Dodgers @ Marlins July 16, 2017: Hill for yet another sweep

(Via)

The Dodgers (63-29) beat the Marlins (41-48) Friday in thrilling comeback fashion. They beat them last night handily and definitively. Today, the Boys in Blue have a chance to go for their ninth win in a row and third consecutive sweep, and they’ll look to Rich Hill (3.69 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 5.10 DRA) to help get them there.

Dodgers
Marlins
1o:10 AM PST
Miami
2B
Forsythe
3B
Prado
SS
 Seager
RF
Stanton
3B
Turner
CF
Yelich
1B
Bellinger
LF
Ozuna
LF
Taylor
1B
Moore
C
Barnes
2B
Dietrich
RF
Hernández C Ellis
CF
Thompson
SS
Riddle
P
Hill (L)
P
O’Grady (L)

Hill has been pitching very well of late. He’s lasted seven innings in each of his last three starts after failing to go more than five innings in any of his first nine games. In Hill’s four most recent starts, he’s given up just five runs in 26 IP, with 35 strikeouts versus six walks. Batters have hit .154/.220/.264 against him in that span.

Chris O’Grady (5.66 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 7.65 DRA) gets the ball for just the second start of his major league career. The 27-year-old lefty made his major league debut last Saturday against the Giants, and he allowed three runs in 5.1 IP.

O’Grady was an Angels 10th-round draft pick in 2012, and he stayed in their farm system until he was released this April. Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel provided this account of how O’Grady ended up with the Marlins:

O’Grady’s improbable ascent began with a phone call to Scott Budner, New Orleans’ pitching coach who worked with O’Grady last year in the Angels’ system. O’Grady was hoping for a tryout. Forty-eight hours later, on May 6, he had a contract and was slated to join the rotation in Double-A Jacksonville.
Before even getting to Jacksonville, a bullpen spot in New Orleans opened up, so O’Grady went there instead. Three appearances later, he wound up in the Triple-A rotation. A month and a half later, the bump up to the big leagues.
“And here I am,” O’Grady said.

O’Grady had a 3.29 ERA in 54.2 IP for the Baby Cakes this season, with 54 strikeouts versus 15 walks. He has a career 3.24 ERA in the minors, and a career 22.1% K rate. He’s worked as a reliever for much of his career, although since joining the Marlins’ organization, he’s been used primarily as a starter. John Sickels of Minor League Ball had this to say about O’Grady’s stuff:

He isn’t a hard-thrower: his fastball is generally in the upper 80s with peaks at 90-91. He relies heavily on his cutter and sometimes throws it more than the fastball. He also has a curveball and change-up; both off-speed pitches were considered below-average earlier in his career but he’s made enough progress with them to be a viable Triple-A starter. O’Grady has had persistent reverse platoon splits over the last three seasons, meaning he isn’t an ideal LOOGY. Using him as a starter in Triple-A made sense, in other words.

Trayce Thompson is in center field and Enrique Hernández is in right, spelling Joc Pederson (as someone usually does with a lefty on the mound) and Yasiel Puig. Old friend A.J. Ellis is catching today for Miami, his second time starting against the Dodgers in his career.

——

Another update on Adrían González, who took forty swings off a tee yesterday:

About Sarah Wexler

Sarah Wexler is a native Angeleno and longtime Dodger fan. She began blogging about baseball in 2012 on her Tumblr, New Grass On The Field, where she covered an array of topics but especially enjoyed exploring baseball history. She is now a reporter/producer for MLB.com. She earned her master's degree in Sports Management from Cal State Long Beach. She graduated from New York University in 2014 with a bachelor's in History and a minor in American Studies. She's an avid Springsteen fan, which is a big boost to her baseball writer cred.