The Los Angeles Dodgers are concluding their season-long tying 10-game homestand in position to complete a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants in front of a national audience. First pitch was changed to early evening start when ESPN selected the game for their weekly Sunday Night Baseball telecast.
A win would allow the Dodgers to close out the homestand with an 8-2 mark, clinch a 14th series sweep this season, and extend their overall winning streak to eight games. What’s more, the Dodgers are 38-6 since June 7 and continue to inch closer to matching their magical 42-8 run from the 2013 season.
In a change from initial probable pitchers for the series, Madison Bumgarner takes the mound in the finale, not Matt Cain. The switch leaves Bumgarner on normal rest since his last start.
Bumgarner is 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA, eight walks, 14 strikeouts, and four home runs allowed in 18.1 innings pitched across three starts since returning from the disabled list.
He missed three months after sustaining a sprained left shoulder in a dirt bike accident. One of Bumgarner’s rehab starts came against the Dodgers’ High-A Rancho Cucamonga affiliate. D.J. Peters slugged two home runs in one inning as the Quakes got to the left-handed ace.
Bumgarner this season is 1-4 with a 3.38 ERA, 3.61 FIP and 1.08 WHIP in seven starts. He’s a lifetime 14-9 with a 2.76 ERA in 27 games (26 starts) against the Dodgers, including an 8-6 record and 2.16 ERA at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles has gotten the better of Bumgarner of late, however, as he’s managed just one win his last seven such starts. Bumgarner went 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA against the Dodgers last season.
Hyun-Jin Ryu is on the mound for his second start after stint on the disabled list. Ryu allowed two runs on five hits over five innings in his return but didn’t factor into the decision of a game the Dodgers won.
Ryu is 4-5 with a 3,.79 ERA in 10 career starts against the Giants. He last faced them on April 24 at AT&T Park, allowing one run on five hits in six innings, only to suffer a tough-luck loss. Ryu enters 3-6 with one save, a 4.17 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP this season.
Yasiel Puig is in the lineup and batting eighth, which is of note only because of previous contentious moments with Bumgarner. The Dodgers lineup otherwise features several regulars, aside from Austin Barnes and Kiké Hernandez.
The last time Dodgers swept the Giants in Los Angeles was Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2015.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Chris Taylor
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
2B: Logan Forsythe
C: Austin Barnes
CF: Kiké Hernández
RF: Yasiel Puig
P: Hyun-Jin Ryu
Giants lineup:
CF: Denard Span
2B: Joe Panik
RF: Hunter Pence
C: Buster Posey
SS: Brandon Crawford
3B: Jae-Gyun Hwang
1B: Brandon Belt
LF: Gorkys Hernandez
P: Madison Bumgarner
