After dropping the first game of the series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have battled back to get consecutive victories. They now enter play on Sunday with an opportunity to take the four-game series from the San Diego Padres and head into the All-Star break on a high note.
While their series concludes, Kenley Jansen, Corey Seager, Wil Myers and Drew Pomeranz will be teammates on the National League All-Star team on Tuesday at Petco Park in the 87th annual All-Star Game.
Kenta Maeda concludes his first-half season in the Majors by facing the Padres a third time. Maeda is coming off a rough outing in which he allowed four runs on seven hits to the Baltimore Orioles in just four innings.
Maeda is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in his two starts against San Diego. One of the outings was six scoreless innings. Overall this season, the right-hander is 7-6 with a 3.07 ERA, 3.56 FIP and 1.15 WHIP.
The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been further taxed since Clayton Kershaw landed on the disabled list. Starters have not been able to exceed the five-inning mark in seven consecutive games, and a starter not named Kershaw last tossed seven innings on May 14 — a stretch that spans 45 games.
Dodgers relievers have shouldered the load and enter play with a collective 2.85 ERA that ranks second in the Majors behind the Kansas City Royals.
The Padres close out the first half of the season with Christian Friedrich on the mound. Although the 29-year-old started the season off hot, he has cooled down considerably over his last few outings.
In his previous outing, he suffered a loss against the Arizona Diamondbacks after allowing five runs on six hits. Friedrich has allowed at least four earned runs in his last four starts. The left-hander was chased in the fourth inning in a start against the Dodgers this season, allowing two runs on six hits.
On the season he’s 4-4 with a 4.42 ERA, 4.38 FIP and 1.51 WHIP. Yasmani Grandal is 3-for-5 with one double, a home run and two RBIs in his career off Friedrich. Adrian Gonzalez is 3-for-6 with one RBI, while leadoff hitter is 3-for-8 with one RBI.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Howie Kendrick
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
RF: Yasiel Puig
CF: Trayce Thompson
C: Yasmani Grandal
LF: Scott Van Slyke
P: Kenta Maeda
Padres lineup:
CF: Melvin Upton Jr.
1B: Wil Myers
RF: Matt Kemp
3B: Yangervis Solarte
LF: Alex Dickerson
C: Derek Norris
2B: Ryan Schimpf
SS: Alexei Ramirez
P: Christian Friedrich
