The Los Angeles Dodgers look to extend their winning streak to three games as they take on the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Though, the Dodgers begin the night without Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner in the lineup.
Bellinger was hit by a pitch in the series opener, which forced him to an early exit. Initial X-Rays on the knee came back negative, leaving Bellinger hopeful that he is not seriously injured but uncertain when he will play next.
A replay of Turner’s first at-bat showed him grimacing as he broke out of the batter’s box, but he played the entire game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed Turner fouled a pitch off his ankle during batting practice, which led to overcompensating and some hamstring tightness.
Meanwhile, Roberts outlined over the weekend Tuesday was a planned day of rest for Austin Barnes, who has scuttled a bit since assuming more catching duties in response to Russell Martin landing on the 10-day injured list.
Gale will catch Kenta Maeda, as he looks to back from his roughest start of 2019 so far. Maeda allowed five runs on seven hits to the St. Louis Cardinals last Thursday, resulting in his first loss of the season.
The right-hander owns a 4.61 ERA against the Reds, having given up seven earned runs over 13.2 career innings versus Cincinnati. Joey Votto is batting .400 with a home run against Maeda.
Of course, several new faces surround Votto in Cincinnati’s lineup — those that are familiar to Maeda and his Dodgers teammates. Yasiel Puig gets his second start in as many nights against his old team, looking to build upon his first-inning home run off Clayton Kershaw on Monday night.
Puig has obviously never faced Maeda, but fellow ex-Dodger Matt Kemp has a .222 average in nine at-bats against him, all of which came before Kemp’s second stint with the Dodgers last year.
On the pitching side for the Reds, Tyler Mahle has started his second full season in the Majors on fire. He has only allowed one run on seven hits combined over his first two starts while striking out 12.
Mahle threw five innings in a start against the Dodgers last season, allowing one unearned run on three hits.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Joc Pederson
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Max Muncy
2B: Kiké Hernandez
RF: Alex Verdugo
1B: David Freese
CF: Chris Taylor
C: Rocky Gale
P: Kenta Maeda
Reds lineup:
1B: Joey Votto
3B: Eugenio Suarez
CF: Jesse Winker
RF: Yasiel puig
LF: Matt Kemp
2B: Derek Dietrich
SS: Jose Peraza
C: Tucker Barnhart
P: Tyler Mahle
