One night after another late-inning home run against the San Diego Padres, Mookie Betts gets a chance to start at shortstop as the Los Angeles Dodgers go for a fifth consecutive series win.
Their matchup last Friday marked the start of the Dodgers and Padres playing six games over a 10-day span. Thus far L.A. is 3-1 in those meetings, which are magnified for National League West implications due to fewer divisional games being played as part of MLB’s balanced schedule.
With Betts at shortstop, the Dodgers lineup features additional left-handed hitters in Jason Heyward and David Peralta. James Outman also starts after appearing as a pinch-hitter in the series opener.
The Dodgers look to provide run support for Julio Urías, who like Dustin May, is making a second consecutive start against the Padres.
Urías held the Padres to two runs over 5.2 innings in the series finale at Petco Park last weekend. Overall in his career, the southpaw is 6-1 with a 2.27 ERA in 16 games (11 starts) against the Padres.
Urías’ 41 wins sine the start of the 2021 season are most in the Majors, ahead of Gerrit Cole (34) and Dylan Cease (29).
The Padres counter with Joe Musgrove, the lone righty the Dodgers are facing in the series. Musgrove held L.A. to just one unearned run over five innings when he faced off against Urías this past Sunday.
Musgrove 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in three starts this season. Although he has a high ERA, Musgrove has allowed three or fewer earned runs in two of his outings.
The Dodgers have won seven games in a row at Dodger Stadium and hold the best home record in the National League so far this season at 13-6.
Dodgers lineup
SS: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
C: Will Smith
3B: Max Muncy
DH: J.D. Martinez
CF: James Outman
RF: Jason Heyward
2B: Miguel Vargas
LF: David Peralta
Padres lineup
RF: Fernando Tatís Jr.
3B: Manny Machado
LF: Juan Soto
SS: Xander Bogaerts
DH: Nelson Cruz
1B: Jake Cronenworth
2B: Ha-Seong Kim
C: Austin Nola
CF: Adam Engel
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