Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks Series Preview

The Dodgers are coming off of their first road trip of the season after a three-game series in Colorado and Chicago.

The Dodgers had a disappointing road trip after dropping four out of the six games on the trip dipping their recording to (5-5) on the 2017 season. It was certainly a frustrating road trip, especially in Chicago where the Dodgers only had one hit in 24 at-bats with runners in scoring position. This led to 26 runners left on base during the NLCS rematch.

But at long last, the road trip is over, and the boys in blue are looking forward to some home cooking and putting this past road trip behind them. This weekend the Dodgers welcome in the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies for a much needed six-game homestand.

The homestand begins tonight, and we will see a familiar face on the mound tonight at Dodgers Stadium. Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to face former teammate Zack Greinke in the series opener.

Here’s a breakdown of how the upcoming series shapes up.

Friday: Zack Greinke (1-0, 2.31 ERA) vs. Clayton Kershaw (1-1, 3.46 ERA) – 7:10 PT

(Friday Night Fireworks)

Saturday: Patrick Corbin (1-1, 1.80 ERA) vs. Kenta Maeda (1-1, 6.30 ERA) 6:10 PT –

(Jackie Robinson Day; Statue Unveiling)

Sunday: Taijuan Walker (1-1, 4.91 ERA) vs. TBD, 1:10 PT

(Kids run the bases)

Monday: Robbie Ray (1-0, 2.19 ERA) vs. Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 1.50 ERA) – 7:10 PT

What to Watch For?

I’m really looking forward to this series. The great pitching matchup of former teammates tonight is followed by the statue unveiling of the great Jackie Robinson on Saturday afternoon.

Some notes worth following is that the Dodgers are going up against two more left-handers on Saturday and Monday night. Los Angeles is coming off of a stretch of facing four left-handers in their last six games. The Dodgers were only able to walk away with one win in those four games, and so the left-handed struggles narrative lives on.

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Who will start Sunday’s for the Dodgers starter? Dave Roberts has yet to announce his start for the game on Sunday afternoon. The starter will likely be Rich Hill or Alex Wood depending on the health of Hill’s blister. I wouldn’t mind giving Alex Wood another shot while we give Hill more time to heal, but I’d imagine Roberts will use Hill if he says his blister is okay.

Pedro Baez is expected to rejoin the team this weekend against the Dbacks. If Baez and Rich Hill are healthy enough to be activated from the DL, it will be interesting to see who the Dodgers choose to send down. The bullpen has been one of the few bright spots to begin the season it certainly will be a tough decision for Roberts to send down two pitchers. I’d expect Josh Fields and Luis Avilan to be optioned to Triple-A despite their combined 7 scoreless innings.

By activating Hill, that would push Wood back to the bullpen, and the Dodgers would have 3 lefties if they didn’t option Avilan. I’d like to see them consider sending down Hatcher, but being that he doesn’t have any remaining options and has pitched fairly well to start the season, that’s just a move I don’t see the Dodgers making at this time.

It’s still very early in the season, but we can already see some woes that this team needs to solve. It will be interesting to see how Los Angeles respond to losing a series to the defending champs after watching all their championship ceremonies that they milked through the entire series.

Next: Is 2017 the Year for Brandon McCarthy?

It should be a fun weekend over at Chavez Ravine. There will be some big festivities on Saturday afternoon when they reveal the Jackie Robinson statue. If you’re at the ceremony make sure to tweet us your photos or videos (@DodgersWayFS). If not give us a follow on SnapChat to keep up with all the festivities!