(Photo credit: J Nash Boulden)
The Diamondbacks head to LA at 23-11, 3.5 games up on the rest of the NL West. They are coming off a 2-1 series win against the Astros that wrapped up on Sunday in a 3-1 win over Justin Verlander. AJ Pollock was the star of the show with a triple and two RBI while Matt Koch put down another strong start.
Meanwhile the Dodgers suffers a 2-1 series defeat to San Diego in Mexico. Sunday saw them lose 3-0 after Tony Cingrani once again struggled out of the bullpen and the whole offense was sluggish. Only Matt Kemp (3-for-5) did well.
Zack Godley (RHP) Vs. Rich Hill (LHP)
Godley has looked like the same solid pitcher he was in 2017, but with an exception. He is striking out fewer hitters and walking more. That difference has resulted in a bloated 1.39 WHIP that is yet to impact his ERA (3.41) fully, but you sense it may well do soon. Godley's hit rate is up, and even though he is keeping the ball in the park he has been walking a tight rope so far.
Rich Hill has had a rough start to his 14th season in the Majors. It started well with six innings of shutout ball against San Francisco before they tagged him a week later, and then his last start was a five-inning, seven-run showing against the Diamondbacks. A split fingernail landed him on the DL after that game, but with Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-jin Ryu on the DL now the Dodgers really need him to be reliable.
Projected lineups
Diamondbacks Lineup | Home Runs | Batting Average | On-Base Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
Owings, LF | 1 | .233 | .303 |
Ahmed, SS | 5 | .217 | .284 |
Goldschmidt, 1B | 4 | .225 | .350 |
Pollock, CF | 10 | .306 | .362 |
Peralta, RF | 6 | .295 | .389 |
Marte, 2B | 1 | .213 | .267 |
Marrero, 3B | 0 | .196 | .255 |
Mathis, C | 0 | .216 | .326 |
Godley, P | 0 | .091 | .091 |
Dodgers Lineup | Home Runs | Batting Average | On-Base Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
Taylor, SS | 5 | .238 | .289 |
Verdugo, LF | 0 | .286 | .333 |
Grandal, C | 4 | .272 | .372 |
Bellinger, 1B | 4 | .283 | .340 |
Kemp, RF | 5 | .344 | .379 |
Pederson, CF | 1 | .278 | .398 |
Utley, 2B | 1 | .257 | .364 |
Muncy, 3B | 2 | .211 | .318 |
Hill, P | 0 | .000 | .000 |
Who's hot, and who's not
AJ Pollock has been a monster for the Diamondbacks lately, racking up a .360 batting average over the last 15 days together with five homers, three steals, and 13 RBI. David Peralta has also been a long ball demon lately, with four homers in the last two weeks.
Those two, along with Daniel Descalso and Jeff Mathis have helped to keep the Diamondbacks offense going while Paul Goldschmidt has experienced unusual struggles to start the season. His strikeout rate is way up and he's hit just .146 over the last two weeks without a homer.
As for the Dodgers, Corey Seager being on the DL has really hurt their offense, but both Joc Pederson and Matt Kemp have done their best to keep the runs flowing. Both are a hair over .370 at the plate over the last two weeks, and Kemp has a pair of homers. Unfortunately, the likes of Chase Utley and Yasmani Grandal have been dead weight in the lineup recently.
Prediction
There is a rough patch coming for Godley, but I'm not sure it will start today. The Dodgers lineup is too inconsistent right now to fully take advantage of what Godley is dealing. Then there is the fact that Rich Hill could blow up on the mound for LA and put them in a hole that is far too big to claw their way out of. The Dodgers may need this win a lot more, but I think the Diamondbacks will take it by two.
Channel info
The game will be broadcast live on FSAZ and SNLA, as well as streamed live on MLB.tv for out of market subscribers. The first pitch is scheduled for 10:10pm ET.
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