The Los Angeles Dodgers are a juggernaut, demolishing everything in their path, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have found that out the hard way this week. The Dodgers’ blowout win Tuesday night pushed their winning streak to seven games, a new season-high and the best stretch the team has had since 2017.
Kenta Maeda takes the mound looking to follow back-to-back dominant starts by Walker Buehler and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Maeda struggled to begin 2019 but has improved lately, though that has been overshadowed by the performance of his rotation mates.
In his last four starts, Maeda is 4-0 with a 1.90 ERA, striking out 28 while walking just two. He has struggled throughout his career at Chase Field, though, with a 7.31 ERA in 28.1 career innings there.
Cody Bellinger rides an 11-game hitting streak into Wednesday, fresh off another memorable performance near his hometown. Bellinger got the Dodgers’ scoring started with a two-run triple in the first inning, then later recorded his league-leading eighth outfield assist by throwing out a runner at second base.
Bellinger’s .374 batting average leads the Major Leagues and his 1.194 on-base plus slugging percentage would be among the best in MLB history if he maintains it throughout the season.
He is perhaps the biggest reason why the Dodgers, at 43-19, currently hold a one-game lead over the Houston Astros for the best record in the Majors. The Dodgers also lead the National League with the highest team OPS (.821) and lowest ERA (3.44), both by wide margins.
Their team run differential of +105 is also best in the NL, and just behind the Astros (+107) and Minnesota Twins (+106) for best overall.
As expected, Justin Turner returns to the lineup for just the second time in the past six games. Turner has been nursing hamstring tightness, forcing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to throttle his playing time as he looks to avoid a stint on the injured list.
Will Smith catches Maeda in what may be Smith’s final appearance of his first big league stint, as he is expected to be demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City once Austin Barnes returns from the IL on Friday.
Diamondbacks rookie Jon Duplainter makes just his second career start in the Majors. Duplainter has only pitched 17 career innings at the big league level, mostly out of the bullpen at the start of 2019.
He gave up three runs in five innings against the New York Mets in his first big league start on May 31.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Joc Pederson
1B: Max Muncy
3B: Justin Turner
RF: Cody Bellinger
SS: Corey Seager
2B: Chris Taylor
CF: Alex Verdugo
C: Will Smith
P: Kenta Maeda
Diamondbacks lineup:
CF: Jarrod Dyson
3B: Eduardo Escobar
2B: Ketel Marte
LF: David Peralta
1B: Christian Walker
C: Alex Avila
SS: Nick Ahmed
RF: Tim Locastro
P: Jon Duplainter
