Dodgers Mets Game Four Preview

The Dodgers look for a series split at home against the Mets.

The Dodgers lost last night to Noah Syndergaard. The rest of the Mets didn’t do much (sans getting hit by a Kenta Maeda pitch and draw a walk), but the Mets and the Dodgers each hit two home runs. Syndergaard hit both of the homers for the Mets, one of which came with two on base. The Dodgers got homers from Corey Seager and Yasmani Grandal, but they were both solo shots. Such is life.

The Dodgers have been so inconsistent this year. Off the top of my head, I can recall two games where the offense, starting pitching and bullpen all performed well. Last night, the pitching was solid and the bullpen was great (even though they got themselves into a few jams). The offense, other than those two homers, were silent, albeit against a phenomenal pitcher.

The good news is that today might be my favorite pitching matchup of the season. Clayton Kershaw gets the ball for the Dodgers and he’s been decent of late. He’s coming off his fourth consecutive double-digit strikeout game and hasn’t issued a walk in his last three outings. His 21.33 SO/BB rate is tops in baseball by a longshot and for all the issues and inconsistency around the Dodgers this year, he’s been the brightest spot.

Bartolo Colon takes the mound for the Mets and is notably coming off the first home run of his 19-year career. Bartolo is beloved because of his stature and he gets headlines pretty much every time he attempts to hit a baseball, but he’s been great on the mound this season. He owns a 2.82 ERA/3.03 FIP combo and has yet to allow more than three runs in a game this season. Colon also has only walked four batters in seven outings (six starts), so don’t expect too many walks on either side today.

Notably, Enrique Hernandez is getting a start against a righty. Carl Crawford probably needs three days off a week, at least, so some combination of Hernandez and Trayce Thompson should get burn in left.

Grandal is also behind the plate for Kershaw for the third time this season. His worst start of the season (against the Marlins) came with Grandal behind the plate, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fairs moving forward. He’s historically done well throwing to Grandal, but his relationship with A.J. Ellis can’t be quantified.

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