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Dodgers Head to the Desert for Their First Road Series of 2018
The Dodgers first two games of the season were very disappointing as the offense was blanked two straight games. The Dodgers offense rebounded in the last two games of the series to salvage a series split.
The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will renew their acquaintanceship today as they start things off for the first of three games in the desert. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks both come in with two wins as they meet for the first time since the Dodgers made quick work of the Dbacks in the 2017 National League Division Series. The Dodgers will not face Zack Greinke in the series as he pitched on Saturday and the Diamondbacks had a rare Sunday off day.
The Dodgers pitching is coming into the series on quite the hot streak. The Dodgers blanked the Giants on Saturday and Sunday, and they only allowed two runs in the four-game set. The Dodgers offense finally awakened on Saturday and Sunday the Dodgers hit their first home run of the season when Cody Bellinger broke his hitless streak to begin the season. The Diamondbacks offense exploded for 17 runs combined in their first two regular season games, but on Saturday they were held to just one run. Let’s take a look at a preview of each game.
Monday – 6:40 PM Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Taijuan Walker
Hyun-Jin Ryu will make his first start of the 2018 regular season, which is a contract year for him. Ryu experimented with a curveball for most of the spring but he will now look to put all his pitches together to stymie a potent Diamondbacks offense. Nick Ahmed is one hot hitter that Ryu will need to cool down. Ahmed has six RBI’s already on the young season and one home run.
Taijuan Walker will start game one of the series after starting game one of the NLDS last October. While it’s hard to call anyone on the Dodgers a hot hitter after they were shutout twice so far, Yasiel Puig and Chris Taylor did post multi-hit games on Sunday. Walker will also try to send Cody Bellinger back into his offensive struggles after Bellinger went deep in Sunday’s game for his first hit of the season.
Hitter to watch against Ryu:
Paul Goldschmidt – While you could probably list Goldschmidt as a Dodger killer no matter who is the mound, Goldy has two career home runs off Ryu and a .429 batting average against. Goldschmidt is actually hitless to begin the 2018 season, but that should be scary as it means he is going to break out one of these games.
Hitter to watch against Walker:
Corey Seager – The Dodgers have not had a ton of at-bats against Taijuan Walker since he was a Seattle Mariner up until his trade to the Dbacks. Corey Seager has a home run and 3 RBI’s in his six plate appearances against Walker. Seager is still searching for his first home run of the 2018 season so hopefully, he hits that milestone tonight.
Tuesday – 6:40 PM Clayton Kershaw vs. Zack Godley
Clayton Kershaw will come into Tuesday’s game with a 0-1 record but his record couldn’t be farther from the truth. Kershaw gave up a lone run in his first start of the season but was still stuck with a tough 1-0 loss. Kershaw will look to once again have a strong outing and record his first win of the season.
Zack Godley will be making his first start of the new campaign for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Last season was a breakout for Godley who posted a 3.37 ERA in twenty-five starts for the Dbacks. Godley also held batters to a .221 average last season so he will look to build off of last year.
Hitter to watch against Kershaw:
Nick Ahmed – As previously mentioned, Ahmed has been the Dbacks best run contributor through three games so he will be depended on to scrape some runs across against Clayton Kershaw. Per the usual, Goldschmidt has hit Kershaw the best of any Diamondback hitter but the Diamondbacks will need someone else to step up in order to beat Clayton. Ahmed is their best bet.
Hitter to watch against Godley:
Chris Taylor – CT3 will look to keep his momentum going from Sunday’s game in which he had his first multi-hit game of the season. Taylor has a home run off of Godley and a .375 average. Seager has hit below 100 against Godley so he will look to turn things around against the other Zack.
Wednesday – 12:40 PM Alex Wood vs. Patrick Corbin
Alex Wood suffered a hard-luck no-decision in his very first start of the season as he pitched a shutout through eight innings. The offense once again provided zero help for Wood who is pitching like a true number two starter since last season. Hopefully, the Dodgers offense can provide Wood with plenty of run support this time out to get him his first win of the new season.
Patrick Corbin is coming into his second start of the season after picking up a win on opening day. Corbin allowed two runs in five-plus innings against the Rockies in his first start of the 2018 season. While the Dodgers will not face Robbie Ray this series, Corbin is a formidable left-handed starter who is capable of giving the Dodger offense fits.
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Hitter to watch against Wood:
AJ Pollock – Pollock is currently in a contract year and looking to provide one last big season in order to cash out in free agency. AJ has also tortured Alex Wood to the tune of .438 average and two home runs. Not only will Wood need to be careful with Goldschmidt, he will also need to find a way to slow down Pollock.
Hitter to watch against Corbin:
Yasiel Puig – The wild horse has wreaked havoc on Corbin the past as Puig has knocked in five runs against Corbin with a .350 average and one home run. Puig seems to be trending in the right direction after driving the ball well on Sunday so let’s see how determined he is to stick around in LA.