After breaking out the bats in a 12-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers return home for the opener of a three-game matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Looking to string together a winning streak, the club sends Alex Wood to the mound for his 24th start of the season. He enters with a 7-6 record, 3.51 ERA, 3.48 FIP and 1.15 WHIP in 128.1 innings pitched (17 games).
While Wood has been solid for the better part of his 2018 campaign, he has especially thrived in the month of August. In two starts thus far, he has posted a minuscule 1.64 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across 11 innings with 10 strikeouts against four walks.
Wood’s most recent outing against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 14 was efficient, as he yielded only three hits and one run over five innings pitched with six strikeouts.
The Cardinals, who find themselves only four games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central race, counter with rookie Austin Gomber.
The left-hander has served in a swingman role this season, logging 17 appearances out of the bullpen as well as four starts. He owns a 3-0 record, 2.89 ERA, 4.26 FIP and 1.29 WHIP in 37.1 innings pitched.
Gomber is coming off two consecutive scoreless outings against the Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals, to which he combined for nine shutout innings with nine strikeouts compared to five walks.
He last allowed a run on Aug. 4 in a start over the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was tabbed for four in the same amount of innings pitched.
The Dodgers currently boast two of the hottest hitters in baseball in Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner, who currently boast 12 and 13-game hitting streaks, respectively.
Bellinger is slashing .431/.507/.621 slash line with three homers and a team-high 15 RBI in 67 plate appearances (17 games) in the month of August. Turner has been just as good, hitting .439/.522/.789 with six doubles, four home runs, 15 runs and 10 RBI in 15 games.
Cardinals leadoff man Matt Carpenter has also been one of the best hitters in the league this season as he has been on a tear as of late after a slow start, hitting 30 home runs in his last 80 games. He leads to National League with 33 on the season.
Carpenter has cooled off a bit as of late though, going 1-for-20 without a home run in his last six games.
The Dodgers also received huge reinforcements in their bullpen as All-Star closer Kenley Jansen was activated from the 10-day disabled list before the game. Zac Rosscup was placed on the disabled list with a left calf strain to make room on the roster for him.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Brian Dozier
3B: Justin Turner
SS: Manny Machado
1B: Cody Bellinger
RF: Matt Kemp
CF: Kiké Hernandez
LF: Chris Taylor
C: Austin Barnes
P: Alex Wood
Cardinals lineup:
1B: Matt Carpenter
RF: Jose Martinez
SS: Paul DeJong
LF: Marcell Ozuna
3B: Patrick Wisdom
CF: Harrison Bader
2B: Colton Wong
C: Francisco Peña
P: Austin Gomber
