The Los Angeles Dodgers are back below .500 and coming off their sixth loss in the past 10 games as their series with the Chicago Cubs continues at Wrigley Field.
The Dodgers lineup was shut out for just the second time this season as Cubs starter Drew Smyly had a perfect game until it was broken up in the eighth inning on David Peralta’s swinging bunt. As the offense looks to get on track, they welcome back Chris Taylor.
He starts at shortstop and is in the lineup for the first time since Monday. Taylor exited the series opener against the New York Mets due to left oblique discomfort.
He appeared as a pinch-runner two days later and had two at-bats off the bench in Friday’s loss.
On the pitching side, the Dodgers hand the ball to Dustin May for his fifth start of the season. May is coming off his roughest outing in which he allowed five earned runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings pitched against the Mets.
May holds a 1-1 record with a 3.00 ERA, 3.80 FIP and 0.92 WHIP in 24 innings. He was only able to tally one strikeout against the Mets, which brought his strikeout rate to 14.1%, an area the right-hander believes can be fixed with better execution.
The Cubs counter with Hayden Wesneski, who is coming off of a fantastic start versus the Oakland Athletics after logging seven innings allowing just one run on five hits. On the season, the right-hander is 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA across 13 innings pitched with seven strikeouts.
In just his second season, the 25-year-old is making a name for himself by possessing one of the best sweeper pitches in the league.
The Dodgers lineup hasn’t faced Wesneski and their recent boom-or-bust offense needs to key in on a Cubs pitching staff that currently ranks fifth in baseball with a combined 3.22 ERA, which is also good for second-best in the National League.
Prior to the game the Dodgers recalled Victor González from Triple-A Oklahoma City and designated Jake Reed for assignment.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
3B: Max Muncy
DH: J.D. Martinez
RF: Jason Heyward
CF: James Outman
LF: David Peralta
SS: Chris Taylor
C: Austin Barnes
Cubs lineup
2B: Nico Hoerner
SS: Dansby Swanson
LF: Ian Happ
RF: Seiya Suzuki
CF: Cody Bellinger
3B: Patrick Wisdom
1B: Eric Hosmer
DH: Trey Mancini
C: Tucker Barnhart
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