After suffering an 8-6 loss in a back-and-forth battle, the Los Angeles Dodgers look to bounce back against the New York Mets and avoid dropping a second consecutive series.
The offense supplied enough runs to seemingly secure a win, but Dustin May and the bullpen were unable to limit runs and in turn, allowed a potent Mets offense to stick around and eventually break through. The loss dropped the Dodgers’ record to 8-9, the first time the club has fallen below .500 beyond the Opening Series of a season since 2018.
The Dodgers are 3-7 in their last 10 games and possess a 6.07 team ERA during that span, the second-worst in Major League Baseball. However, the silver lining is their offense is performing at a league-average level, and their starters are experiencing a fair amount of bad luck.
The Dodgers hand the ball to Clayton Kershaw for his fourth start of the season and a chance to secure his 200th career win. On the season, Kershaw carries a 2-1 record with a 3.50 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 18 innings.
In Kershaw’s most recent outing against the San Francisco Giants, he battled his way through six tough innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while tallying four strikeouts. The lefty voiced frustration over a passive approach early in that start, which is something to make note of against a more talented Mets lineup.
During his career, Kershaw is 10-0 with a 2.17 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 16 regular-season starts against the Mets, and the Dodgers need him to be his old self to get back to the .500 mark.
The Mets counter with Tylor Megill, who’s coming off a decent outing against the San Diego Padres in which he tossed five innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits. On the year he’s 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA with 13 punchouts in 16 innings.
Megill faced the Dodgers in his first big league season in 2021, allowing three runs on six hits over five innings, not factoring into the decision.
The Dodgers lineup Megill sees Tuesday night has James Outman in the leadoff spot due to Mookie Betts being placed on paternity leave. Jason Heyward is starting in right field.
The Dodgers selected the contract of Luke Williams to take Betts’ spot on the active roster.
Dodgers lineup
CF: James Outman
1B: Freddie Freeman
DH: J.D. Martinez
3B: Max Muncy
RF: Jason Heyward
2B: Miguel Vargas
LF: David Peralta
SS: Miguel Rojas
C: Austin Barnes
Mets lineup
DH: Brandon Nimmo
RF: Starling Marte
SS: Francisco Lindor
1B: Pete Alonso
LF: Mark Canha
2B: Jeff McNeil
CF: Tommy Pham
3B: Eduardo Escobar
C: Tomás Nido
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