Coming off a historic sweep of the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a seven-game road trip with a matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Dodgers are in the midst of a six-game winning streak and currently boast a 13-game lead over the second-place Rockies in the National League West. In contrast, the third-place Diamondbacks are just 3-7 over their last 10 games continue to hover around the .500 mark at 39-40.
Monday’s opener at Chase Field will feature two Cy Young Award winners dueling against each other in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.
Kershaw, a three-time recipient of the honor, enters with a 7-1 record, 2.85 ERA, 3.51 FIP and 1.05 WHIP in 79 innings pitched this season (15 starts). He is coming off his best start of the year against the San Francisco Giants on June 18, tossing seven shutout innings in a 9-0 Dodgers victory.
Monday marks Kershaw’s first start against the Diamondbacks in 2019. He has fared well against them over the course of his illustrious career, compiling a 16-9 record, 2.59 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 220 strikeouts in 194.2 innings pitched (31 starts).
However, Chase Field is one of only three ballparks in which Kershaw has accumulated a losing record. In 15 starts, he is 6-8 with a 3.70 ERA and 1.20 WHIP across 92.1 innings pitched.
Having won the American League Cy Young Award in 2009 as a member of the Kansas City Royals, Greinke opposes Kershaw and looks to rebound from a rough start against the Rockies on June 19.
In seven innings of work, the 35-year-old allowed five runs on 11 hits with only two strikeouts. Prior to that, he had been on a 13.1 scoreless innings streak in which he did not allow a run in outings against the Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals.
Greinke is in the midst of what is arguably his best statistical season with the Diamondbacks since signing with the organization in December 2015. In 16 starts, he is 8-3 with a 2.91 ERA, 3.45 FIP and 0.93 WHIP over 102 innings pitched.
Greinke was peppered in his lone start against the Dodgers on Opening Day, when he allowed seven runs on seven hits over just 3.2 innings of work at Dodger Stadium.
In his career against his former team, Greinke is 7-6 with a 4.28 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across 96.2 innings pitched (16 starts). Since signing with the Diamondbacks, he has accumulated a 5-6 record, 4.30 ERA and 1.16 WHIP against Los Angeles in 81.2 frames (12 games).
Also since that stretch, he’s surrendered 16 home runs, which is tied for the most to any NL opponent since the start of the 2016 season.
Dodgers lineup:
1B: Joc Pederson
CF: Alex Verdugo
3B: Justin Turner
RF: Cody Bellinger
2B: Max Muncy
SS: Chris Taylor
LF: Kiké Hernandez
C: Austin Barnes
P: Clayton Kershaw
Diamondbacks lineup:
RF: Adam Jones
2B: Ketel Marte
3B: Eduardo Escobar
LF: David Peralta
1B: Christian Walker
SS: Nick Ahmed
C: Carson Kelly
CF: Tim Locastro
P: Zack Greinke
