Clayton Kershaw is making the 400th start of his career and Miguel Vargas is back in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for the second game of the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Miguel Rojas (left groin tightness) is missing a fourth consecutive game.
Vargas missed the past two games while dealing with residual soreness and inflammation in his right thumb after being hit by a pitch. Vargas was deemed available to pinch-hit in the series opener at Chase Field but did not appear in the Dodgers’ 5-2 win.
Vargas is second in the Majors with nine walks and leads all players (minimum 10 plate appearances) with a .722 on-base percentage. He and the rest of the Dodgers lineup will look to back Kershaw in his second consecutive start against the Diamondbacks.
Kershaw allowed just one run and collected nine strikeouts over six innings to earn a win over Arizona at Dodger Stadium last week.
“It’s good to get the first one on your belt,” Kershaw said after his 2023 debut. “Going into a new season, it’s different. You’ve got to get yourself acclimated to the atmosphere. There’s just no way to prepare, Spring Training or not. A big league game is different.
“So to be able to get back out there and remember what you’re doing, it was nice to pitch with that big lead. It was a great way to start the year.”
Once Kershaw takes the mound, he becomes the 34th pitcher in MLB history with at least 400 starts for one team. The last pitcher to enter that club was Félix Hernández with the Seattle Mariners in 2018. Kershaw also enters the night two wins shy of 200 in his career.
He’s a lifetime 8-10 with a 3.81 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 21 starts at Chase Field.
Friday’s game is a rematch as Madison Bumgarner starts opposite Kershaw. Bumgarner allowed five runs on four hits, including a Trayce Thompson grand slam, and pitched just four innings at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
DH: J.D. Martinez
3B: Max Muncy
2B: Miguel Vargas
CF: Trayce Thompson
LF: James Outman
SS: Chris Taylor
C: Austin Barnes
2B: Ketel Marte
DH: Kyle Lewis
LF: Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
1B: Christian Walker
3B: Evan Longoria
RF: Corbin Carroll
SS: Nick Ahmed
C: Gabriel Moreno
CF: Alek Thomas
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