Fresh off an exciting comeback victory, the Los Angeles Dodgers now open a three-game set at Dodger Stadium against their rival San Francisco Giants for the first time in 2024.
James Paxton takes the mound for his Dodgers debut looking to follow in the footsteps of his fellow rotation mates with a strong start to open the season. He is also looking for the regular season to provide a bit of an adrenaline boost for him.
The 35-year-old went 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 19 starts for the Boston Red Sox last season, but carried a 2.73 ERA into the All-Star break before running into a knee issue and some fatigue.
Paxton was signed to a one-year deal in the offseason to provide some depth to the rotation, and he had a solid Spring Training despite being limited in appearances. The Big Maple now faces a revamped Giants’ lineup that scored 25 runs over their first four games, an average of 6.25.
The Dodgers face off against Keaton Winn, who made his MLB debut in 2023 with average results. Winn threw 42.1 innings with a 4.68 ERA and only struck out 35 hitters, but he limited walks well, giving up just eight free passes, resulting in a 1.04 WHIP.
The 26-year-old was named the Giants’ fifth starter and has a good fastball and elite splitter, but he has been unable to turn that into swing and miss stuff thus far.
The Dodgers are mostly going with their primary lineup against right-handers, except for in left field, where Chris Taylor draws the start in place of Jason Heyward. That also slid Teoscar Hernández into right field.
Heyward is dealing with back tightness, which first began during the exhibition Freeway Series. It’s unclear at this time if he’ll need a stint on the injured list, but it would not be surprising as it’s an ongoing issue.
Prior to the game, the Dodgers selected the contract of Dinelson Lamet and designated Nabil Crismatt for assignment. Crismatt pitched in yesterday’s game, earning the win after throwing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Dodgers lineup
SS: Mookie Betts
DH: Shohei Ohtani
1B: Freddie Freeman
C: Will Smith
3B: Max Muncy
RF: Teoscar Hernández
CF: James Outman
LF: Chris Taylor
2B: Gavin Lux
Giants lineup
CF: Jung Hoo Lee
RF: Austin Slater
DH: Jorge Soler
3B: Matt Chapman
C: Tom Murphy
2B: Thairo Estrada
LF: Michael Conforto
SS: Nick Ahmed
1B: Tyler Fitzgerald
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