The Los Angeles Dodgers went 7-2 on their road trip and are now home for a five-game homestand, beginning with a weekend set against the San Diego Padres. It’s the first series between the two teams since benches cleared at Petco Park after managers Dave Roberts and Andy Green exchanged words.
Rich Hill takes the mound for his second start since being named National League Pitcher of the Month for July. Hill allowed three solo home runs in the first inning of his previous start, but settled in and kept the New York Mets off the board the next four frames.
Hill has made two starts against the Padres this season, going 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA. He allowed just one run on two hits in his season debut against the Padres at Dodger Stadium, collecting five strikeouts in the process.
Then on July 1 in San Diego, Hill tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out 11. He also had two hits and an RBI.
The Dodgers have won each of Hill’s last six starts. Since going a combined 0-3 against the Padres during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Hill is 3-0 record and allowed just one run in 18 innings when facing the Padres as a member of the Dodgers.
The 13-year veteran is 8-4 this season with a 3.47 ERA, 120 ERA+ and 1.19 WHIP. He’s opposed by a fellow lefty in Clayton Richard, who encountered some misfortune in his last start as four runs scored (zero earned) in six innings.
Richard has faced the Dodgers three times this season, with two losses at Petco Park and an impressive win at Dodger Stadium. During his 2017 debut, he pitched to the tune of eight scoreless innings at Chavez Ravine, allowing just five hits and issuing two walks.
In the last two times facing Los Angeles, however, Richard has allowed a combined 12 runs on 16 hits in just 9.1 innings. Overall, he’s 5-12 this season, with a 5.17 ERA, 81 ERA+ and 1.58 WHIP.
Logan Forsythe is a career 4-for-4 off Richard, while Justin Turner is 7-for-14 with a home run and two RBIs, and Yasiel Puig is 4-for-14 with a double, one home run and four RBIs.
The Dodgers own the best record in the Majors since June 7, going 46-8 over that span. The Boston Red Sox have the second-best record at 33-24.
The Dodgers have at least two extra-base hits in 54 consecutive games, which is most in the Majors since at least 1913.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Chris Taylor
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
2B: Logan Forsythe
CF: Kiké Hernandez
C: Austin Barnes
RF: Yasiel Puig
P: Rich Hill
Padres lineup:
CF: Manuel Margot
2B: Carlos Asuaje
LF: Jose Pirela
RF: Hunter Renfroe
1B: Wil Myers
3B: Cory Spangenberg
C: Austin Hedges
SS: Dusty Coleman
P: Clayton Richard
