Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After an extra inning win last night, the Dodgers (15-7) look to sweep the Angels (7-14), in the first Freeway Series of the season. With the win last night, the team is now currently two games ahead of the Rockies (12-8) in the NL West. Their run differential of +55 is the highest mark in baseball, with the Yankees and Twins tied for second at +33.
Dustin May takes the mound for the Dodgers as they go for their fifth consecutive win. Julio Teheran will take the mound for the Angels, as the veteran right-hander looks to get his team back on track.
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| 1:10 p.m. | Anaheim | ||
| RF | Betts | SS | Fletcher |
| DH | Seager (L) | 1B | La Stella (L) |
| 2B | Muncy (L) | CF | Trout |
| CF | Bellinger (L) | 3B | Rendon |
| SS | Taylor | DH | Ohtani (L) |
| LF | Pederson | LF | Goodwin (L) |
| 3B | Rios | RF | Adell |
| 1B | Beaty (L) | C | Stassi |
| C | Ruiz (S) | 2B | Rengifo (S) |
| P | May (R) | P | Teheran (R) |
The most notable change here is that highly-touted catching prospect, Keibert Ruiz will be making his major league debut at just 22 years old. He’s the only switch hitter on the team besides Kenley Jansen. Justin Turner, AJ Pollock, Enrique Hernandez, and Austin Barnes will all have the day off after the extra-inning game last night. This will be Turner’s first day off this season. Mookie Betts will once again lead off and continue to make his push for MVP.
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May has been the ace of the staff so far, with a 2.75 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over his first four starts. He’s coming off a solid start against the Padres where he allowed just two runs over six innings. He’ll look to build on that, but facing Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon is always dangerous. It’ll be a good test for the 22-year-old.
Meanwhile, Teheran will be making just his third start of the season, looking to improve upon his first two starts, where he’s allowed seven runs over his first five innings. He’s been a solid starter for seven straight years, so he’ll be likely to regain his form sooner rather than later.
This is pretty crazy considering Teheran is still somehow only 29 years old himself.
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Alex Wood is nearing his eventual return to the club, yet his role is still uncertain. Tony Gonsolin looks to be the likely starter on Tuesday, and if he continues to look like an above average major league pitcher, it’ll be hard to argue for him to be sent back down.
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It’s always nice to have guys on the team that seem to be just as great off the field.
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First pitch is at 1:10 PT on SNLA and TBS.
