How to watch the Giants at Dodgers series: MLB's foremost West Coast rivalry renews this weekend
Few MLB pairings can match the pageantry and historical animosity of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. California's two winningest baseball teams have been going at it since 1889 … back when both were based in New York City, of course. The latest 2025 re-up has a lot to watch for, starting with Friday's stellar matchup on the mound. Each side arrives within one game of each other atop the NL West. Here's to a series that's untouchable like Eliot Ness.
'Sunday Night Baseball' can also be streamed on ESPN+.
San Francisco is scorching hot, winning seven consecutive outings before Thursday's stumble in the Rocky Mountains. It won six straight one-run games during that stretch, including back-to-back walkoffs over the Braves. Willy Adames is heating up, while Wilmer Flores is on pace for his first 100-RBI campaign of 13 pro seasons.
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Los Angeles ranks third in MLB in runs per game, and the lineup is loaded: Will Smith tops the National League in OBP (.427). Freddie Freeman leads the NL in batting average at .347. And Shohei Ohtani has crossed home plate more than anyone in the league.
Even though Sunday's finale is in prime time, Friday's series opener looks like the pièce de résistance. Giants right-hander Logan Webb has been dominant on the bump, coming in with a 2.58 ERA and 101 strikeouts across 87.1 innings. Webb has lasted at least six innings in all but one of his last seven starts. He fanned 10 Braves in the previous outing, which followed eight scoreless frames against the Padres (June 2) and another 10-K effort versus the Tigers (May 27). In 14 starts, San Francisco's ace is above the 90th percentile in run value, walk rate and induced grounders.
He's matched by fellow righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who ranks fifth in hits allowed per nine innings. Like his Friday counterpart, Yamamoto is elite in generating ground-ball outs, and he's been one of the sport's best off-speed offerers thus far.
Los Angeles' generational anchor goes Saturday. Clayton Kershaw is the lone lefty Dodger on assignment this series, and he's coming off his first win of 2025. Kershaw notched seven strikeouts in St. Louis last Sunday; his previous high this season was three. The former MVP is 26-16 all-time against the division rivals. He'll be opposed by RHP Landen Roupp, who was 13 years old when Kershaw won his first Cy Young.
Sunday's draw could call for a lot of scoring. San Francisco southpaw Kyle Harrison allowed two homers to the hapless Rockies on Tuesday, and before that, he surrendered five runs to the Padres in 4.1 labored innings. L.A.'s Dustin May, meanwhile, just had a tough outing in San Diego, coughing up six hits, six runs and four walks on Monday.
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Most home runs in both jerseys:
From the NYT archive — Oct. 3, 1962:
'Hopelessly beaten at one stage, the Dodgers finally emerged on top when, with the score tied at 7-all in the ninth, Giant pitching collapsed completely. Three walks filled the bases. Ron Fairly followed with a fly ball to Willie Mays in shallow center that normally would have kept the deadlock intact. But the Dodger on third happened to be Maury Wills and for once Willie the Wonder met more than his match. Desperately, he fired the ball home. The throw was a trifle wide. But even had it been perfect, it could not have headed off the mercurial Dodger as he slid over the plate with the deciding run.' — John Drebinger
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(Photo of Shohei Ohtani: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
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