Dodgers @ Giants April 7, 2018: Finally, baseball again

After a couple days off, the Dodgers finally have a chance to bounce back from getting swept in Arizona. They were outscored 17-8 in the three-game series, but seven of the Dodgers’ eight runs came in the 15-inning game one. They only managed five hits in the final two games, wasting a pair of quality starts and dropping to 2-5.

Dodgers
Giants
3:05 PM
San Francisco
CF
Taylor
CF
Jackson
SS
Seager
2B
Panik
RF
Puig
RF
McCutchen
1B
Bellinger
C
Posey
3B
Forsythe
3B
Longoria
LF
Pederson
LF
Pence
C
Barnes 1B Belt
2B
Utley
SS
Crawford
P
Hill (L)
P
Stratton (R)

Joc Pederson, Chase Utley and Austin Barnes all draw starts today against a right-handed pitcher. Pederson is the only one of the trio that started last Sunday against Chris Stratton, and he went 0-2 with two groundouts against him. Today marks Utley’s third start of the season, but two of his three hits this season have come in pinch hitting opportunities.

The Giants are running out mostly the same lineup we saw for the most part at Dodger Stadium. After scoring only two runs in the four-game series in LA, the Giants returned home and split a two-game series against the Seattle Mariners. They lost game one 6-4, but more than doubled their season scoring output with a 10-1 win on Wednesday.

Rich Hill gets the ball for the Dodgers Saturday afternoon. Hill started against the Giants last Sunday and held them scoreless through six innings. The Giants left the bases loaded in the third and fourth innings and left a runner on third in the sixth, so Hill managed to work himself out of trouble multiple times.

Stratton, who started opposite Hill last Sunday, gets the ball today for the Giants. Stratton allowed only one baserunner, a hit by pitch, through the first three innings before Corey Seager led off the fourth with a single. Seager scored on another single and a pair of sacrifice flies, and the Dodgers knocked Stratton out of the game in the sixth inning after a pair of doubles scored a second run. Stratton would be charged with a third run, as Josh Osich allowed an RBI single followed by a Cody Bellinger home run.

——

Setting the over/under at 8.5 infield singles for the Giants today.

——

Josh Fields is back from the paternity list as his first was born on Wednesday. His 25-man roster spot was opened up when the Dodgers designated Zach Neal for assignment yesterday.

——

Kenta Maeda was the scheduled starter last night. Last night’s game was postponed with a makeup doubleheader scheduled for April 28th, so he’ll be available out of the bullpen. The Dodgers have off days Monday and Thursday next week, so Maeda’s next start might not come for another week.

——

First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 PM PST, as it was pushed back a couple hours due to rain. Today’s game will be shown on KTLA as well as Sportsnet LA.

About Alex Campos

I've been writing about the Dodgers since I graduated from Long Beach State, where I covered the Dirtbags in my senior year. I'm either very good or very bad at puns.