After a strong series opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers bats went quiet in Game 2 of their four-game series against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.
They look to bounce back on Wednesday with Kenta Maeda returning from the paternity list to square off against left-hander Joey Lucchesi.
Maeda is in the midst of a very strong season with the Dodgers, going 5-5 with a 3.24 ERA, 2.89 FIP and 1.25 WHIP with 98 strikeouts and 31 walks in 80.2 innings across 16 games (15 starts).
He has seen mixed results in his career against the Padres, facing them 11 times (10 starts) and posting a 4-3 record to go along with a 4.78 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He has started against them twice this season, giving up a combined seven runs in 10.2 innings.
Lucchesi has been a pleasant surprise for the Padres this year in his first big league season. The 25-year-old has made 13 starts, going 4-4 with a 3.27 ERA, 4.41 FIP and 1.18 WHIP. In 63.1 innings, he has 65 strikeouts compared to 24 walks.
He faced the Dodgers back on May 4 at Petco Park and took the loss, giving up five hits, three runs and three walks while striking out five in five innings of work.
For the second straight night, Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernandez are at the top of the Dodgers lineup against a southpaw. Both of them took Lucchesi deep the last time they faced him.
Logan Forsythe is also in the Dodgers lineup despite struggling mightily at the plate in recent weeks. Forsythe is just 2-for-34 in his last 16 games, dropping his season slashline to .199/.256/.295.
The Dodgers still have not been able to figure out Wil Myers in this series as he has homered in each of the first two games. He has homered six times in his last four games.
Dodgers lineup:
SS: Chris Taylor SS
LF: Kiké Hernandez LF
3B: Justin Turner 3B
RF: Matt Kemp RF
1B: Max Muncy 1B
2B: Logan Forsythe 2B
CF: Cody Bellinger CF
C: Austin Barnes C
P: Kenta Maeda P
Padres lineup:
CF: Travis Jankowski
2B: Carlos Asuaje
LF: Wil Myers
1B: Eric Hosmer
RF: Hunter Renfroe
SS: Freddy Galvis
3B: Christian Villanueva
C: Austin Hedges
P: Joey Lucchesi
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