Dodgers @ D’backs August 29, 2017: Hill vs. Godley; Seager out with sore elbow

Photo: Stacie Wheeler

The Dodgers (91-38) close out August with three games against the Diamondbacks (73-58), currently 19 games back in second place in the N.L. West. Arizona comes into this series on a four-game winning streak and having just completed a three-game sweep of the Giants this weekend.

The N.L. West race may be essentially decided (August isn’t over and the Dodgers’ magic number is already 14), but the D’backs very much have something to play for right now. They currently hold sole possession of the first Wild Card spot, two games up on Colorado and five games up on the Milwaukee Brewers. While that situation isn’t as crazy as the A.L. Wild Card race, with more than a months’ worth of games left to play, it’s still very much up in the air.

Dodgers
D’backs
6:40 p.m.
Arizona
CF
Taylor
LF
Peralta
LF
Granderson
C
Iannetta
3B
Turner
CF
Pollock
C
Grandal
1B
Goldschmidt
RF
Puig
RF
Martinez
1B
González
2B
Drury
2B
Forsythe 3B Lamb
SS
Hernández
SS
Marte
P
Hill (L)
P
Godley (R)

Rich Hill (3.32 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 4.79 DRA) will start for the first time since his dramatic and heartbreaking near-perfect game in Pittsburgh. It was the longest outing of Hill’s season (and of his Dodger career) by innings pitched, and he was brilliant in spite of the end result. This will be Hill’s third time facing the D’backs this year. He had a very short (due to the blister) start against them on April 16 (3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 2 BB), and a very good start against them on July 6 (7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 9 K, 0 BB).

Zack Godley (3.15 ERA, 3.28 FIP, 2.77 DRA) will be making his third start against the Dodgers this year. He had a strong outing against them earlier this month, allowing three runs in 6.2 IP in a game the D’backs won, 6-3. In his previous start against L.A. this year, Godley allowed just one run. While Godley’s season has been excellent overall, he’s been getting hit harder this month. Batters had a .583 OPS against him from April through July; in August, he’s allowed a .816 OPS.

Corey Seager is out of the starting lineup with a sore elbow that he’s evidently been dealing with for a few weeks. He’s day-to-day, although he’s available to hit tonight, as the issue affects his throwing more than his battingEnrique Hernández will start at shortstop instead.

——

The Arizona Fall League rosters came out today. Here are prospects who will be representing the Dodgers organization:

Speaking of Arizona, Cody Bellinger is making a rehab start with the Dodgers’ AZL team:

We should be seeing him tomorrow night.

Finally, in addition to Clayton Kershaw coming back on Friday, we’ll be seeing Alex Wood this weekend in San Diego, too:

We still don’t know who’s pitching the day game in Saturday’s double header, though:

That game is a makeup of one that was rained out earlier this season.

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.