Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers took last night’s game thanks in part to Albert Pujols, which is a thing I never really thought I would write. Pujols delivered an RBI single in the third that turned out to be the deciding run in a 3-1 Dodger win. The Dodgers moved to 23-18 on the year, tied for the third-best record in the National League (and yet behind two other teams in the NL West). Today, the Dodgers look for their sixth win in the last seven games and to guarantee at least a split of the four-game set against Arizona.
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| 7:10 PM | Los Angeles | ||
| 1B | Smith (L) | CF | Betts |
| CF | Locastro | 2B | Muncy (L) |
| 3B | Escobar (S) | 3B | Taylor |
| RF | Rojas (L) | C | Smith |
| 2B | Young | RF | Beaty (L) |
| LF | Peralta (L) | 1B | Pujols |
| SS | Ahmed | LF | Tsutsugo (L) |
| C | Varsho (L) | SS | Lux (L) |
| P | Martin (R) | P | Urias (L) |
Julio Urias makes his ninth start of the season. He’s posted a 3.26 ERA/3.15 FIP in his first eight starts and is coming off a great start against the Mariners. It wasn’t quite as good as his seven inning one-hitter in Seattle in April, but Urias allowed two hits and a run over seven innings last time out. In three May starts, Urias has struck out 20 batters and issued only one walk (with a HBP sprinkled in). Urias had success in two starts against Arizona last season. He allowed two runs and six innings in a start in Arizona, and allowed one run and four hits in six innings against the DBacks in LA.
Opposing Urias will be Corbin Martin. Martin was called up to replace an injured Luke Weaver and is making his Diamondback debut tonight. MLB Pipeline has Martin as Arizona’s 7th-ranked prospect and 3rd-ranked pitching prospect. Martin was drafted by Houston and was one of the pieces sent to Arizona in the Zack Greinke trade. He made five starts for Houston in 2019 and posted a 5.59 ERA/8.49 FIP in 19 1/3 innings. He only lasted more than four innings in one of those five starts and gave up eight homers in that time. He made two starts at Triple A-Reno this season and allowed only five hits and two runs in 9 2/3 innings.
Here’s an excerpt from AZ Snake Pit, the SB Nation site for the Diamondbacks.
…the right-hander has some electric pitches. Martin’s fastball, which may still actually be getting better, sits comfortably at 94-95, a velocity he is able to carry deep into games. He has reach-back velocity around 98 mph. As for movement, Martin’s fastball has significant run, making it difficult to square up. His release is repeatable. He also demonstrates easy effort on the mound, prompting some to comment that it looks like he is playing catch with his battery mate.
Martin also has a slider, curve and change in his arsenal.
Pujols is in the lineup once again at first. As Dave Roberts said last night, Chris Taylor is in the lineup and starting at third base, giving Justin Turner the night off. Yoshi Tsutsugo will make his Dodger debut, starting in left. Tsutsugo will be only the third Japanese-born position player to play for the Dodgers, and is being managed by one of the other two.
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The Dodgers might be getting some more reinforcements in the near future.
Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry will begin their rehab assignments this weekend in OKC. McKinstry is expected to need less time to rehab than Bellinger, who has been out longer. Sheldon Neuse, Luke Raley and DJ Peters have struggled trying to give the Dodgers solid depth options, so their return could be a huge spark.
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The Dodgers starter for Thursday’s finale is still up in the air.
Trevor Bauer is slated to pitch Thursday, but could move to the series opener in San Francisco. Old friend Alex Wood is scheduled to start the opener on Friday for the Giants.
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First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM PDT and will be shown on Sportsnet LA.
