Dodgers Pirates Game Three Preview

The Dodgers send their slumpbuster to the hill in game three in Pittsburgh.

Jeff Locke didn’t allow a Dodger baserunner until the sixth inning. Jeff Locke, who owns a 4.30 career ERA and a 5.12 ERA this season, retired the first 15 Dodgers he faced yesterday. Literally Jeff Locke.

Yesterday’s game was one of those “baseball is really stupid” games, as the Dodgers didn’t get a baserunner in the first five innings and then had eight hits in the final four innings. All that got them was one run, while the Pirates had nine baserunners (five hits, four walks) and that got them six runs. Two of those hits went a very long way, as Andrew McCutchen took Kenta Maeda deep twice (the first position player to do so against him). The Dodgers TOOTBLAN’d themselves out of a promising inning, and for the second straight night the pitching was bad.

Fortunately, Clayton Kershaw gets the ball tonight. For a team that’s had trouble getting deep outings out of their starters, Kershaw has gone at least seven innings in 14 of his 15 starts this season and went six in that other start. He also has 141 strikeouts and seven walks this season. His Baseball Reference page is essentially all in italics (which denotes him being a league leader), as he leads the National League in ERA, Wins, Complete Games, Shutouts, Innings Pitches, Strikeouts, ERA+, FIP, WHIP, H/9, BB/9 and SO/BB. He’s having a decent season.

The Dodgers will get another look at a rookie pitcher as Chad Kuhl will make his major league debut on national TV against Kershaw and the Dodgers. Good luck kid. Old friend Juan Nicasio was lined up to start today, but he was pushed to the bullpen for Kuhl. Kuhl is the 16th-ranked prospect on MLB.com and has seen success in the minors, as he owns a career 2.79 ERA in 438 minor league innings since being drafted in 2013.

Adrian Gonzalez is notably missing from the lineup. He has 15 hits in 90 plate appearances this month, so an off day will do him some good. It’s weird that he didn’t sit yesterday against a lefty and will instead sit against a guy making the first start of his career, but Scott Van Slyke was in the outfield yesterday and got the Dodgers’ first hit in the sixth inning.

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Other than that, Trayce Thompson sits again. Thompson has 15 hits in 85 plate appearances in June, so he’s also struggling pretty hard. The Dodgers are still searching for that perfect outfield combination, and if Thompson can’t handle it they might need to go out and find another left fielder.

First pitch is scheduled for 5:08 PM PST and will be shown on ESPN