Looking to bounce back from a disappointing series loss to the Miami Marlins, the Los Angeles Dodgers head to Yankee Stadium for the first time since 2013 for a three-game set with the New York Yankees.
The Dodgers enter Monday at 80-62 and three games ahead of the second-place San Francisco Giants in the National League West. While the Yankees are surprisingly still in contention for a postseason berth with a 76-66 record despite selling some major pieces prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
Highly-touted prospect Jose De Leon makes just his second Major League start. De Leon displayed flashed of dominance against the San Diego Padres in his debut, allowing four runs (three earned) in six innings.
Yangervis Solarte caused most of the damage, hitting a two-run homer and driving in another run with a sacrifice fly. On the bright side, De Leon allowed just five hits and struck out nine batters without yielding a walk.
He showed strong command of his fastball and was able to utilize a changeup that fooled the opposition all game long. The Yankees counter with Bryan Mitchell, who made his 2016 debut last week.
In five innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, he did not give up a run with just six baserunners reaching. Mitchell went 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA over seven starts across four Minor League affiliates.
Outfielder Josh Reddick has torn the cover off the ball recently, going 13-for-his-last-28 (.464) with two doubles and a home run. For his career against the Yankees, Reddick has posted a slash line of .173/.241/.286 in 146 plate appearances, though the majority of those took place during his time with the Boston Red Sox.
Speaking of former Red Sox players, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has enjoyed success against the Bronx Bombers throughout his illustrious career, posting an .800 on-base plus slugging percentage with six home runs and 23 RBIs in 163 plate appearances.
Gonzalez gets off his feet Monday night as he’s the designated hitter. Howie Kendrick fills in for the veteran at first base.
Another player to watch for in this series is Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who has dominated the American League since being recalled from Triple-A. In 146 plate appearances, he’s batting .341/.415/.713 with 22 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs.
Los Angeles and New York have split 10 head-to-head regular-season meetings; they last played in 2013. The Yankees hold the decided edge in World Series matchups, defeating the Dodgers in eight of 11 meetings in the Fall Classic.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Chase Utley
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
DH: Adrian Gonzalez
C: Yasmani Grandal
RF: Josh Reddick
1B: Howie Kendrick
CF: Joc Pederson
LF: Andrew Toles
(P: Jose De Leon)
Yankees lineup:
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury
C: Gary Sanchez
2B: Starlin Castro
DH: Brian McCann
3B: Chase Headley
1B: Tyler Austin
RF: Aaron Judge
SS: Ronald Torreyes
(P: Bryan Mitchell)
