Before falling to the Dodgers on Tuesday night, the San Francisco Giants had rattled off eight straight victories, just enough to keep them alive in the National League West hunt. <\/p>\n
MLB Betting \u2013 Giants vs Dodgers Preview & Pick<\/strong> San Francisco Giants (83-71 through September 20)<\/strong> The defending champs had fallen so far behind that the streak only pulled them to within 5.5 games of Arizona but, with a crucial three-game set with Arizona looming, all hope is not lost yet.<\/p>\n Youngster Madison Bumgarner will take the hill Thursday night for San Fran. He\u2019s really starting to round into form as a dominant major-league starter. Over his last 10 outings, he has three starts with 10 or more strikeouts, six wins (including five straight) and has allowed two runs or fewer eight times. Bumgarner is 4-1 with a 2.97 ERA over six career appearances (five starts) versus the Dodgers.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Dodgers (77-76 through September 20)<\/strong> The Los Angeles Dodgers haven\u2019t been half bad of late, relishing the spoiler role and winning four straight games through Tuesday\u2019s action. In the second half, their pitching finally returned to form and became the strength it was supposed to be. During the Dodgers\u2019 four-game winning streak, they\u2019ve allowed two or fewer runs in every game. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n Hiroki Kuroda will face off against Bumgarner on Thursday. He\u2019s been his usual efficient self this season, walking just 49 batters in 189 innings, but his homer rate has risen significantly since last season. Kuroda will have to tread carefully against reining NL Player of the Week Pablo Sandoval. Kung Fu Panda hit three doubles off Kuroda in a Giants win on September 11.<\/p>\n The pick:<\/strong><\/p>\n Kuroda is a solid pitcher and the Giants don\u2019t have a lot to threaten him with. But I still like the Giants on Thursday. The way Bumgarner is pitching, they may only need two or three runs to win. Sandoval can provide that.<\/p>\n
\nDate: <\/strong>Thursday, September 22, 2011
\nVenue: <\/strong>Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
\nBroadcast: <\/strong>CSBA, FSPT
\nSan Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Lines from BetUS.com<\/strong>
\nOdds<\/strong>: Dodgers -102, Over\/Under 6.5<\/p>\n
\nMadison Bumgarner (12-12, 3.21)<\/p>\n
\nHiroki Kuroda (12-16, 3.19)<\/p>\n