Dodgers Vs. D-Backs Preview: Zack Greinke Looks To Remain Hot In Desert
The Los Angeles Dodgers were able to take two of their three-game series against the Miami Marlins this week, but their single loss was a demoralizing one. After a tough, 13-3 beating and a day’s rest, the Dodgers travel to Arizona for a weekend series against the Diamondbacks.
In the teams’ eight meetings so far this season, the Dodgers have won seven games while outscoring the D-Backs, 46-28. Arizona was plagued by their notoriously unstable starting rotation early on, which worked to the Dodgers advantage as all eight meetings came within the first month of the season. Arizona’s pitching staff still leads the league in runs allowed, but lately, they’ve made strides towards improving.
During the month of May, Arizona starters have gone 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA, and with these improvements, the team has won eight of their last 13 games. The Dodgers will be facing a slightly different team than the one they did earlier this season, and they get their first taste of an improving D-Backs squad with Wade Miley on the mound. The left-hander is 3-3 on the season with a 4.82 ERA. In his last outing against the Chicago White Sox, Miley allowed just two runs and four hits over seven strong innings.
Miley is 0-2 in three starts against the Dodgers this season. He lost the first, in Australia, and suffered his second loss at Dodger Stadium on April 12. The Diamondbacks won Miley’s third outing against the Boys in Blue, but the pitcher took the no-decision.
Zack Greinke takes the mound for the Dodgers today and looks to continue his excellent season. With a 6-1 record, the right-hander has logged an impressive 2.38 ERA and has yet to allow more than two runs in an outing. On the year so far, Paul Goldschmidt and Martin Prado are both 1-for-5 against Greinke, whereas the Dodgers have had much more success against the D-Backs’ starter.
Yasiel Puig is batting a career .364 against Miley, and Dee Gordon and Matt Kemp are both hitting .333 in their careers. With Miley on the mound, both Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier are out of the lineup. In their place is Scott Van Slyke, who hits the lefty well. Juan Uribe is also back in the lineup after missing time with a mild hamstring strain.
Dodgers Lineup
2B: Gordon
RF: Puig
SS: Ramirez
1B: Gonzalez
CF: Kemp
LF: Van Slyke
3B: Uribe
C: Ellis
P: Greinke
Diamondbacks Lineup
RF: Parra
3B: Prado
1B: Goldschmidt
C: Montero
2B: Hill
CF: Pollock
SS: Owings
LF: Inciarte
P: Miley
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