Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The visiting dugout at Dodgers Stadium will have a familiar face peering over the railing on Monday night when Don Mattingly returns to Los Angeles to take on his former team as the manager of the Miami Marlins for a four-game series.
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Marlins
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Dodgers
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7:10 p.m. PT
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Los Angeles
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2B
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Gordon |
LF
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Hernandez | |
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CF
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Ozuna |
2B
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Kendrick | |
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LF
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Yelich |
RF
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Puig | |
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RF
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Stanton |
3B
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Turner | |
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1B
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Bour |
1B
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Grandal | |
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C
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Realmuto |
CF
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Thompson | |
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3B
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Dietrich | C | Ellis | |
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SS
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Hechavarria |
SS
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Culberson | |
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P
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Wei-Yin Chen (L)
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P
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Stripling
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Dave Roberts and the Dodgers gladly departed Colorado after their wild 12-10 series finale comeback win over the Rockies on Sunday afternoon that may have caused you to reach for some Maalox. Overall the road trip was a 4-2 success.
The Dodgers send rookie Ross Stripling (0-0, 2.65) to the mound who is still looking for his first Major League win. He hasn’t been involved in the decisions of any his first three starts but has pitched commendably. Coming off a short outing in Atlanta where he gave up 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and struck out 4 while walking 2 in 3 2/3 innings at Turner Field, Stripling is looking to bounce back against The Fish. He has yet to surrender a home run this season through 17 innings pitched.
Stripling has fared very well through the first three innings in each of his starts so far this season, but the middle innings is when he has run into trouble.
| Split | G | IP | ER | ERA |
| Innings 1-3 | 3 | 9.0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Innings 4-6 | 3 | 6.2 | 4 | 5.40 |
| Innings 7-9 | 1 | 1.1 | 1 | 6.75 |
Stripling’s curveball has been a very effective pitch for him. He’s only allowed 1 hit off his curveball, a RBI single to Daniel Castro in Atlanta. 39 of the 62 curveballs he’s thrown were for strikes, and he’s struck out 6 with his breaking ball.
Wei-Yin Chen (0-1, 4.91), the left-hander from Taiwan, has only faced the Dodgers once back in 2013 when he was with Baltimore. Chen allowed 1 run on 3 hits in 6 innings of work in the 6-1 Dodger loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards. Charlie Culberson is the only current Dodger to have hit a home run against Chen, and he gets the start at shortstop tonight.
The Marlins signed Chen as a free agent during the offseason, and he has yet to notch a win with Miami. In his first 3 starts, he has allowed 10 runs off 19 hits with 16 strikeouts and 2 walks.
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It will be interesting to see how the fans receive Don Mattingly tonight at Dodgers Stadium. He was the only manager in franchise history to reach the postseason in three consecutive years, but the failure of the Dodgers to clinch their first World Series berth since 1988 during his tenure spurred a myriad of backlash.
I don’t miss the #FireMattingly brigade, but then again there were some really memorable Mattingly moments over those five years. The double mound visit comes to mind, and if you didn’t see Mattingly’s challenge on a neighborhood play during last Saturday’s game vs. the Giants, I would highly recommend it for your viewing entertainment.
Mattingly’s Marlins are 6-11 and in fourth place in the NL East. Dee Gordon, another former Dodger, leads the league in stolen bases (6). He has hit well against the Dodgers over 26 plate appearances (.360/.385/.480). Giancarlo Stanton has 34 hits including 10 home runs against the Dodgers in 116 plate appearances.
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The Dodgers reinstated Louis Coleman from the bereavement list and optioned Luis Avilan to Triple-A. Coleman missed four games after his grandfather passed away. Avilan allowed 3 runs on 3 hits with 2 walks and no strikeouts in the 3 games he appeared in since he was recalled last Thursday.
Zach Lee remains with the team for now, but Carl Crawford is expected to be activated from the disabled list by Tuesday. With a left-hander on the mound for Miami, Enrique Hernandez gets the start in left field. Adrian Gonzalez finally gets a day off, his first of the 2016 season. The Dodgers also have both their catchers in the all right-handed starting lineup tonight with Yasmani Grandal at first base and A.J. Ellis behind the plate.
It may feel a bit strange to see their former manager in a different uniform, but for the Dodgers their focus is on notching their fifth win in six games.
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