The Los Angeles Dodgers begin a six-game road trip as they face the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field for a weekend series before heading to San Diego.
The Dodgers sit second in the National League West with a 41-27 record and have an NL-best +93 run differential. The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, currently hold the worst record in baseball and became the first team to reach the 50-loss mark. They currently hold a 20-50 record with a -90 run differential, and have lost 14 games in a row.
L.A. looks to get its offense back on track after they were shut out on Wednesday, for the first time since 2019, against the D-Backs, who have allowed the most runs in baseball this season with 385.
Trevor Bauer take the mound with 6-5 record, 2.64 ERA and 3.79 FIP in 88.2 innings pitched this season.
This is Bauer’s third start since MLB reportedly began to plan on checking pitchers for foreign substances. Over his last two starts, Bauer has allowed seven runs in 12.1 innings. However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts feels MLB’s change won’t affect Bauer going forward.
Over the past few weeks Bauer has been very vocal and critical of MLB’s handling of the rules regarding sticky substance use by pitchers.
The Diamondbacks are hitting .231/.303/.365 against right-handers and have been 16% below league average by wRC+.
The Diamondbacks are starting Caleb Smith in his fourth consecutive outing since returning to the rotation. The southpaw is 2-2 with a 3.61 ERA in 22 games (four starts) this season. Smith twice faced the Dodgers out of the bullpen earlier this year, throwing a combined three scoreless innings with three walks and four strikeouts.
Against left-handers, the Dodgers are hitting .224/.313/.390 and have been 3% below league average by wRC+.
One Diamondback to keep an eye on this series is center fielder Ketel Marte, who is among the lone bright spots on the team. Marte is hitting .347/.391/.525 with a 149 wRC+ in 31 games this season. He spent five weeks on the 10-day injured list starting in early April and therefore missed the last series against the Dodgers.
One Dodger to keep an eye on is Steven Souza Jr., who is “hungry” to face his former team this series. Souza was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday when Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list.
The Diamondbacks are debuting their Nike City Connect “Serpientes” uniform on Friday. The Dodgers are also among the teams that will wear an alternate jersey this season, though theirs isn’t expected to be unveiled until late August.
Dodgers lineup
CF: Mookie Betts
2B: Chris Taylor
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Albert Pujols
LF: AJ Pollock
C: Will Smith
RF: Steven Souza Jr.
SS: Gavin Lux
P: Trevor Bauer
Diamondbacks lineup
RF: Josh Rojas
CF: Ketel Marte
2B: Eduardo Escobar
1B: Christian Walker
3B: Asdrubal Cabrera
LF: David Peralta
C: Carson Kelly
SS: Nick Ahmed
P: Caleb Smith
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