The defending champion Giants open their season tonight with a primetime battle against National League West rival Los Angeles. This evening's divisional showdown, which features two of the best young hurlers in the league in Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw, is scheduled to get underway at 8:00pm ET at Dodger Stadium; it will be broadcast live on ESPN. MLB Odds and Predictions have Los Angeles listed as a -115 moneyline favorite and the game total set at 6.5.
San Francisco will look to the diminutive Tim Lincecum to get 
its 2011 season started on a good note as the two time Cy Young winner, who is coming off a 16 win, 231 strikeout, 3.43 ERA season, takes the hill for Bruce Bochy.
Lincecum, who finished the spring with a 4.37 ERA in 22.2 innings pitched, is 5-1 with a 3.43 ERA in 10 career appearances against the Dodgers; however, his numbers against L.A. are considerably worse at Dodger Stadium. The 26 year old righty is 2-1 at Los Angeles (six appearances) with a 4.40 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.
The Dodgers, which placed a disappointing fourth in the NL West last season with an 80-82 record, will send 23 year old southpaw Clayton Kershaw to the mound this evening. Kershaw only won 13 of his 32 starts last year, but the Texas native was marvelous in most of his outings as he closed out the season with a 1.18 WHIP and 2.91 ERA.
Kershaw also pitched extremely well in four 2010 appearances against the Giants, giving up just 18 hits and five earned runs in 29 innings pitched (1.55 ERA). San Francisco, which struck out 25 times in those 29 innings, hit a meager .176 with Kershaw toeing the rubber against them.
Despite those numbers leaning heavily in Kershaw's favor, the series numbers tilt to the Giants in a big way. San Francisco has won nine of its last 12 games against the Dodgers, including four of its last seven at Los Angeles.
Giants vs Dodgers Odds 2011 MLB Predictions:
San Francisco Giants +1.5 (-230), Over 6.5 (-120), -105 (Moneyline)
Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (+190), Under 6.5 (+100), -115 (Moneyline)
