The Los Angeles Dodgers took the Friday matchup with the Cincinnati Reds in a 7-3 win, evening the four-game weekend set at Dodger Stadium.
Entering the day, the Dodgers are 30-17 with a seven-game lead over the second place San Diego Padres in the National League West. They stand as the only team in the division with a positive record.
After a blistering stretch from late-April to early-May, the Dodgers have won four of their last eight games. Still, their offense boasts four of the league’s top hitters, which should come into play on Saturday.
Miguel Vargas makes his regular season debut for the Dodgers, after being included in a number of roster moves by the team.
In Triple-A this season, Vargas has posted a 149 wRC+ with eight home runs, 14 doubles, one triple, 38 RBI and a stellar 16.6% strikeout rate. He’ll be deployed in left-field, where he’s spent the majority of his time in OKC.
While Vargas gets the start, Mookie Betts is getting a scheduled day off. In his place, Shohei Ohtani is leading off.
Walker Buehler gets the ball for the Dodgers, making his third start of the year in his return from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander hasn’t quite found his groove, allowing six earned runs on 11 hits in 7.1 innings pitched.
His four-seam fastball velocity is up, but the peripheral metrics on his primary pitch are incredibly subpar. Buehler has allowed a 1.286 slugging percentage on the fastball, with a 57.1% hard hit rate.
However, his cutter usage is up from pre-surgery trends, a possible sign that the Dodgers are shifting towards a different look. Buehler managed just two strikeouts in his last start, but should see an uptick against a Reds’ lineup that has a combined 25.1% strikeout rate.
Graham Ashcraft goes for the Reds in his ninth start. The 26-year-old has a 4.12 ERA, 1.44 WHIP with 35 strikeouts in 43.2 innings pitched.
In his last two starts, Ashcraft has allowed six earned runs on 13 hits in nine innings, striking out just five batters.
He’s allowed a .273 batting average, with a 47.2% hard hit rate. Ashcraft relies on a primarily three-pitch mix of a cutter, slider and sinker.
The Dodgers’ offense has been terrific against sinkers this year, and should expect a heavy dose of cutters and sliders.
Dodgers lineup
DH: Shohei Ohtani
1B: Freddie Freeman
C: Will Smith
RF: Teoscar Hernández
CF: Andy Pages
2B: Gavin Lux
3B: Kiké Hernández
LF: Miguel Vargas
SS: Miguel Rojas
Reds lineup
CF: Will Benson
SS: Elly De La Cruz
DH: Mike Ford
1B: Spencer Steer
C: Tyler Stephenson
RF: Jake Fraley
3B: Jeimer Candelario
2B: Jonathan India
LF: Jacob Hurtubise
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