Post by Bklyn_LA on Jun 9, 2018 22:13:20 GMT
With Friday's victory, the power surging Dodgers are back on the right side of the ledger with Walker Buehler has been a bright spot during a rugged year for the Dodgers' rotation. Los Angeles is currently without Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dennis Santana, who was pulled shortly before a scheduled start Thursday. Roberts had gone to the bullpen 15 times over the previous two games.
Saturday, June 9, 6:10 PM PT
Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 2.16 ERA) vs. Alex Wood (1-4, 4.48 ERA)
Thirteen-year veteran Anibal Sanchez takes the hill in the second game of the series. Making his 6th appearance of the year but in his last start, he allowed just two runs in seven innings.
Alex Wood will face his old club as he attempts to bounce back from his loss in Colorado as he allowed six runs.
Sunday, June 10, 1:10 PM PT
TBA vs Ross Stripling (4-1, 1.52 ERA)
With pitcher Julio Teheran placed on the 10-day disabled list, the Braves have not announced their starter for the last game of the series. In triple-a, they have options with Matt Wisler, Max Fried/ and Lucas Sims, all of whom with Major League experience. They can also use Sunday as a bullpen day.
Ross Stripling will look to continue his excellent season against Atlanta. Since the start of May, Stripling has struck out 48 batters in 35 innings and has an ERA of 1.03 during that span.
Braves Player to Watch: Freddie Freeman CHIEF
For several years now, Freddie Freeman has been the consistent pain and force in the Braves lineup. He is continuing his success again this year with his team-leading .338 batting average and 43 RBI. His 80 hits trail only Nick Markakis on the team while his 11 home runs are second to Ozzie Albies.
Dodgers Player to Watch: Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson
With the way that both Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson have caught steam, they are both threats in the Dodgers lineup. Bellinger homered in each of the last three games in the series in Pittsburgh and closed the series with a three-hit game. Pederson has hit five home runs in as many games and has raised his batting average nearly 30 points during that stretch. With righties set to start at least the first two games of the series, Bellinger and Pederson should continue their success
Analysis
With the high reliance of the bullpen over the past week, the Dodgers will depend heavily on the rotation lasting deep into games this series. The bullpen has thrown less than four innings only once in the past 10 games. The Dodgers have won seven games during that stretch and if they win this series, they will have a winning record for the first time this season. The Dodgers also only trail the first place Arizona Diamondbacks by 1.5 games coming into the series.
