In confirming Alex Wood had taken the place of Rich Hill in the rotation, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also announced Wood’s start would come Friday in the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That pushed Kenta Maeda back, and so he takes the mound on six days’ rest.
Last season the Dodgers provided Maeda with an extra day of rest whenever possible. They’ll need the right-hander to be effective on Saturday, particularly when taking into account the lumps the bullpen endured in an nine-run eighth inning.
Maeda is 3-1 lifetime with a 3.62 ERA in seven starts against the Diamondbacks, including a 2-1 record and 4.91 ERA in two starts at Chase Field.
While they received a reprieve Friday night, the Dodgers are back to facing a left-handed starter. Robbie Ray struck out 10 and allowed just two runs (one earned) on three hits in his last start against the Dodgers — April 17 at Dodger Stadium.
Ray surrendered a home run to Kiké Hernandez, who is leading off on Saturday, and didn’t factor into the decision of a Diamondbacks’ 4-2 victory. The Dodgers are 3-6 against left-handed starters this season.
Justin Turner quietly has a seven-game hitting streak, batting .375 (9-for-24) with four doubles and three RBI during the stretch. Turner leads the National League and ranks second overall in doubles this season. He’s sixth in the NL in batting average (.358) and on-base percentage (.452).
Joc Pederson, who hit leadoff in the series opener, is the Dodgers’ lone left-handed batter in the lineup.
The Diamondbacks have won three in a row against the Dodgers since dropping the first two contests in last week’s series at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers lineup:
SS: Kiké Hernandez
2B: Chris Taylor
3B: Justin Turner
RF: Yasiel Puig
1B: Scott Van Slyke
CF: Joc Pederson
C: Austin Barnes
LF: Brett Eibner
P: Kenta Maeda
Diamondbacks lineup:
CF: A.J. Pollock
RF: David Peralta
1B: Paul Goldschmidt
3B: Jake Lamb
LF: Yasmany Tomas
2B: Daniel Descalso
SS: Chris Owings
C: Chris Herrmann
P: Robbie Ray
