Charlie Cummings previews Tuesday’s MLB matchup between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers and provides his best pick.

It’s time for another edition of a premier National League rivalry. After Monday’s win by the Giants over the Dodgers, San Francisco leads the all-time head-to-head matchup 1,291-1,288. You read that right: they’ve played each other 2,579 times, and only three games separate their record. Will the Giants extend their lead on Tuesday, or will the Dodgers narrow the gap?

First pitch is set for 10:10 p.m. ET. The Dodgers are -314 Moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, while a Giants upset is priced at +248. The game total is set at O/U 8.5 runs.

Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Giants-Dodgers game.

Giants vs. Dodgers Preview

First things first, let’s get to know these starting pitchers.

Adrian Houser steps to the mound for the Giants. One of San Francisco’s big offseason acquisitions, Houser was asked to bring stability to the rotation behind twin aces Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. Instead, he has generated more chaos. Through seven starts, Houser has a 6.19 ERA in 36.1 innings of work. He’s a sinker-slider-changeup pitcher who relies on inducing soft contact and doesn’t miss bats, striking out only 19 batters. But he’s not getting the soft contact he needs, allowing a hard-hit ball 45.9% of the time with an average exit velocity of 91.1 MPH. Both of those figures are 18th percentile or lower among starting pitchers. Allowing tons of hard contact without generating strikeouts against this Dodgers lineup is not a good formula.

Opposite Houser is Yoshinobu Yamamoto. L.A.’s hero against the Blue Jays in the World Series, Yamamoto was one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2025 and continues to excel in 2026. The underlying numbers are a bit rougher compared to last year; his barreled ball rate is up, his ground ball rate is way down, and he’s not striking out the volume of batters we are used to. But like any good pitcher, he has worked around trouble to deliver strong innings, pitching to a 3.09 ERA in 43.2 innings. That ball still comes out of his hand like a wiffle ball.

The disparity in these lineups is gargantuan. L.A.’s star-studded group has hardly noticed Shohei Ohtani’s slump and Mookie Betts’ injury, posting a 119 WRC+ as a team, which is second in all of Major League Baseball. Big early-season performances from Max Muncy and Andy Pages have carried this lineup at times. Kyle Tucker, Freddie Freeman, Betts, Ohtani, and Will Smith have yet to truly pick it up; all five batters have an OPS of .772 or lower. Imagine how scary things will get when those five stars get hot.

San Francisco finally has a few stars in the lineup, but they’re not living up to the billing. Willy Adames, handed a massive contract before the 2025 season, has looked lost for most of the season. Matt Chapman is slumping both at the plate and in the field. Rafael Devers looked like one of the worst hitters in baseball during the month of April. But they’re finally getting some turnaround, led by Devers’ charge in May.

Rafael Devers ranked 168th out of 177 qualifiers with .537 OPS in March/April. He ranks 5th with a 1.193 OPS in May

— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) May 12, 2026

If Devers can produce like a true middle-of-the-order bat, things may turn around for a San Francisco lineup producing an 86 WRC+ as a unit, tied for second worst in baseball. Buster Posey has sent a clear message about the offense, shipping out Patrick Bailey in favor of sweet-swinging catcher Jesus Rodriguez and calling up top hitting prospect Bryce Eldridge, who will be in the lineup Tuesday night. It’s do-or-die time for these Giants bats, or else they may find themselves on the trade block.

Now that we know these teams a bit better, who is going to take this one home?

Giants vs. Dodgers Pick, Best Bet

San Francisco’s 9-3 win on Monday night was impressive, but it was blown out of proportion by Roki Sasaki’s struggles. He put Dave Roberts’ bullpen behind the eight-ball, making the game look more lopsided than it actually was. Not only is the Dodgers’ best pitcher on the mound, but their most important bullpen arms are fresh for Tuesday night. Don’t count on another big offensive showing for the Giants, which they’re going to need with Houser out there. L.A. will take a big lead early and never look back.

Best Bet: Los Angeles Dodgers Alternate Run Line -2.5 (-103)