Concluding the month of May on a strong note with their 6-3 victory at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers look to kick off June in similar fashion.
A win on Saturday over the Philadelphia Phillies will give them their second consecutive series win over a National League East opponent, having recently taken three of four against the New York Mets.
The Dodgers enter with the best record in the National League at 39-19, while the Phillies are right behind them at 33-24. Both teams are trending in completely opposite directions, however, as Los Angeles is 8-2 over their last 10 games while Philadelphia is just 5-5 during that span.
Clayton Kershaw makes his ninth start of the season and looks to maintain his perfect record. He is 5-0 with a 3.46 ERA, 3.78 FIP and 1.08 WHIP over 52 innings pitched. Dating back to last season the Dodgers have won 16 consecutive Kershaw starts.
The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner was less efficient than usual in his most recent start against the Mets, allowing three runs on 10 hits over six innings of work. He finished the month of May with a 4-0 record, 4.22 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 32 frames.
Kershaw is 3-5 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 82 career innings against the Phillies (13 starts). Last season, he allowed just one run on five hits in five innings of work against Philadelphia (one game).
With right-hander Zach Eflin recently being placed on the 10-day injured list, the Phillies opt to start an opener in Jose Alvarez in his place. The left-hander makes his first start since the 2013 season as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
In 22 relief appearances this season, Alvarez is 0-1 with a 3.92 ERA, 5.23 FIP and 1.45 WHIP across 20.2 innings pitched. He has struggled with the home run ball, already yielding four this season en route to a 1.7 home runs per nine innings ratio.
Prior to being traded to the Phillies this past winter, Alvarez spent the previous five seasons with the crosstown Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He is 3-0 with a solid 2.19 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 12.1 innings against the Dodgers (11 games).
In response to facing a fourth opener in the past two weeks, the Dodgers have David Freese leading off. Justin Turner is missing a third consecutive game as he deals with right hamstring tightness, but may return as early as Sunday’s series finale.
Dodgers lineup:
1B: David Freese
3B: Max Muncy
LF: Chris Taylor
RF: Cody Bellinger
2B: Kiké Hernandez
SS: Corey Seager
CF: Alex Verdugo
C: Will Smith
P: Clayton Kershaw
Phillies lineup:
LF: Andrew McCutchen
SS: Jean Segura
RF: Bryce Harper
1B: Rhys Hoskins
C: J.T. Realmuto
CF: Scott Kingery
2B: Cesar Hernandez
3B: Maikel Franco
P: Jose Alvarez
