Coming off a thrilling win thanks to late home runs by Kiké Hernandez and Justin Turner, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in position to pull into a tie with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West standings by the end of the night.
Additionally, Friday’s victory put the Dodgers a half-game ahead of the Colorado Rockies, who now are in third place in the NL West.
Having split the first two games of the series, the Dodgers hand the ball to Clayton Kershaw. He’s pitched particularly well since the All-Star break, going 3-1 with a 1.85 ERA over seven starts.
Kershaw hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any start during that stretch and held opponents to a .214/.231/.308 batting line while surrendering just three home runs.
Overall this season, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is 6-5 with a 2.39 ERA, 2.84 FIP and 0.99 WHIP. Kershaw is coming off eight innings and a no-decision against the San Diego Padres, and takes the mound on an extra day of rest.
He’s opposed by a southpaw in Patrick Corbin, who similarly is in the midst of his own impressive stretch. Corbin has strung together five consecutive quality starts, going 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA over that span.
Corbin is 1-0 with a 0.98 ERA and held the Dodgers to a .118 batting average in three starts this season. He’s collected 24 strikeouts against eight walks across 18.1 innings pitched in those games.
Newly-acquired David Freese makes his Dodgers debut by starting at first base and hitting fifth in the lineup. Freese is batting .284/.344/.413 with five doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI over 122 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this season.
After an 0-for-4 effort with four strikeouts in the series opener, Chris Taylor sits for a second straight night.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Brian Dozier
3B: Justin Turner
SS: Manny Machado
LF: Matt Kemp
1B: David Freese
CF: Kiké Hernandez
RF: Yasiel Puig
C: Austin Barnes
P: Clayton Kershaw
