Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After a high scoring comeback win last night, the Dodgers (17-7) have now won six consecutive games, giving them a three game lead in the NL West. Their record is second to only the Yankees (16-6) by winning percentage, and their run differential of +62 leads the league.
They’ll go for their seventh straight win as they matchup against the second-worst team in baseball, the Mariners (7-17). They’ve now lost six in a row and their -49 run differential is last in the league. It’s not a good matchup for Seattle, but if you’re reading this, that’s alright because you’re probably a Dodgers fan.
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| 4:10 P.M. | Los Angeles | ||
| SS | Crawford (L) | RF | Betts |
| RF | Moore | SS | Seager (L) |
| CF | Lewis | 3B | Turner |
| 3B | Seager (L) | DH | Pollock |
| C | Nola | CF | Bellinger (L) |
| DH | Vogelbach (L) | LF | Taylor |
| 1B | White | 1B | Muncy (L) |
| 2B | Long Jr. (L) | 2B | Hernandez |
| LF | Gordon (L) | C | Barnes |
| P | Gonzales (L) | P | Gonsolin (R) |
The red-hot Mookie Betts continues to lead off, and it’s pretty safe to say he’ll continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Corey Seager hits second, featuring a 1.011 OPS and 170 wRC+ over his last 60 plate appearances. His 93.7 MPH average exit velocity is seventh in the league, just ahead of Mike Trout (93.6).
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Tony Gonsolin will take the mound for the Dodgers, coming off a stellar outing against the Padres. He was particularly sharp, striking out eight over four and two thirds innings, while giving up just three hits. His 1.73 FIP over 8.2 innings is fantastic, and if he’s able to make it to 10 innings, that’d lead the league among starters with 10+ innings pitched, with Trevor Bauer in second at 1.93. Pretty useless stat at this point, but it’s fun and Gonsolin has been pitching great. As Alex Wood works his way back, and with Ross Stripling getting lit up yesterday, with one more good start it’ll be hard to not keep Gonsolin a regular in the rotation. The Mariners offense is 26th in wRC+ at 88, and 26th in OPS at .668, so it’s a good opportunity for Gonsolin to build on his great start to the season.
The 28-year-old lefty Marco Gonzales takes the hill for the Mariners, looking to bounce back from his previous start where he gave up four runs over five innings against Texas. Alongside James Paxton in 2018, Gonzales has been the ace of the Seattle staff for the past two seasons, posting two straight seasons above 3.4 fWAR. He’s a solid pitcher, but he’ll have his work cut out for him against a Dodgers offense with a .946 OPS and 156 wRC+ over their six-game winning streak.
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With all the commotion about Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch, it’s nice to see that Dave Roberts thinks that the offense should try to score runs and win games. This shouldn’t be controversial, but unfortunately it is.
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Again, Wood being back would be helpful considering the Dodgers starters haven’t been going deep into games, but his role still remains uncertain.
Keibert Ruiz was sick to begin the season, so thankfully he’s completely healthy now and is getting his chance on the roster while Will Smith is injured.
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It looks like it’ll be a comfortable 102 degrees at first pitch. Lovely.
First pitch is at 4:10 PT on SNLA.
