In the second rematch of 2016 National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers host the defending world champion Chicago Cubs at 1:05 p.m. PT. The Dodgers dropped the first spring matchup, 9-3, on March 4 at Sloan Park.
Hyun-Jin Ryu returns to the mound for his second start of the spring. After making just one start over the past two regular seasons, Ryu looked more like his old self in his 2017 debut on Saturday, surrendering just one hit over a pair of scoreless innings.
Ryu has an outside chance at making the Dodgers’ roster out of Spring Training, though his lack of innings over the past two years could convince the organization to leave him behind in Arizona to continue to build up his workload.
Plus, even with questions about the health of Scott Kazmir and Brock Stewart, the team still has more than enough options to fill the rotation by opening day.
Scheduled to follow Ryu on Thursday are Grant Dayton, Patrick Schuster, Brandon Morrow, Yaisel Sierra and Josh Ravin. Ryu will bat for himself, then potentially later be replaced by Andre Ethier as a designated hitter.
Ethier has been sidelined due to hip soreness/back spasms, and his availability against the Cubs was to be determined after a morning workout.
For the Cubs, Eddie Butler is scheduled to make the start. He’s a familiar face, as the Dodgers saw him with the Colorado Rockies last year. Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner faced Butler the most and both had success, each homering off the righty.
After allowing three runs in his first four innings of the spring, Butler posted two scoreless innings out of the bullpen in his last outing. However, it seems that he’s unlikely to begin the season with the big club, as the competition for the fifth starter spot is likely to go to former Dodgers left-hander Brett Anderson.
Gonzalez is in the lineup for the first time since a controversial elimination with Team Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Although Gonzalez previously spoke fondly of the WBC, he vowed to no longer participate.
Chris Taylor continues to make his case for a spot on the 25-man roster. Coming in off the bench on Wednesday, he went 1-for-2 with a single, enters batting .500 on the spring. Taylor played center field against the Seattle Mariners, continuing to add to his defensive value.
Whereas the Dodgers saw Jason Heyward, Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell in the first meeting, none of the aforementioned players are in the lineup a second time around.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Logan Forsythe
3B: Justin Turner
C: Yasmani Grandal
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
RF: Yasiel Puig
CF: Joc Pederson
LF: Franklin Gutierrez
SS: Chris Taylor
P: Hyun-Jin Ryu
Cubs lineup:
3B: Tommy La Stella
CF: Albert Almora Jr.
1B: Jeimer Candelario
RF: Matt Szczur
2B: Ian Happ
LF: John Andreoli
C: Victor Caratini
SS: Munenori Kawasaki
DH: Chris Dominguez
