The Giants (18-24) and Dodgers (24-18) meet at Dodger Stadium with the series already tilted toward San Francisco, which has taken the first two games in Los Angeles and has won four of five meetings against the Dodgers this season. Los Angeles is trying to stop a four-game slide, and the shape of this matchup is unusual: Shohei Ohtani is on the mound for the Dodgers, but his bat is removed from the lineup, while San Francisco counters with Robbie Ray as the only left-handed starter the Dodgers are scheduled to see in this four-game set. Below is my preview, prediction, and pick for today’s baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.

Here’s how I’ll play it. I’ll be pumping out these predictions for individual games all season, with plenty of coverage here on DraftKings Network. Follow my handle @dansby_edits for more betting plays.

Dodgers vs. Giants prediction, preview

Ohtani enters with a 0.97 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 42 strikeouts and nine walks over 37 innings, and the underlying profile backs up the run prevention: 10.22 K/9, 2.19 BB/9, 0.49 HR/9, 52.2% ground-ball rate, 2.52 FIP and 3.11 xFIP. His Statcast page is even cleaner for an under: .226 wOBA allowed, .236 xwOBA, 87.6 mph average exit velocity, 38.5% hard-hit rate and a tiny 3.3% barrel rate. Ray has more volatility under the hood, with a 2.76 ERA sitting beside a 4.15 FIP, 4.52 xFIP, 12.9% walk rate and 1.58 HR/9, but he has still held every 2026 start to three earned runs or fewer and brings 47 strikeouts across 45.2 innings. His Statcast contact line is also playable for this number: 87.8 mph average exit velocity, 33.9% hard-hit rate, .296 wOBA and .323 xwOBA allowed.

The Dodgers’ offense has enough names to scare any under, but tonight’s version is missing two of the cleanest run-force bats. Ohtani is pitching only, Max Muncy is out, and the confirmed lineup runs Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernández, Miguel Rojas, Alex Call and Santiago Espinal. That gives Los Angeles real danger through the middle, especially Pages, who is 10-for-31 with a homer, four doubles, six RBI and a .901 OPS vs left-handed pitching, plus a 90.9 mph average exit velocity, 52.5% hard-hit rate, .395 wOBA and .359 xwOBA overall. The conversion problem is still obvious. Betts is just back from a 32-game oblique absence and is 0-for-8 vs lefties this season, Smith is 5-for-26 with a .515 OPS vs LHP, and the bottom third gives Ray a place to breathe if he navigates Freeman/Pages/Tucker without a crooked inning.

Giants vs. Dodgers pick, best bet

San Francisco’s counter is the reason this moved from Dodgers TT under into a full-game sweat instead of a free square. The Giants have finally put some pressure on Los Angeles, scoring 15 runs across the first two games of the series, and Tuesday’s 6-2 win came with three homers, Jung Hoo Lee’s two-run double and another late Dodgers pitching leak. Their recent righty split has also climbed to .250/.305/.426 with a .731 OPS, 11 homers and 37 RBI over the last 10 games against right-handed pitching. Ohtani’s profile is built to answer that exact surge. Heliot Ramos has real impact contact at 92.0 mph average exit velocity, 50.0% hard-hit rate and 13.1% barrel rate, but Lee is more contact/sweet-spot than pure slug at 88.4 mph average exit velocity, 32.1% hard-hit rate and 2.2% barrel rate, and the full Giants split vs righties is still only .242/.290/.375/.665. Ohtani’s strikeout/ground-ball mix can mute the recent homer pop without needing a perfect night.

The bullpen concern is real, and it keeps this from becoming an overconfident under. San Francisco just optioned Ryan Walker and Gregory Santos after a shaky start, with Walker carrying a 6.46 ERA and three blown saves over his first 16 appearances, while the Dodgers have been bleeding late runs during this skid. That is exactly why the number matters. At 7.5, there is still room for Ohtani to allow two, Ray to allow three, and the bullpens to give up a late run without killing the ticket. The weather helps the pitchers, too: Los Angeles is forecast around 65°F at 7 p.m., 64°F at 8 p.m., 62°F at 9 p.m. and 60°F at 10 p.m., with mostly clear conditions and no warm-night carry boost. The full-game under asks for competent starting pitching and a cooler park to hold the late innings inside the hook.

The play is under 7.5 (-105), playable to -115 at 7.5. At 7.0, the bet becomes much more push-heavy and needs plus money to justify the lost hook. The best version of this handicap is simple: Ohtani suppresses barrel damage against a Giants lineup that has heated up but still owns a weak full-season righty split, Ray gets a compromised Dodgers order without Ohtani or Muncy, and the park/weather setting helps keep the game from turning loose. The failure mode is Ray’s walk rate putting multiple Dodgers aboard before Pages, Freeman or Tucker finds the elevated fastball, or the Giants carrying their current homer burst into Ohtani’s one mistake inning. The cleaner script is tight through six, one bullpen run late, and the hook surviving.

Best bet: Giants-Dodgers under 7.5 (-105). Final score: Dodgers 4, Giants 3.

Best bet: Dodgers vs. Giants u7.5 total runs (-105)

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