After taking two of three from the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue their road trip with a stop at T-Mobile Park for a short Interleague series against the Seattle Mariners.
L.A. has won eight of their last nine games, with their only loss coming in Sunday’s series finale against the Padres. The Mariners, meanwhile, have been one of baseball’s biggest surprises thus far and sit atop the American League West standings with a 10-6 record.
Having just played an emotional series against the Padres, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is confident his group of players will be ready for the Mariners. “For me, the experience with this group of guys, it’s the same core with most of these guys, we’ve played a lot of big series and bounced back to play well coming out of them,” he said.
“I just don’t foresee any type of hangover. The Mariners are playing good baseball. I do get when you’re playing a big rivalry game, the stakes are high, there’s a potential for a letdown. I just don’t see that with this team.”
The Dodgers send Dustin May to the mound for his third start of the season. He last pitched against the Colorado Rockies five days ago, allowing two runs and seven hits in 4.1 innings of work.
Before that, May tossed six shutout innings against the Oakland Athletics in his regular season debut. He enters with an overall 1-0 record, 1.74 ERA, 1.26 FIP and 1.16 WHIP in 10.1 innings of work this season.
May has never faced the Mariners, but boasts a solid 3.16 ERA in 16 career road appearances. He also has been successful against AL West teams, as evidenced by a 2.70 ERA against the Houston Astros, 1.64 ERA against the Athletics and 3.00 ERA against the Texas Rangers.
Seattle counters with Justus Sheffield, who is off to a rough start in 2021. He carries with him into Monday’s outing a 4.91 ERA, 5.01 FIP and 1.36 WHIP in 11 innings (two starts).
Sheffield took a loss in his regular season debut against the Chicago White Sox, but bounced back with a quality start against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing just two runs on three hits over six innings pitched.
Sheffield has never faced the Dodgers and owns a lifetime 4.63 ERA at home (12 games, 10 starts). He has fared slightly better on the road, posting a 4.44 ERA in 11 games (nine starts).
Justin Turner is the designated hitter in the series opener, and Max Muncy is out of the lineup for the first time this season. Up to this point Muncy was the Dodgers’ only player to start every game.
With Muncy not playing and Turner at DH, Edwin Rios starts at first base and Sheldon Neuse is playing third base, respectively. Neuse joined the team and started on Sunday as the corresponding move to Gavin Lux being placed on the 10-day injured list.
Dodgers lineup
CF: Mookie Betts
SS: Corey Seager
DH: Justin Turner
C: Will Smith
2B: Chris Taylor
LF: AJ Pollock
RF: Zach McKinstry
3B: Sheldon Neuse
1B: Edwin Rios
Mariners lineup
RF: Mitch Haniger
3B: Ty France
DH: Kyle Seager
LF: José Marmolejos
1B: Evan White
C: Luis Torrens
CF: Taylor Trammell
2B: Dylan Moore
SS: J.P. Crawford
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, participate in our shows and giveaways, and more!
