The Giants trail the Dodgers by one game as they open a series in Los Angeles. At the end of play on June 26th, the Giants held an eight game lead in the NL West. Since that date, the Dodgers are 28-19, third best in the National League. The Giants are 19-28, third worst in the NL. Through 6/26, the Giants were hitting .262/.333/.400. Since, .260/.335/.403. For the pitchers, the pre and post slash lines are .246/.302/.392 and .247/.312/.422. So the pitching let them down, especially by allowing extra base hits.

Tuesday night, Madison Bumgarner takes the hill against Kenta Maeda. Bumgarner is a good example of the Giants struggles. Since the All-Star break he is 2-3 despite a 3.13 ERA. But before the break his ERA stood at 1.94, and he gave up fewer home runs.

Maeda makes it difficult for rallies to start, as opponents earn a meager .255 OBP with the bases empty. Less than half the at bats against him have come with runners on base. That is balanced a bit by Maeda allowing a higher slugging percentage with men on.

Enjoy!