After hanging on for a 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers are now in position to win their second consecutive series to begin the regular season.
Ross Stripling gets the nod in Wednesday’s finale and looks to build off what was an excellent 2019 debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks last Friday. In 5.1 scoreless innings of work, he yielded only three hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
Despite his success, Stripling’s outing was cut short in the sixth inning after only throwing 76 pitches. He was surprised, but nonetheless understanding of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ decision to opt for the bullpen so soon.
The Giants counter with left-hander Derek Holland, who looks to bounce back from a loss against the San Diego Padres. In his first start of the regular season, he logged four innings pitched, allowing four hits, three runs and two walks with five strikeouts.
In his career against the Dodgers, Holland is 0-3 with a 4.56 ERA and 1.71 WHIP over 25.2 innings (seven appearances, five starts). Last season when facing Los Angeles, the 32-year-old compiled a 3.92 ERA in six games.
In what has been a week filled with many milestones, the Dodgers can break another franchise record on Wednesday by simply hitting a home run. The club is currently tied with the 1954 Brooklyn team for most consecutive games with a homer (six).
They’ve been led by Cody Bellinger, who is tied for the MLB lead with five home runs, and leads all players with 12 RBI.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Kiké Hernandez
3B: Justin Turner
1B: David Freese
SS: Corey Seager
CF: A.J. Pollock
RF: Cody Bellinger
LF: Chris Taylor
C: Austin Barnes
P: Ross Stripling
Giants lineup:
RF: Steven Duggar
2B: Joe Panik
3B: Evan Longoria
1B: Brandon Belt
SS: Brandon Crawford
CF: Kevin Pillar
C: Erik Kratz
P: Derek Holland
