Dodgers Reds Game Two Preview

After another blowout loss, Alex Wood and the Dodgers look to buck the latest terrifying trend.

Despite the fact that “unfathomably disastrous” sounds like the best/worst band name of all time, it’s exactly what Mat Latos, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan and Wood have been. We’re still talking about a ridiculously small sample size and they respectively have BABIPs of .320 (seriously seems higher for Latos), .647, .333 and .364, all of which should decrease a little (and Johnson’s should decrease by at least 50 percent). It’s still too early to call the trade deadline a failure, especially considering the Dodgers gave up a 30 year old prospect and a whole lot of nothing else (with respect to Paco), but it’s not looking great in the first couple weeks.

Luckily, theres a lot of season left and it starts tonight as Wood gets his third start as a Dodger. He gave up three runs in five innings last time out at Pittsburgh before the bullpen imploded, but he’s struck out eight batters in 11 1/3 innings with the Dodgers. He’ll be going against a tougher-than-it-should-be Reds lineup led by Comeback Player of the Year Frontrunner Joey Votto.

Wood has never started against the Reds, but allowed one walk in three 2/3 innings against them out of the bullpen in his rookie year. His funky delivery could be tough tonight, especially against lefties Votto and Jay Bruce. Marlon Byrd is the only Red with a hit off Wood in the past (4-12 with a walk and three strikeouts).

Reds starter John Lamb will be making his major league debut. He was acquired from the Royals before the trade deadline and was the 21st best prospect in the Reds organization according to MLB.com.

"Though Lamb still can hit 96 mph on occasion, he has lost a couple of ticks off his fastball and usually works from 89-93. His changeup isn’t the weapon it once was, so he has come up with a low-80s cutter to keep right-handers at bay. He also has a soft curveball that wasn’t much of a factor before he got hurt."

In 20 minor league starts this season, Lamb is 10-2 with a 2.67 ERA and struck out 117 batters in 111 1/3 innings.

Justin Turner returned from the DL last night after replacing Alberto Callaspo in a double-switch in the fifth inning. He hit a long single and later scored, and finished the night 1-3. It was nice seeing him back and hopefully it will lead to less Callaspo/Alex Guerrero for the rest of the season.

Yasmani Grandal is surprisingly in the lineup, as he was rumored to have a bum shoulder. It’s only his third start of the season against a left-handed starting pitcher, and he’s hitting .350 with a .422 OBP in only 45 plate appearances against lefties. His BABIP is insanely high against lefties and it’s a really small sample size, and none of his 15 home runs this year are against lefties.

With a lefty on the hill, Scott Van Slyke is in the lineup and playing left field. He’s slashing .280/.439/.460 against lefties this year, and he has more walks and the same number of home runs as he does against righties, in about half the at-bats.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PST and the game will be shown on Sportsnet LA.