The beginning of the 2018 campaign has gotten off to an unexpected start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, after being shutout in two consecutive games at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. Saturday’s showdown marks the third game of the series, with the Giants having a chance to capture the series win.
Still searching for their first run of the season, the Dodgers lineup looks a bit different on Saturday as Austin Barnes gets his first start behind the plate and Kyle Farmer gets the start at third base, shifting Logan Forsythe back to second.
Corey Seager is also out of the Dodgers lineup as Kiké Hernandez gets the start at shortstop. Seager being on the bench is not for injury reasons though.
After sending out two southpaws to begin the season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has parted the southpaw sea with right-hander Kenta Maeda. After taking on an unfamiliar role as a reliever during the postseason last year. he now returns to his rightful place as a starting pitcher, making his 2018 debut at Dodger Stadium.
Maeda has five starts under his belt against the Giants over his two Major League seasons, with all but one outing coming in 2016. His lone outing against the Giants during the 2017 season resulted in a no-decision, where he allowed four runs on four hits at AT&T Park.
However, he has assembled a 3-1 record in five career starts against San Francisco, with a 5.56 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, and 9.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those three victories all came at the confines of Dodger Stadium.
While the pitching staff has been rather excellent thus far, the Dodgers bats haven’t been able to muster consecutive hits to get a run on the board.
The Dodgers bats will go up against recently signed pitcher Derek Holland. The nine-year veteran signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the Giants, earning his way into the starting rotation that’s currently without Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija.
Holland has very little experience against the Dodgers in his career, as he has started just once against them in 2009. Holland’s repertoire consists mainly of a four-seam fastball and sinker combination while mixing in a knuckle-curve, slider, and changeup.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy made history on Friday, becoming the first visiting manager in MLB history to record 100 wins at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers would like more than nothing to keep Bochy at 100 wins for quite some time, as a start towards gaining a series split.
Dodgers lineup:
CF: Chris Taylor
SS: Kiké Hernandez
RF: Yasiel Puig
LF: Matt Kemp
1B: Cody Bellinger
2B: Logan Forsythe
C: Austin Barnes
3B: Kyle Farmer
P: Kenta Maeda
Giants lineup:
2B: Joe Panik
1B: Brandon Belt
RF: Andrew McCutchen
C: Buster Posey
3B: Evan Longoria
SS: Brandon Crawford
LF: Hunter Pence
CF: Gregor Blanco
P: Derek Holland
