Winners in six of their last seven contests, the Los Angeles Dodgers head to Great American Ball Park to open up a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds. It marks the second consecutive weekend set between the two clubs.
The Dodgers swept the Reds at Dodger Stadium from June 9-11, punctuated with a wild come-from-behind win in the series finale. The Dodgers find themselves in a tie for second place in the National League West with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with both clubs one game behind the first-place Colorado Rockies.
Meanwhile, the Reds sit at the bottom of the standings in the NL Central amidst a six-game losing streak.
On the mound for Los Angeles is Alex Wood, who’s coming off a solid start against the Reds just six days ago. In 5.2 innings, Wood allowed six baserunners and three earned runs while striking out seven and walking none.
However, two of those runs crossed the plate after Josh Fields yielded a three-run home run to Devin Mesoraco with two outs in the sixth inning. Following the outing, Wood’s career numbers against Cincinnati slightly spiked to a 2.95 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 21.1 innings of work.
Wood enters play on Friday with nine consecutive starts without receiving a loss — tied for the third-longest streak in the Majors. The last Dodgers starter to go 10 outings without a loss was Orel Hershiser in 1985.
Through 11 appearances (nine starts) thus far, Wood has posted a minuscule 2.01 ERA and 1.88 FIP in 53.2 innings with a career-high 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings ratio.
Making his fourth start of the season for the Reds is Tim Adleman, who last faced the Dodgers on June 11. In five innings, the 29-year old allowed five hits (two home runs) and two earned runs with four strikeouts. He didn’t factor into the decision.
Over his career against Los Angeles, Adleman owns a 1.80 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 10 innings (two starts). For the year, the right-hander has pitched to a 4.34 ERA and 5.01 FIP in 58 innings, yielding nearly two home runs per nine innings.
Reds outfielder Scott Schebler gets another crack at his former team. In last week’s three-game series at Dodger Stadium, he collected two hits in 12 at-bats, including a double and home run.
Cody Bellinger continues to pace the NL in home runs since his Major League debut on April 25. In his last six games of action, he’s homered six times while tallying nine runs batted in during the span.
Justin Turner is back at third base after serving as the Dodgers’ designated hitter in two consecutive games. Turner quietly has an 11-game hitting streak, batting .450/.511/.600 with three doubles, one home run and four RBI during that span.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Chase Utley
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
LF: Chris Taylor
C: Yasmani Grandal
CF: Joc Pederson
RF: Yasiel Puig
P: Alex Wood
Reds lineup:
CF: Billy Hamilton
SS: Zack Cozart
1B: Joey Votto
LF: Adam Duvall
3B: Eugenio Suarez
RF: Scott Schebler
2B: Jose Peraza
C: Devin Mesoraco
P: Tim Adleman
