Fresh off avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Colorado Rockies, the Los Angeles Dodgers now face the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game set. The Dodgers enter play a disappointing 3-4 on their homestand thus far.
Los Angeles faces a Pirates team they took two of three games from at PNC Park in early June. None of those were started by Alex Wood, who takes the mound for his 17 start this season. Wood is 4-5 with a 4.00 ERA, 3.33 FIP and 1.16 WHIP.
Wood has rebounded from what was described as the worst stretch of his career to allow two earned runs or fewer in each of his past four outings. Included in that is a modest three-game winning streak.
Wood is coming off his second-longest start (seven innings) this season, which was against the Chicago Cubs.
The Pirates counter with Nick Kingham, who joined the team from Triple-A Indianapolis for his first MLB start since June 9. Kingham was 2-3 with a 3.82 ERA, 3.37 FIP and 0.99 WHIP in six starts before being sent to the Minors.
He faces a Dodgers lineup that continues to be led by Matt Kemp and Max Muncy, though it’s Joc Pederson in the leadoff spot.
Since getting swept by the Atlanta Braves in a four-game series, the Pirates have won three of their last five.
Dodgers lineup:
CF: Joc Pederson
2B: Max Muncy
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
LF: Matt Kemp
C: Yasmani Grandal
SS: Chris Taylor
RF: Yasiel Puig
P: Alex Wood
Pirates lineup:
CF: Austin Meadows
2B: Josh Harrison
RF: Gregory Polanco
C: Elias Diaz
3B: Colin Moran
1B: David Freese
LF: Corey Dickerson
SS: Jorday Mercer
P: Nick Kingham
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