The Los Angeles Dodgers look to extend their winning streak to four games on Saturday night with a third straight victory against the Miami Marlins. Entering play, Los Angeles is tied for second place in the National League West with the Arizona Diamondbacks at 25-18, trailing the Colorado Rockies by 1.5 games.
Taking the mound for the Dodgers is Julio Urias for his fifth start of the season. The outing is Urias’ first of his career against Miami and first career start against Miami. The 20-year old struggled in his last start against the Colorado Rockies, allowing six earned runs and nine baserunners in four innings pitched.
It was the first start all year in which Urias failed to log at least five innings without allowing more than a run. He yields a 3.43 ERA and 1.29 WHIP and is still in search of a first win with the Dodgers in 2017.
Making his ninth start of the season for the Marlins is right-hander Dan Straily, who’s coming off an excellent outing against the Houston Astros on Tuesday.
In five innings pitched, the 28-year old did not allow a run and surrendered just three baserunners while striking out three batters in the process.
For the year, Straily owns a respectable 3.56 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 43 innings with 40 strikeouts and 19 walks. More impressively, the Redlands, Calif., native leads the Majors with a five-hits-per-nine-innings ratio.
Straily has appeared in three games (one start) against the Dodgers since entering the league in 2012, posting an 8.68 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 9.1 innings.
Cody Bellinger continues to dominate Major League pitching since debuting nearly a month ago. The 21-year-old enters Saturday’s contest tied for second with six home runs in the month of May and ranks first with 21 RBIs.
Bellinger’s eight home runs this season have him tied with Yasiel Puig for the team lead. Puig, who was removed Friday night due to back tightness, is not in the lineup. He is, however, available off the bench.
Manager Dave Roberts expects Puig to avoid the disabled list, which the 26-year-old vowed would be the case.
There’s yet to be word on whether warnings will be issued in light of the benches clearing Friday. With a 15-6 record at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers’ .714 home winning percentage is tops in the NL.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Chase Utley
SS: Corey Seager
LF: Cody Bellinger
C: Yasmani Grandal
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
3B: Chris Taylor
CF: Joc Pederson
RF: Kiké Hernandez
P: Julio Urias
Marlins lineup:
2B: Dee Gordon
CF: Christian Yelich
LF: Marcell Ozuna
RF: Giancarlo Stanton
1B: Justin Bour
C: J.T. Realmuto
3B: Derek Dietrich
SS: J.T. Riddle
P: Dan Straily
