Giants vs Dodgers Game Time – 9/21/2025

San Francisco Giants

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Los Angeles Dodgers

As the Los Angeles Dodgers host the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on September 21, 2025, the stakes are high in this National League West matchup. The Dodgers currently hold an impressive record of 88-67, while the Giants sit at 76-79, struggling to find consistency this season. In their last encounter, the Dodgers emerged victorious, continuing to assert their dominance in the division.

The Dodgers are projected to start Emmet Sheehan, who has enjoyed a solid season with a 6-3 record and a stellar ERA of 3.17. Ranked as the 38th best starting pitcher in MLB, Sheehan has demonstrated his ability to keep opposing teams at bay, although he projects to allow 2.5 earned runs today. His strikeout potential, averaging 6.1 strikeouts per outing, adds an additional layer of confidence for the Dodgers.

On the other side, the Giants will send Trevor McDonald to the mound. Despite his high groundball rate of 75%, McDonald has struggled, posting a dismal ERA of 9.00. With no starts this season and limited experience, he faces a daunting task against the Dodgers’ potent offense, which ranks as the 2nd best in MLB. The projections suggest that McDonald could allow 3.0 earned runs, which could be disastrous against such a high-scoring team.

The Dodgers’ offense has been firing on all cylinders, ranking 2nd in home runs and boasting a significant implied team total of 5.28 runs for today’s game. In contrast, the Giants’ offense ranks 22nd overall, and with an implied team total of only 3.72 runs, they may struggle to keep pace. With the Dodgers’ bullpen also ranked 1st, they have the edge in this matchup, and the betting lines reflect their strong position as favorites.

San Francisco Giants Insights

• Trevor McDonald – Over/Under 3.5 Strikeouts (+120/-155)
  Trevor McDonald’s 1990-rpm fastball spin rate since the start of last season grades out in the 9th percentile out of all starting pitchers.
  Explain: Spin rate is a key component to fastball success in generating strikeouts and preventing runs.
• Willy Adames – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-155/+120)
  Extreme flyball hitters like Willy Adames generally hit worse against extreme flyball pitchers like Emmet Sheehan.
  Explain: This mostly has to do with the way the hitter’s swing plane interacts with the pitch trajectory, and it can create diminished performance across all categories and hidden value few are considering.
• San Francisco Giants – 2H Moneyline
  According to the leading projection system (THE BAT), the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen projects as the 9th-worst among all the teams in the league.
  Explain: Most bettors only consider the starting pitcher, but a weak bullpen sneakily creates an easier matchup for the opposing offense and boosts a game’s runs.

Los Angeles Dodgers Insights

• Los Angeles Dodgers – 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline (-220)
  Emmet Sheehan is an extreme flyball pitcher (39.1% FB% per the leading projection system, THE BAT) and will be disadvantaged pitching in the #1 HR venue in Major League Baseball in this matchup.
  Explain: This pitcher’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.
• Max Muncy – Over/Under 0.5 Hits (-195/+150)
  Max Muncy is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in today’s game, which would be an upgrade from his 53% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season.
  Explain: The higher in the order a player bats, the more plate appearances he will get and the more opportunities he will get to hit the Over for every market. A player who hits higher in the order than he normally does may provide extra value opportunity since the market may be based on him hitting lower.
• Max Muncy – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (+120/-155)
  Max Muncy pulls a lot of his flyballs (39.6% — 98th percentile) and will be challenged by the league’s 8th-deepest RF fences in today’s game.
  Explain: This player’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.

Betting Trends

• Over/Under 9.0 Game Total (-120/+100)
  The Los Angeles Dodgers have hit the Game Total Under in 36 of their last 63 games (+11.20 Units / 16% ROI)
• San Francisco Giants – Over/Under 1.5 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total (-130/+100)
  The San Francisco Giants have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total Over in 23 of their last 35 away games (+9.60 Units / 23% ROI)
• Shohei Ohtani – Over/Under 0.5 Singles (+120/-150)
  Shohei Ohtani has hit the Singles Over in 14 of his last 25 games at home (+7.40 Units / 30% ROI)