Dodgers @ D’backs Aug. 10, 2017: Darvish vs. Banda

(Via)

The Dodgers head into tonight’s game looking to take the series from the Diamondbacks. It’s also Yu Darvish‘s second start with the Dodgers, which, yay!

Dodgers
D’backs
6:40 p.m. PT
Arizona
LF
Taylor
LF
Peralta
SS
 Seager
CF
Pollock
3B
Turner
3B
Lamb
1B
Bellinger
1B
 Goldschmidt
2B
Forsythe
RF
Martinez
RF
Hernandez
2B
Descalso
C
Barnes C Iannetta
CF
Pederson
SS
Marte
P
Darvish (R)
P
Banda (L)

Darvish was stellar in his first outing (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K, 99 pitches), and that’s exactly why the Dodgers got him. He’s getting his first shot at the D’backs as a member of the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks have the 6th-highest strikeout rate in baseball, so Darvish could be in for a big night, especially if his slider is working.

Seventeen strikeouts to tie, Yu. No pressure!

The lineup looks a tad different than it has against LHP of late. The top five are the same, but Enrique Hernandez is giving Yasiel Puig a night off in right field. Puig is dealing with hamstring/knee soreness, which seemed apparent from the first two games of the series, but he played through it and made an amazing catch on Tuesday night and drove in the eventual game-winning run last night with a single off Zack Greinke. Joc Pederson is drawing a rare start against lefties, which is good. Hopefully he can build on last night’s results. Austin Barnes is back in there after hurting his hands on Sunday night against the Mets. I thought Kyle Farmer might get a look, but it’d be a tough assignment for him to catch Darvish, especially since it’d be Farmer’s first MLB start and just Darvish’s second start with the team.

——

Looking ahead:

Maybe Farmer gets a start tomorrow night? Maybe he never starts. 50/50 chance.

For fun, here’s some video of Dodgers’ 1st-round pick Jeren Kendall.

He also has three hits, including that triple. Woo.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.