The Los Angeles Dodgers have received strong pitching through their first two games against the Minnesota Twins, and Bobby Miller now looks to add onto that and help them complete a series sweep at Target Field.
With Tuesday’s victory, the Dodgers have now won three out of their five series this season. A sweep would be their second of the year as the Dodgers enter play with the best record in the National League at 10-4.
Miller is on the mound for the first time since his tough outing against the Chicago Cubs on a windy day at Wrigley Field. Miller gave up five runs before being pulled after just 1.2 innings. It was an odd turn of events after he had struck out the side in the first inning.
On the year, Miller owns a 5.87 ERA and 1.17 WHIP to go along with 14 strikeouts in 7.2 innings pitched across two starts. His numbers are a bit skewed due to the poor outing against the Cubs, but should return to the mean if Miller can get close to replicating his six-inning, 11-strikeout performance against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Miller has relied on his fastball almost 50% of the time and opponents have a .219 expected batting average against it. Miller’s most dangerous weapon has been a devastating changeup that batters have yet to get a hit on and are whiffing at 40% of the time.
He was not able to control secondary pitches effectively against the Cubs, partly due to the conditions, which in turn led to his struggles.
The Dodgers lineup is matching up against a familiar face in former San Diego Padres starter Chris Paddack, who has been unable to stay healthy since he was traded to the Twins prior to the 2022 season. He only managed to pitch 27.1 innings in the previous two seasons.
Paddack has made one start this year where he allowed two earned runs and six hits in four innings.
James Outman has found his power stroke while in Minnesota, as he homered in the first two games of the series. It was a much-needed boost for him after his slow start to the 2024 campaign.
The Twins offense has struggled to string hits together through the first two games as all five of their runs in the series have come on home runs. The Dodgers have also been homer reliant, but theirs have come with multiple runners on base compared to the Twins’ solo shots.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Mookie Betts
DH: Shohei Ohtani
1B: Freddie Freeman
RF: Teoscar Hernández
3B: Max Muncy
LF: Kiké Hernández
CF: James Outman
SS: Miguel Rojas
C: Austin Barnes
Twins lineup
2B: Edouard Julien
SS: Carlos Correa
RF: Alex Kirilloff
DH: Byron Buxton
LF: Manuel Margot
CF: Austin Martin
1B: Carlos Santana
C: Christian Vázquez
3B: Kyle Farmer
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