The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to 6-6 this spring when they were defeated 4-2 by the San Francisco Giants Tuesday afternoon. Despite the loss, there were some signs of encouragement as Clayton Kershaw made his third spring start and threw three hitless innings.
The Dodgers ace has thrown six innings overall this spring and has yet to surrender a hit or a run. It’s now left-hander Rich Hill’s turn to make his third start as he faces the Milwaukee Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park a second time this spring.
After throwing two shutout innings in his first start of the spring against the Brewers, Hill was roughed up a bit in his last outing as he gave up three hits and four runs while walking two in 1.1 innings. Like Kershaw on Tuesday, Hill will try to stretch himself out to three innings on Wednesday.
Not that it matters in regards to the regular season, but Hill has not had much success in Spring Training over his career, as he has yielded a 5.72 in 102.1 career innings. He’s expected to be followed by Dodgers relievers Fabio Castillo, Trevor Oaks, Ross Stripling and Madison Younginer.
Milwaukee will be sending a righty to the mound in Junior Guerra. The 32-year-old made 20 starts for the Brewers last season, going 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA, 3.70 FIP and 1.13 WHIP. He faced the Dodgers twice last season, giving up five hits and five runs in 5.1 innings at Dodger Stadium on June 16. He bounced back just a couple weeks later at Miller Park though, throwing eight shutout innings on June 29 in a win.
Guerra has made two starts so far this spring, giving up just one hit and no runs in three innings of work.
The Dodgers have gotten off to a good start offensively this spring, as their .287 batting average is tied for sixth best in baseball, as is their 67 runs scored.
Joc Pederson, who has hit two home runs so far this spring, will get an opportunity to bat in the leadoff spot for manager Dave Roberts Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Willie Calhoun appears in his third game of the year and makes his first start. Cody Bellinger will also get another start as he’s batting third and is the Dodgers’ designated hitter.
Dodgers lineup:
CF: Joc Pederson
RF: Yasiel Puig
DH: Cody Bellinger
LF: Franklin Gutierrez
1B: Scott Van Slyke
C: Bobby Wilson
2B: Willie Calhoun
SS: Chris Taylor
3B: Darnell Sweeney
Brewers lineup:
CF: Keon Broxton
LF: Ryan Cordell
1B: Jesus Aguilar
DH: Jett Bandy
RF: Michael Reed
SS: Eric Sogard
C: Andrew Susac
2B: Yadiel Rivera
3B: Nate Orf