Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Coming off a disappointing shutout loss, the Dodgers (30-17) look to bounce back behind Hyun-Jin Ryu in an effort to win the series. The Reds (21-25) will try to follow up their win from yesterday, with Tanner Roark taking the mound against Ryu. Walker Buehler pitched well enough to deserve a win yesterday, but the offense only managed six hits. They’ll have to score more than 0 runs to win today.
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Dodgers |
Reds
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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10:10 a.m.
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Cincinnati
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LF
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Pederson |
CF
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Senzel | |
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1B
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Muncy |
1B
|
Votto | |
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3B
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Turner |
3B
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Suarez | |
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RF
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Bellinger |
RF
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Puig | |
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SS
|
Seager |
SS
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Iglesias | |
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CF
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Verdugo |
LF
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Winker | |
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2B
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Hernandez | 2B | Peraza | |
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C
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Martin |
C
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Casali | |
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P
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Ryu (R) |
P
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Roark (R) |
Justin Turner is back in the starting lineup after fouling a ball off his leg in the series opener, resulting in some changes to the lineup. This moves Max Muncy back over to first base, with Matt Beaty going to the bench. Russell Martin will start over Austin Barnes, while Enrique Hernandez starts at second over Chris Taylor. Martin has caught the last three of Ryu’s starts, and those have obviously gone well, so like today, I’d expect that to continue moving forward.
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Roark has been good for the Reds this season, with a 3.50 ERA and a 3.30 FIP. Just a quick look at the last few seasons, he has more issues against left-handed batters, as most right-handed pitchers do. Last season, Roark went seven innings allowing three runs while striking out eight against the Dodgers as a member of the Nationals. His walk-rate of 9.9% is the 15th highest among all starters, a matchup that clearly favors the Dodgers. This is why Roark has a 1.47 WHIP despite what would likely be expected by his strong ERA. He’s been solid this year, but as a RHP who allows a lot of walks, against a strong left-handed offense that likes to draw walks – it’s a good matchup for the Dodgers.
Your reigning NL Player Of The Week takes an impressive recent run of play into his start today. Ryu is currently 5-1, amidst a 24 inning scoreless streak. Here’s where he’s at among all qualified starters — 1.72 ERA (2), 2.70 FIP (6), and a 0.73 WHIP (1). Super impressive. His control has been impeccable this season, leading the league in strikeout to walk ratio at 18-1. That’s 54 walks, with three strikeouts. For reference, Carlos Carrasco is second in strikeout to walk ratio at 8.86, which is 62 strikeouts to 7 walks. Ryu is very good. He looks to keep this going against a struggling Reds offense. The Reds offense is 26th in wRC+ at 77, and 25th in wOBA at .291. The Dodgers have a .337 wOBA, and a 114 wRC+ for reference. It goes without saying, but the Dodgers have the advantage here, so naturally — prepare for the loss.
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As a Sunday morning game, there isn’t a ton of team related news going around prior to first pitch.
This is interesting and definitely not a curse.
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First pitch is at 10:10 AM PST on SNLA.
