After opening the 2017 regular season with a four-game series against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers will hit the road for six games. They’ll first face the Colorado Rockies, followed by a three-game set with the Chicago Cubs.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon named Brett Anderson and Kyle Hendricks his fourth and fifth starters, respectively. That aligned the Cubs’ starting rotation for the regular season as Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, Anderson and Hendricks.
When the Dodgers roll into Wrigley Field on Monday, April 10, it will be for the Cubs’ home opener. And as it currently stands, they’ll draw Arrieta (opener) and a familiar face in Anderson (finale) during the series. At that point, Arrieta and Anderson should be taking the mound for his second start of the season.
Arrieta allowed two hits, struck out eight and issued a pair of walks over seven shutout innings in his lone start against the Dodgers last May. He was outdueled by Scott Kazmir, and the Dodgers came away with a 5-0 victory at Wrigley Field. Arrieta did not factor into the decision.
However, he took the loss in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, after allowing four runs on six hits, including a pair of homers, in five innings of work at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles recently made a change in their rotation by swapping Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda behind Clayton Kershaw, suggesting Hill will duel with Arrieta. Should there be more movement in the Dodgers’ rotation, whomever is slotted as their third starter is due to take the mound the series opener against the Cubs.
Hill did not face during the Cubs during the regular season, but had six strikeouts and held them scoreless over six innings to beat Arrieta in Game 3 of the NLCS.
First pitch on April 10 is set for 5:05 p.m. PT, and the matchup will be exclusively televised on ESPN. The network will provide coverage of the Cubs’ pregame championship ceremony.
