The Los Angeles Dodgers face the New York Mets in the second of a four-game series after a 4-1 win in the series opener that extended their winning streak to seven games.
With the win, the Dodgers earned their 76th win of the season and cut the San Francisco Giants’ lead in the National League West to just 2.5 games. This is a good time for the Dodgers to gain some ground in the division as the Giants face a tough test with the Oakland Athletics.
The Mets, on the other hand, have been in a free-fall recently. On Aug. 1, they were 55-49, which had them first in the NL East and 3.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. Now, the Mets have a 60-61 record, which puts them in third place and five games out of first.
Walker Buehler takes the ball for L.A. The current Cy Young favorite holds a 2.09 ERA and 3.13 FIP this season in 154.2 innings pitched. Over his last five starts, Buehler has been nearly untouchable, posting a 1.08 ERA and .179 batting average against.
Buehler last faced the Mets on Aug. 14, when he went seven innings and allowed only one run on four hits with 10 strikeouts and three walks.
The 27-year-old has made three starts in his career against the Mets, posting a 4.24 ERA in 17 innings.
The Mets are hitting .232/.307/.379 with a 91 wRC+ against righties this season and since Aug. 1, their offense has struggled against anyone they face, posting a line of just .220/.290/.339 with a 75 wRC+.
Carlos Carrasco takes the mound for New York as he tries to rebound from his disastrous start his last time out on Aug. 15, which saw him allow six runs in two innings before being removed in a 14-4 Dodgers’ victory.
Carrasco has only made four starts this season with just 11.1 innings pitched total, posting a 10.32 ERA and 7.59 FIP in those starts. However, he has shown himself to be a much better pitcher in his career with a 3.83 ERA and 3.45 FIP across 1,253.2 major league innings.
The Dodgers’ offense has given a lot of trouble to right-handers this season, hitting .252/.344/.435 with a 114 wRC+.
Since the start of August, the offense has been red hot, hitting .262/.350/.475 with a 124 wRC+, while the team has been firing on all cylinders, going 9-1 in their last 10.
One Mets’ player to keep an eye on is Michael Conforto, who started the season slowly but is hitting .300/.382/.500 with a 142 wRC+ in August. The extremely talented outfielder is coming off a fantastic 2020 season where he hit .322/.412/.515 with a 157 wRC+ across 54 games in the COVID-19 shortened season.
The Dodgers are debuting their City Connect uniform and will wear them again Saturday.
AJ Pollock was in the initial lineup before being scratched two hours prior to first pitch because of back spasms. That moved Chris Taylor to left field and Billy McKinney making another start in right field.
Also before the game, the Dodgers signed Shane Greene and added him to the active roster. Evan Phillips was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right quad strain, and Conner Greene was designated for assignment.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Trea Turner
1B: Max Muncy
3B: Justin Turner
SS: Corey Seager
LF: Chris Taylor
CF: Cody Bellinger
RF: Billy McKinney
C: Austin Barnes
P: Walker Buehler
Mets lineup
CF: Brandon Nimmo
2B: Jeff McNeil
1B: Pete Alonso
RF: Michael Conforto
3B: J.D. Davis
LF: Dominic Smith
SS: Jonathan Villar
C: Patrick Mazeika
P: Carlos Carrasco
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