The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to break out the brooms against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium as Ryan Pepiot takes the mound in his first start of 2023.
After winning the first two games of their homestand, including a 9-1 drubbing on Wednesday night, L.A. already has clinched a ninth consecutive series victory.
Pepiot’s start comes after appearing in two games for the Dodgers out of the bullpen. He’s pitched to a 2.00 ERA and 0.77 WHIP thus far at the Major League level.
In nine innings of work during those games, he’s given up only two runs, six hits, and has 11 strikeouts. The sample size is small, but Pepiot’s command has been better than it was last season. His slider has also been far more effective.
Tyson Miller was designated for assignment as the corresponding move to recall Pepiot from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Diamondbacks send rookie Brandon Pfaadt to the bump. Pfaadt is 1-6 with a 5.91 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 13 starts. He has not had a great rookie season, giving up 71 hits in 67 innings. Pfaadt has improved as of late, however, posting a 3.48 ERA over his last seven starts. That includes seven innings of shutout ball against the San Diego Padres on August 18.
Back on August 8, Pfaadt gave up four earned runs in 4.2 innings against the Dodgers in a 4-5 loss at Chase Field.
The Dodgers meanwhile, are streaking. The are 23-4 in August and have outscored their opponents 162-87 in those 27 games. They have done it with strong offense and pitching alike, including a monster run from Mookie Betts, whose .429/.500/.748 batting line over his last 30 days also includes nine home runs.
Betts’ historic run almost overshadow’s Freddie Freeman consistency, who has hit .370/.424/.571 over his last 30 games.
The Dodgers’ impressive August also makes them the fifth team in the last 40 seasons to win at least 23 games in a calendar month, with the last being the Cleveland Guardians (then Indians) in 2017.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
LF: David Peralta
DH: Max Muncy
RF: Jason Heyward
3B: Kiké Hernández
CF: James Outman
SS: Miguel Rojas
C: Austin Barnes
Diamondbacks lineup
RF: Corbin Carroll
2B: Ketel Marte
LF: Tommy Pham
1B: Christian Walker
CF: Alek Thomas
DH: Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
3B: Jace Peterson
C: Jose Herrera
SS: Geraldo Perdomo
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