Dodgers Marlins Game Three Preview

Dodgers look to pick up a win tonight to avoid losing the series to the Miami Marlins.

Dodgers enter today’s game after losing two in a row to the Marlins. Last night Clayton Kershaw pitched well and things seemed to be cruising until they hit the sixth inning. After a few base hits, Giancarlo Stanton came up to the plate and took Kershaw deep. All of a sudden the Dodgers were losing by a score of 5-3. From that point on, they could not seem to rebound. The Dodgers are looking for a win tonight in order to not lose the series to the Marlins, who have a record of just 8-11. This is a four game series, so if the Dodgers pick up a W tonight, they still have a chance to tie the series with a win on Thursday as well.

Scott Kazmir will start the game on the mound. He is coming into tonight’s game with a record of 1-1 and an ERA of 6.63. Kazmir has had a few rough starts this season. His first outing as a Dodger was great, but things got a little out of hand since then. He has given up 14 runs in just 19 innings pitched. Kazmir did not face the Marlins last year so it will be interesting to see how he fends against their lineup.

Justin Nicolino is a 24 year-old left handed pitcher. Nicolino made his debut for the Marlins on June 20, 2015. He was called up from the New Orleans Zephyrs, the AAA affiliate for the Marlins. He was called up to take the spot of Tom Koehler who was struggling with an injury. In his debut Nicolino pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, gave up four hits and struck out two. After his start he was sent back down to AAA, where he has been since. There is not too much information on Nicolino since he has only pitched a few times for the Marlins. He is entering today’s game with a 0 ERA and 0-0 record as it will be his first start with the big league club this season.

The Dodgers just announced this evenings lineup:

Enrique Hernandez is leading off tonight for the boys in blue and playing in left field. Chase Utley has an off day as Howie Kendrick gets the start at second. A.J Ellis is back behind the plate after having an off day yesterday when Yasmani Grandal caught Kershaw. Today is also Corey Seager’s 22nd birthday. The birthday boy will be at short and batting in the fifth spot. Joc Pederson will also be on the bench this evening as Trayce Thompson gets the start in center. Hopefully Thompson can keep his bat hot after hitting his first home run with the Dodgers just a few days ago.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM and will be shown on Sports Net LA.