NLDS Game 5: Dodgers vs. Giants betting odds, preview, and pick

The series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants looked like the best of the divisional round on paper, and so far it has delivered. The only divisional series to go the distance, Game 5 between these two NL West powerhouses will take place at Oracle Park on Thursday night.

Let’s dive into the matchup to determine our best bet.

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants, 9:07 p.m. ET, TBS

Both Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Giants skipper Gabe Kapler were able to line up their starters exactly the way they wanted for this winner-take-all Game 5 as L.A.’s Julio Urias takes on San Francisco’s Logan Webb. With both bullpens also having a day of rest ahead of this clash, it’s easy to see very few runs coming across in this one.

Urias – the lone 20-game winner of 2021 – pitched better on the road than he did at home this season. He went 13-2 with a 2.71 ERA as the visitor over 103 innings. Urias took on the Giants five times this year and performed respectably, authoring a 3.38 ERA over 29 1/3 innings.

San Fran should expect another dose of both Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol out of the bullpen; they’ve combined to pitch 7 2/3 innings while allowing only one earned run in this series.

Webb dominated the Dodgers when these teams met in Game 1, blanking one of the best lineups in baseball while striking out 10 over 7 2/3 innings. He produced a 2.25 ERA and .127 opponent batting average in 16 innings of work against L.A. in his breakout regular season, so that effort wasn’t a fluke.

The Giants have just as many weapons in the bullpen as the Dodgers do, chief among them being Camilo Doval, who has allowed no earned runs in his last 17 1/3 innings on the mound. That includes his three scoreless frames in this series.

MLB pick: Under

Player prop pick: Chris Taylor Over 0.5 RBI (+240)

Webb Over 5.5 strikeouts (+120) is tempting, but let’s focus our attention on the offense now, as this game can’t end 0-0.

Chris Taylor hit the walk-off homer in the Wild Card round that sent L.A. to the NLDS, and missed another dinger by just a few feet due to the wind at Dodger Stadium in Game 4. Still, he managed an RBI on Tuesday night via sacrifice fly – sometimes that’s all it takes.

Taylor is stepping his game up this postseason, so don’t be shocked if this prop hits at a nice price.