Phillies @ Dodgers August 10, 2016: Kazmir for the sweep

Phillies
Dodgers
12:10 p.m. PT
Los Angeles
2B  Hernandez  2B  Utley
CF Altherr  RF Reddick
3B  Franco  SS Seager
1B Joseph  1B González
C Ruiz  C Grandal
 RF Paredes  CF Pederson
 LF Goeddel  LF Kendrick
 SS Galvis  3B Segedin
P
Hellickson (R)
P
Kazmir (L)

The Giants and Marlins played at 9:10 AM Pacific time. As of time of posting, the score was 1-0 Giants in the top of the ninth inning. Barring a last-minute Marlins comeback, the Dodgers will have to win today to remain in the tie for first place that they moved into with last night’s victory.

Scott Kazmir (4.51 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.28 WHIP) takes the mound in the hopes of sweeping the Phillies. Kazmir is coming off of two straight starts in which he gave up four earned runs. He has also allowed home runs in five consecutive games. Dave Roberts spoke a bit about Kazmir pregame:

“With Scott, he’s very in tune with his body and his mechanics … so when things kind of get out of whack, it seems like he’s searching a little bit. The last month has kind of been that way for him. But he’s feeling better … talking to him yesterday, he’s in a good place mentally and physically. Early on, we’ll know if he feels good physically as far his fastball command and locating that changeup.”

Jeremy Hellickson gets the start for the Phillies. In 23 starts this season, Hellickson has posted a 3.72 ERA (4.15 FIP) and a 1.15 WHIP through 138 IP. He has solid strikeout (19.9% K rate, 7.30 K/9) and walk (5.5% BB rate, 2.02 BB/9) numbers, but he also brandishes a HR/9 of 1.30, so he’s a bit home run prone, as he has been for most of his career. The Phillies are 13-10 in his starts, and they’ve won his last four.

The 29-year-old righty will face a lefty-heavy lineup, save for Howie Kendrick and Rob Segedin. Segedin will make his third start for the Dodgers, filling in at third base for Justin Turner, who’s just getting a day off.

In rotation news:

Blisters are no joke, man.

(Let’s all just agree to ignore my typo, okay?)

Anyway … here’s to staying in first place!

[table id=5/]

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.