The Dodgers head into San Francisco with the postseason picture already settled, but there’s still work to do before October arrives. With a three-game set against the Giants closing out the 2026 regular season, Friday night is less about the standings and more about sharpness, roster evaluation, and getting key pieces pointed in the right direction.
That includes a group of players working their way back from injury, along with a few roster spots that are still up for grabs. Freddie Freeman said the focus is squarely on the present weekend and nothing beyond it.
“All we care about is playing good this weekend, these three games, and take that in,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “Doesn’t matter who we’re playing or what we’ve done against those teams.
It’s all out the window come [next] Saturday. It’s game on there.
[We need to] play good baseball so we can have some positive things going into the off week.”
On the mound, Tarik Skubal gets one final regular-season tune-up Friday night. The left-hander, who is presumed to start Game 2 behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, is making his last start before the postseason.
Skubal saw the Giants just last weekend and took the loss in what was his roughest outing since joining the Dodgers. He gave up four runs on eight hits and struck out three across five innings.
Now he’ll try to finish the regular season on a cleaner note, with the Dodgers hoping he and the rest of the rotation can anchor them in October the way the staff did a year ago.
San Francisco will counter with right-hander Yunior Marte in a rematch of last weekend’s matchup. Marte had a tough night in that game, allowing six runs on eight hits over 4.2 innings while striking out two.
Since his MLB debut on Aug. 29, Marte has posted a 4.66 ERA in 19.1 innings.
First pitch for Dodgers-Giants on Friday, Sept. 25 is set for 7:15 p.m. PT/10:15 p.m.
ET. The game will air on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app, with radio coverage on AM570 in English and KTNQ 1020 AM in Spanish.
In Other News...
Giants Just Got A Brutal Reality Check On Buster Poseys Roster
David Schoenfields final ESPN grades for all 30 clubs landed especially hard in San Francisco, where the Giants were one of just three teams to draw an F for the 2026 season. The evaluation matched the disappointing finish on the field: a losing record and a year that fell well short of the playoff hopes that hovered over the club before Opening Day. For a franchise that entered the season with expectations, the grade served as a blunt measure of how much ground was lost.
There were some reasons for optimism tucked into the overall review, including Bryce Eldridges strong rookie season and signs that the farm system is in better shape. Even so, Schoenfield pointed to underperforming contracts as part of the problem and put the spotlight on the front office led by Buster Posey to deliver a better response next season. The talent pipeline may be improving, but the big-league roster still has plenty to prove. [Read more 🡒]
Logan Webb Gives Giants Fans Something To Celebrate After A Tough Finish
Logan Webb gave Giants fans a reason to smile after a difficult finish, earning the 2026 Willie Mac Award as the clubs most inspirational player. The honor, one of the organizations most respected internal recognitions, capped a season in which Webb remained at the center of the rotation and continued to be one of the most important figures in the clubhouse.
It was also a year with some bumps along the way. Webb finished with a 4.31 ERA, landed on the injured list because of a finger blister, and still found enough peak form to win National League Pitcher of the Month in June and make his third straight All-Star team. For a Giants season that ended without much joy, Webbs award offered a reminder of how much he still meant to the group, and why the question around his next step matters so much. [Read more 🡒]
Camilo Doval Just Put His Giants Future Back In Focus
Camilo Doval is back on the Giants roster, and the move quietly nudges one of the more unusual pitching stories of the season back into view. San Francisco activated the reliever and sent Cesar Perdomo to Triple-A Sacramento to clear a spot, a procedural swap that carries extra weight because Dovals path to this point has been anything but straightforward.
After being traded twice in 2026, first from the Giants to the Yankees and then to the Pirates, Doval was designated for assignment and claimed back by San Francisco. He has said he wants to keep pitching for the Giants, and with one year of team control left, his return puts his place in the clubs future back on the table even as the roster churn around him continues. [Read more 🡒]