Preview: Brett Anderson And Dodgers Aim To Avoid Series Sweep

As the baseball season draws closer to the dog days of summer, the Los Angeles Dodgers have struggled with an ongoing problem — beating teams with a winning record. To make matters worse, a team they have had the least amount of success against is the San Francisco Giants. After Saturday’s loss, the Dodgers now find themselves at 2-9 against their longtime rival.

Looking to put a halt to the Giants’ five-game winning streak over the Dodgers is Brett Anderson. The southpaw is 2-4 on the season in 13 starts with a 3.43 ERA. In his last outing, the six-year veteran put forth a strong performance.

Anderson threw eight innings in which he allowed two runs on eights hits. He walked away with a no-decision on a night where the Dodger bats were largely held in check. two earned runs, even though he received a no-decision. In six career starts against the Giants, the 27-year old is 0-4 with a forgettable 5.67 ERA.

In his three starts in this season against the Dodgers’ division rival, Anderson has faired worse than his career averages, going 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA. Anderson is in search of his first win since May 8.

Taking the mound for the Giants, who are in position to sweep a second consecutive three-game series against the Dodgers, is Tim Lincecum. The two-time Cy Young winner is 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA and riding a hot streak as he’s earned a win in six of his last seven decisions.

With his unorthodox pitching style, the 31-year old pitcher has had his fair share of battles against the Dodgers. In 27 career starts against the Dodgers, Lincecum is 11-8 with a 3.31 ERA. He picked up a win the last time he faced the Dodgers, throwing seven shutout innings and allowing only three hits.

When facing Lincecum few Dodgers have had success at the plate. Yasiel Puig is batting .588 against the right-handed pitcher, and Joc Pederson is 3-for-7 in his brief career. Puig is again leading off Sunday with Pederson slotted behind him. Alex Guerrero gets the rare start in left field.

Dodgers Lineup:

RF: Yasiel Puig

CF: Joc Pederson

3B: Justin Turner

1B: Adrian Gonzalez

2B: Howie Kendrick

LF: Alex Guerrero

C: Yasmani Grandal

SS: Jimmy Rollins

P: Brett Anderson

Giants Lineup:

CF: Angel Pagan

2B: Joe Panik

3B: Matt Duffy

1B: Buster Posey

SS: Brandon Crawford

RF: Justin Maxwell

LF: Brandon Belt

C: Andrew Susac

P: Tim Lincecum

Brett Anderson Keeping Tough Stretch In Perspective