After losing on Opening Day for the first time since 2010, the Los Angeles Dodgers look to get in the win column against the San Francisco Giants. Friday’s matchup is the second of 10 head-to-head meetings between the longtime rivals this month.
One night removed from scratching across just enough on Clayton Kershaw, the Giants look to topple another southpaw in Alex Wood. He’s coming off an All-Star campaign and offseason that saw a change to pitching exclusively out of the stretch.
Spring Training results were positive for Wood, who had 22 strikeouts against six walks in 17.1 innings pitched across five Cactus League starts.
Wood went 2-0 in three starts against the Giants last season, winning both outings at Dodger Stadium. When facing San Francisco in his career, Wood is 2-2 with a 5.35 ERA in nine games (five starts)
The Giants counter with Johnny Cueto, who somewhat surprisingly was not tabbed for the Opening Day start when Madison Bumgarner suffered a fractured knuckle late in the spring. Cueto dealt with injuries last season but owns a 2.67 ERA at Dodger Stadium since 2008, which is the second-lowest mark among active pitchers (minimum 50 innings pitched).
He may encounter trouble in the form of Cody Bellinger, who is a career 5-for-11 off the righty, and Kemp who is 12-for-37 with three home runs. Bellinger is back to hitting cleanup after hitting fifth on Opening Day.
Kemp remains sixth in the Dodgers lineup. Chase Utley starts at second base, which to be expected, comes against a right-hander. Utley singled in his pinch-hit appearance on Thursday.
For the Giants, Brandon Crawford is a lifetime 4-for-9 with two home runs off Wood, and Buster posey is 7-for-15. While the Dodgers did some shuffling and inserted new starts, San Francisco sends out the same first eight.
Dodgers lineup:
CF: Chris Taylor
SS: Corey Seager
RF: Yasiel Puig
1B: Cody Bellinger
C: Yasmani Grandal
LF: Matt Kemp
2B: Chase Utley
3B: Logan Forsythe
P: Alex Wood
Giants lineup:
CF: Austin Jackson
2B: Joe Panik
RF: Andrew McCutchen
C: Buster Posey
3B: Evan Longoria
LF: Hunter Pence
1B: Brandon Belt
SS: Brandon Crawford
P: Johnny Cueto
