The Los Angeles Dodgers look to build upon their white-hot start to 2019 when they take on the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. Joc Pederson returns to the lineup, marking his first start in nearly a week.
Pederson went 7-for-15 in L.A.’s opening series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, slugging three home runs. However, he has not started since then as the Dodgers have faced a string of left-handed pitchers.
The Dodgers’ lineup has not felt Pederson’s absence too greatly, though. The team is off to a historic start at the plate, hitting home runs in each of their first eight games.
That broke the old franchise record of six straight games with home runs to start a season, and the Dodgers have a chance to stretch their current streak to nine on Saturday at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
The Dodgers won the first of their three-game series at Coors on Friday, with another explosive display of offense including homers from Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger has been making some season-opening history of his own. His six home runs and 16 RBI make him just the third player in MLB history to put up those numbers through the first eight games of a season. He also set a new Dodgers franchise record in both those categories over that stretch.
Bellinger additionally has an eight-game hitting streak going, and nine games if you stretch it to the final regular-season contest of 2018. One change for Bellinger is he’s sliding over to first base, with Max Muncy playing second.
On the pitching front, the Dodgers send Walker Buehler to the mound. The right-hander looks to bounce back after a rough start against the Diamondbacks last Sunday. Buehler allowed five earned runs in just three-plus innings in an eventual 8-7 win, though he had only made one start in Spring Training before then. He has a 4.29 ERA over 21 career innings at Coors Field.
Buehler faces off against another prized young pitcher in Colorado’s Jon Gray. Gray allowed three runs and struck out 10 in his first start of the season at Miami on Sunday. He has a 4.70 ERA in 11 starts against the Dodgers, his highest against an opponent he has faced more than six times.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Joc Pederson
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
CF: A.J. Pollock
2B: Max Muncy
RF: Alex Verdugo
C: Austin Barnes
P: Walker Buehler
Rockies lineup:
RF: Charlie Blackmon
SS: Trevor Story
3B: Nolan Arenado
LF: David Dahl
CF: Ian Desmond
1B: Mark Reynolds
2B: Pat Valaika
C: Tony Walters
P: Jon Gray
