The Los Angeles Dodgers aim to bounce back in the middle game at Citizens Bank Park after dropping the first game of their three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Coming into play with a comfortable 7.5 game lead in the National League West, the Dodgers’ front office and coaching staff are shuffling some pieces around ahead of the All-Star break, eyeing how to improve their team at the trade deadline.
They placed Tyler Glasnow on the injured list, leaving the team without another big arm in the coming weeks, and Bobby Miller was optioned to Triple-A.
Now turning to Gavin Stone, the right-hander makes his 17th start of the season on Wednesday. Owner of a 3.03 ERA, 1.20 WHIP with a .247 batting average allowed, the 25-year-old has been the team’s most consistent starter.
He’s coming off a three-inning outing on July 3 in which he allowed four earned runs on seven hits, but Stone has totaled a 2.42 ERA since May 3. In his 67 innings since, he’s allowed a .230 batting average to opposing hitters with a 1.10 WHIP.
Stone has been equally good against both left and right-handed hitters, with all seven of his home runs allowed coming against righties. His trouble area comes against lefties in the walk category, where he’s average an 11.8% walk rate.
He’ll be opposed by budding Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, who enters the day with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP over 17 starts.
Sánchez is one of Major League Baseballs best kept secrets in the early going, but is coming off his worst start of his 2024 campaign. The lefty allowed seven runs on seven hits in just four innings against the Chicago Cubs on July 4.
The 27-year-old has dealt with his own problems against righties, but has kept the big damage swings to a minimum. He’s allowed just two home runs all season, both to right-handed hitters.
He’ll face a Dodgers lineup stacked with their right-handed bats, hoping to replicate the same success the Cubs had against Sánchez his last time out. However, Will Smith is once again out of the lineup, which has been a somewhat common theme as of late.
Dodgers lineup
DH: Shohei Ohtani
RF: Teoscar Hernández
1B: Freddie Freeman
CF: Andy Pages
SS: Miguel Rojas
LF: Miguel Vargas
2B: Chris Taylor
3B: Kiké Hernández
C: Austin Barnes
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
