Editorials

Preview: Aces Square Off With Kershaw Taking On Bumgarner

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers saw their seven-game win streak snapped by the San Francisco Giants Tuesday night, as the two teams squared off for the first time this season. The rivals are back at it Wednesday night, as the Dodgers send their ace, Clayton Kershaw to the mound for his fourth start of the season. The Giants will counter with an ace of their own, Madison Bumgarner.

The two lefties have struggled a bit so far in this young season. Kershaw is currently 1-1 with a 4.42 ERA, although he is leading the league in strikeouts with 26. He picked up his first win of the season in his last start when he struck out 12 Colorado Rockies in six innings of work. However, Kershaw has seen some success in his career in San Francisco. He is 8-2 with a 0.84 ERA in 11 career starts.



Bumgarner, who was the MVP of last year’s World Series, picked up a victory in his first start of the year but has struggled since. He is 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA. Bumgarner has had some success against the Dodgers in his career though. He is 11-5 with a 2.56 ERA as a starter against the Dodgers.

Right-handed batters are batting .308 against Bumgarner so far this season, so Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has decided to fill his lineup with all right-handed hitters. That means Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Joc Pederson are all out of the lineup. Justin Turner, who will be making his second start of the season, will replace Gonzalez at first base. The Dodgers also called up right-handed outfielder Chris Heisey to start in center field. Heisey will likely be optioned back to Triple-A after the game so Mike Bolsinger can be called up to make a spot start Thursday.

Surprisingly, Kershaw has been the most successful Dodger hitter against Bumgarner. He is 3-for-5 off of his left-handed counterpart in his career.

While the Dodgers seven-game win streak was snapped in the first game of the series, they still lead the division with a 9-4 record. The Giants find themselves at the bottom of the division early on this season, as they are already five games back of the Dodgers at 5-10.

Dodgers Lineup

SS: Jimmy Rollins

1B: Justin Turner

RF: Yasiel Puig

2B: Howie Kendrick

LF: Scott Van Slyke

CF: Chris Heisey

3B: Juan Uribe

C: A.J. Ellis

P: Clayton Kershaw

Giants Lineup

LF: Nori Aoki

2B: Matt Duffy

CF: Angel Pagan

C: Buster Posey

RF: Justin Maxwell

1B: Brandon Belt

3B: Joaquin Arias

SS: Brandon Crawford

P: Madison Bumgarner

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Vin Scully Speaks At Dodgers FanFest


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