Dodgers Yankees Game Two Preview

The Dodgers look to clinch a series win in game two against the Yankees.

Yesterday’s game was a nice and balanced team effort. The Dodgers got good pitching (from their starter and bullpen), and the offense took advantage of Yankee mistakes.

The Dodgers also took advantage of the Giants’ loss to the Padres. The division lead is back up to four and the magic number is down to 16.

The Dodgers send another rookie to the hill in game two to face a pitcher that’s been around a while.

Dodgers Starter

Julio Urias gets the start for the Dodgers for the 14th time this season. Urias had a rough start to his career, but has been brilliant of late. A 3.69 ERA/3.14 FIP is unheard of for a pitcher in his age-19 season. That ERA falls below 3.00 if you throw out his first two career starts, at Wrigley and Citi.

The story around Urias has to be his innings limit. There isn’t really a hard limit, but it seems like the Dodgers want him to finish in the 120-130 inning range. Urias is at 113, meaning a good, efficient start today could put him in that range. He’s made a few appearances out of the bullpen, so there is a chance he finds himself in there during the postseason. It’s disheartening to know Urias probably won’t play a huge role down the stretch and in October, but the Dodgers have been cautious with him for years, and there’s no reason to change their approach now.

Urias is coming off a solid start against the Padres, where he allowed two runs in 5.1 innings. He hit three batters after not hitting a batter in any of his first 14 appearances. Both runs scored in the sixth after Urias was pulled for Jesse Chavez.

Yankees Starter

C.C. Sabathia was drafted in 1998. Urias was born in 1996.

The 16-year veteran will make his 27th start for the Yankees today. Sabathia hasn’t been great this year, with a 4.27 ERA/4.41 FIP in 154 innings. His BB/9 is the highest it’s been since 2004, so while the rest of his per 9’s are pretty consistent, his dip in control has caused his poor season.

For such a veteran pitcher, Sabathia has only faced the Dodgers twice in his career, with both starts coming in LA. The last time he saw the Dodgers was in 2010, safe to say he isn’t the same type of pitcher.

Sabathia’s coming off his shortest start of the season, as he was pulled before recording an out in the fifth against Tampa. He’s only made two interleague starts this season, and he’s given up five runs in both games (against the Rockies and Mets).

Dodgers Lineup

Unfortunately, Sabathia is left handed.

Where to begin.

With Justin Turner getting the chance to DH, Howie Kendrick moves to third. Yasiel Puig bats cleanup and starts in left, with Enrique Hernandez and Rob Segedin rounding out the outfield. Carlos Ruiz gives Yasmani Grandal a day off before the day game tomorrow.

It would probably make more sense to start Puig in right and Segedin in left? That confuses me. There’s more room in left than in right at Yankee Stadium, so maybe that plays into it. It also gets him reps in left in case the plan is for a Puig/Joc Pederson/Josh Reddick outfield against righties.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PST and will be shown on SNLA.