holds the record for most through 11 games (20).
Giants, Most Home Runs Through 10 Games (All-time)
Year, Team Home Runs
2003 SF Giants 19
2016 SF Giants 19
2023 SF Giants 18
Year, Team Home Runs
2000 SF Giants 18
1947 NY Giants 17
FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Giants are an impressive 18-for-41 (.439) with a double and three homers so far this year when putting a ball in play on the first pitch (Sports Info Solutions).
JEKYLL & HYDE: The disparity in the Giants offense early on in wins and losses has been dramatic as the numbers below illustrate.
Giants Offense In Wins vs. Losses Through 10 Games
In SF’s Four Wins
Runs Scored ………………………………..38
Runs Per Game……………………………9.5
Run Differential………………+23 (38-15)
Home Runs ………………………………….15
Hits…………………………………………….51
Batting Average …………. .329 (51×155)
OPS………………………………………..1.083
In SF’s Six Losses
Runs Scored ………………………………..10
Runs Per Game……………………………1.7
Run Differential………………-26 (10-36)
Home Runs ……………………………………3
Hits…………………………………………….35
Batting Average ……………183 (35×191)
OPS…………………………………………..535
SLICE OF PIE: Through 10 games, the Giants have scored \64.6% of their runs (31-of-48) via the homer.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Dating back to the start of 2022, the Giants rank 25th in batting average (.214) and 23rd in OPS (.672) in bases loaded and no out situations, according to Sports Info Solutions…SF leads the Majors in strikeouts in those situations (11) and have left 78 men on base overall this season, fifth-most in the NL…they have left 36 runners on base with the bases loaded this season, which is second most in MLB (White Sox lead with 39)…in contrast, the Dodgers were 16-for-36 (.444) last season with an MLB-leading 39 RBI in bases loaded no out situations.
HOLLY-WOOD: Tuesday’s starter LHP Alex Wood looks to earn his first win as a Giant against the Dodgers, his first overall vs. LAD since 2015…has a 4.09 ERA against the Dodgers with two wins, and 61 strikeouts across 55.0 frames…since signing with the Giants in 2021, Wood is 0-5 in seven starts vs. his former team with a 4.95 ERA, 45 strikeouts and a .277 opposing batting average over 36.1 innings…his best start
was when it mattered most as the southpaw struck out four while surrendering two hits in 4.2 shutout innings in game three of the 2021 Division Series…in two regular season starts at Oracle Park, the Dodgers have pushed across eight runs in 11.1 innings vs. Wood (6.35 ERA) with two home runs (IF Chris Taylor in 2021 and OF Mookie Betts in 2022).
APRIL SHOWERS: IF J.D. Davis has been outstanding early on this season, leading the club with a .370 (10×27) average…in fact, Davis has loved hitting in April in his big league career, boasting a .342 career average with a .980 OPS in 63 April games…according to Stats, LLC, both his .342 average and .439 OBP in the month are fourth-highest in MLB since 1945 (min. 150 ABs).
TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX WOOD LHP #57
2023 RECORD: 0-0, 3.00 ERA
WITH THE GIANTS: Begins his third season with the Giants…signed a two-year Major League contract with San Francisco on December 1, 2021 after spending the 2021 season in a Giants uniform…today will mark his 242st game and 192st start in his career.
SPRING TRAINING: Made four starts this spring, going 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA (6er, 15.0ip) with 24 strikeouts and 0.87 WHIP…his last spring start came on March 26 at Oakland where he tossed 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts.
VS. DODGERS: Has faced the Dodgers 11 in his career (nine starts) will be seeking his first win since July 21, 2015 when he was a member of the Braves…Wood has a 4.09 ERA (25er, 55.0ip) while allowing 57 hits, 61 strikeouts and 16 walks…last season he went 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA (11er, 14.2ip) and he had a BAA of .298 (17-for-57).
2022 SEASON: Went 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA (74er, 130.2ip) in 26 starts with SF going 12-14…in three seasons with the Giants Wood is 18-16 with a 3.61 ERA (134er, 272.1ip) with 71 walks, 31 home runs and a batting average against of .251 (263-for-1049).
EN CASA: Wood pitched better at home in 2022, posting a 4.66 ERA (33er, 63.2ip) while going 3-5 and striking out 63 batters in 63.2 innings…while on the road last season Wood finished 5-7 with a 5.51 ERA (41er, 67.0ip), striking out 68, walking 18 and allowing 12 home runs.
LEFTOVERS: Wood dominated left-handed batters last season, holding them to a .193 average (23-for-119) with five walks and 36 strikeouts…he allowed just three extra-base hits against lefties (one HR and two doubles) all year and posted a .464 OPS overall… right-handers hit .283 (109-for-385) with a .800 OPS.
MY SALES PITCH: His go-to pitch last season was the sinker, as he used the pitch 45.5% of the time…he recorded 68 of his 131 strikeouts last year with his sinker…that was in contrast to his first season with SF in 2021 where he still used the sinker about the same percentage of the time (46.4%) but his main strikeout pitch was the slider as he recorded 91 of his 152 strikeouts (59.8%) that year.
ORDER UP…: In 2022, Wood limited opposing hitters to a .645 OPS and a .241 average the first time through the order…the second time through those numbers went up to a .706 OPS and a .256 average…the third time through opponents had a .941 OPS and a .326 average off Wood…after his first start seems that trend will continue, opposing hitters have a .619 OPS and a .143 batting average and a 1.111 OPS and .556 batting average second time around.
PACING: Averaged 15.1 seconds between pitches when the bases were empty during the 2022 season, 25th-quickest in the Majors last year (league average was 18.1 seconds)…with runners on however, Wood slowed it down a bit, averaging 21.3 seconds between pitches…that rate was still well under league average (23.3 seconds).
