Major League Baseball

Dodgers get the best of Giants in first of many 2022 battles

Updated May. 5, 2022 3:52 p.m. ET

By Pedro Moura
FOX Sports MLB Writer

The first time the Giants and Dodgers met in 2022, this week at Dodger Stadium, the pregame conversations remained focused on the last time they met in 2021. The Dodgers technically won the NLDS, but the teams were so closely matched that even their victory was Pyrrhic.

"We paid the cost," manager Dave Roberts said this week, acknowledging that by the time the Dodgers’ next series began in Atlanta, they were diminished as a result of their 2021-long tussles with the Giants. L.A.'s stressed pitching staff started the NLCS out of sorts and never recovered.

The next 17 times the Dodgers (16-7) and Giants (14-10) face off over the next five months, the collective gaze will look forward, to the likelihood of more high-stakes matchups in September and October.

Don’t let the outcome of these two games fool you. Despite their short sweep, the Dodgers are likely to face another season-long threat from the Giants. San Francisco was far more short-handed during this series than Los Angeles, both because of injuries and because of a COVID-19 outbreak. The Giants traveled south without first baseman Brandon Belt, second baseman Tommy La Stella, third baseman Evan Longoria and outfielders Steven Duggar, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Mike Yastrzemski, as well as two key relievers. They lost these two games, but they have otherwise weathered the start of this season just fine.

The Dodgers have stayed relatively healthy this season, especially on offense, much more so than at this time a year ago. Not all of their hitters are in top form — far from it. Max Muncy and Trea Turner have been below average, and Justin Turner has been well, well below average. By Baseball-Reference calculations, the Dodgers’ most valuable player through 23 games has been second baseman Gavin Lux, who isn't even an every-day player yet. But as that hints, they’re back to being one of the deepest teams in baseball, a trait that evaded them at times last season.

That was a key reason the Giants outlasted the Dodgers in the divisional race and pushed them to the NLDS brink. When the Dodgers sent up struggling journeyman Steven Souza Jr. to pinch hit in important situations, the Giants summoned Wade, their season-long hero. Most of the Dodgers’ limited pinch-hit opportunities this season are going to Edwin Ríos, a power threat, or Hanser Alberto, a contact specialist.

Even with Trevor Bauer appealing his two-year suspension, the Dodgers also have more rotation clarity in 2022. It’s highly unlikely that Bauer will pitch for them this season, but their two left-handed depth additions, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney, have impressed, as have the Dodgers’ four incumbent starters.

The Giants’ rotation appears similarly prepared to last the season. Newcomer Carlos Rodón looks like an ace, and much of the depth from 2021 has returned behind him. Postseason sensation Logan Webb has the peripherals, if not the baseline statistics, to support an ongoing breakout.

When the Giants' hurt hitters return, their roster will be much improved. Buster Posey is no longer there, but Joey Bart has so far proven a competent replacement. The rest of the offense is essentially intact from last season, except the addition of former Dodger Joc Pederson. His arrival only accentuates the crossover between these two organizations. The Giants’ GM, manager, hitting coach and assistant hitting coach are all former Dodger staffers. Pederson and left-hander Alex Wood were fan favorites in L.A.

The Dodgers followed suit last month and called up longtime Giants reliever Reyes Moronta to their bullpen. The two teams like many of the same players. Maybe more impactfully, these two squads played each other 24 times in 2021.

"We have a lot of familiarity with the Dodgers’ roster," Giants manager Gabe Kapler said before this series. "Same way they have a lot of familiarity with ours."

He said that in response to a question about all the scheduled matchups this season. No matter that familiarity, he said, it made no sense to look ahead to them yet. Roberts didn’t disagree. But he also allowed that however nonsensical looking forward was, it was natural.

"We think a lot alike," Roberts said. "When you take two organizations that see the world similarly, that makes it fun and challenging. Both teams have shown relevance in the National League and in baseball. You can forecast into October that these two teams could be facing each other again."

You can, and many have. But it’s no guarantee. The National League West might collectively win even more games this season than last. Like at this time last year, the Padres are looking like they could pose a threat. The Rockies have matched the Giants’ record. Even the Diamondbacks are playing .500 baseball somehow.

But the bet here remains that the Giants will push the Dodgers harder than anyone else. They didn’t in this week’s two games, which the Dodgers won by a cumulative score of 12-2.

But the Giants have at least 17 more chances.

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He previous covered the Dodgers for three seasons for The Athletic and, before that, the Angels and Dodgers for five seasons for the Orange County Register and L.A. Times. More previously, he covered his alma mater, USC, for ESPNLosAngeles.com. The son of Brazilian immigrants, he grew up in the Southern California suburbs. His first book, "How to Beat a Broken Game," came out this spring. Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.