The Los Angeles Dodgers enter Wednesday afternoon’s matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks to end .500 on their six-game road trip and get a series win for the first time since sweeping the Atlanta Braves from June 3-5.
Los Angeles is 6-2 in series rubber matches this season. The odds appear to be tilted heavily in their favor with Clayton Kershaw taking the mound. He’s 9-1 with a 1.52 ERA, 1.59 FIP and 0.65 WHIP over 13 starts this season.
Since May 1, he’s 7-0 with a 0.99 ERA and .150 opponents’ batting average in eight starts. Perhaps more impressively, Kershaw owns a 20.3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (122 strikeouts, six walks). He hasn’t walked more than one batter in each of his starts this season.
For all his brilliance, Chase Field has at times been a tricky setting for Kershaw. He’s 4-7 with a 3.90 ERA in 11 starts at the Diamondbacks’ home ballpark, and has endured two of the worst outings of his career there.
The left-handed ace struggled in his last start at Chase Field — April 11, 2015 — allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits over 6.1 innings pitched. Arizona starts Patrick Corbin, who has allowed at least four runs in three of his past four starts.
On the season, Corbin is 3-5 with a 4.81 ERA, 4.59 FIP and 1.34 WHIP. The left-hander held he Dodgers to one run over six innings during an April 12 start at Dodger Stadium. Corbin didn’t earn a decision, but the Diamondbacks came away with a 4-2 victory.
He’s 3-4 with a 3.78 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 10 career games (nine starts) against the Dodgers. He faces a lineup that features a bevy of right-handed batters. Kiké Hernandez starts in left field, Trayce Thompson is in center, and Scott Van Slyke in right.
In addition, Howie Kendrick starts in place of Chase Utley at second base. Justin Turner is 5-for-13 against Corbin in his career, Adrian Gonzalez 4-for-16, and A.J. Ellis 3-for-13 with three doubles. Gonzalez bats fifth for the first time since July 2014.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Kiké Hernandez
3B: Justin Turner
SS: Corey Seager
CF: Trayce Thompson
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
2B: Howie Kendrick
RF: Scott Van Slyke
C: A.J. Ellis
P: Clayton Kershaw
Diamondbacks lineup:
2B: Jean Segura
3B: Brandon Drury
1B: Paul Goldschmidt
LF: Rickie Weeks Jr.
C: Welington Castillo
RF: Yasmay Tomas
SS: Nick Ahmed
P: Patrick Corbin
CF: Michael Bourn
