Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Game 3 of the 2019 World Series shifts to … wait, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.
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Yankees
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Dodgers
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4:05 p.m.
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Los Angeles
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1B
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LeMahieu |
LF
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Pederson | |
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RF
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Judge |
2B
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Muncy | |
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SS
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Gregorius |
3B
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Turner | |
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2B
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Torres |
RF
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Bellinger | |
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C
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Sanchez |
SS
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Seager | |
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CF
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Gardner |
CF
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Taylor | |
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3B
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Urshela | 2B | Beaty | |
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LF
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Tauchman |
C
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Barnes | |
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P
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German (R) |
P
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Kershaw (L) |
But this series is definitely a potential World Series preview that, in all honesty, doesn’t mean much for both teams. Sure, it’s nice to see a couple powerhouses go head-to-head — even in a meaningless regular-season series.
On the mound for the Dodgers is Clayton Kershaw. He’s getting his fourth career start against the Yankees — if you can believe it. He owns a 0.90 ERA in 20 career innings against the Bronx Bombers. It doesn’t mean a lot for today’s matchup, but I was surprised he had that many appearances against them.
Opposing Kershaw is the Yankees’ Domingo German. The 27-year-old is enjoying success in his second full MLB season. The ERA (4.15) and FIP (4.72) leave a lot to be desired, but his peripherals show there’s a good pitcher when you look beyond those stats. Where he does struggle is with the home run ball. He has a 2.0 HR/9 and the 5th-worst HR/FB% (20.1) in the majors. The Dodgers are on a bit of a home run binge right now, so there could be some long balls at the stadium today.
A.J. Pollock is getting the day off. It allows Matt Beaty to remain in the lineup against a right-handed pitcher. Austin Barnes is getting his first start since returning from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
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Josh Sborz is up, but not in an official capacity. Gurnick went onto tweet that Casey Sadler is dealing with a sore back and Sborz is here just in case Sadler goes on the injured list sometime in the next day or so.
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Really like having Dustin May back in the rotation. But against Dodger killer Eric Lauer (4-0, 1.72 ERA in 6 career starts), it might not matter. Cal Quantrill is on a bit of a heater, but Walker Buehler is coming off seven scoreless innings against the Blue Jays. And you have to like Kenta Maeda‘s chances against TBD. TBD tends to get knocked around a bit.
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It seems the Dodgers’ player developmental staff is working its magic on Josiah Gray. He has gone from solid and maybe interesting second-round pick to bonafide pitching prospect who will probably find himself in a number of Top 100 lists before next season. Big things could be in store for him, especially if he continues to develop the way he has with the Dodgers.
