Preview: Zach Lee Squares Off With Matt Harvey In MLB Debut

After dominating their way through the first two games of the series, the Los Angeles Dodgers now send Zach Lee to the mound for his Major League debut.

The 2010 first-round draft pick has spent the previous six seasons with the organization working his way up the Minor League ranks. Lee’s 2.36 ERA with Triple-A Oklahoma City is the lowest among all (OKC) starters on the team. Opponents hit just .242 against him and the Dodgers hope he can recreate some of that success against a struggling New York Mets offense.

The Mets counter with Matt Harvey, who was also selected in the first round of the 2010 draft. However, Harvey broke into the Majors much quicker than Lee and made the National League All-Star team in just his second year.

Harvey has been roughed up in recent outings, allowing a combined nine runs over his last 29 innings pitched. He’ll need to improve on that if he hopes to get his club a win. As a team, the Mets have slashed .233/.297/.355 on the season and just .221/.285/.260 in the last seven days.

In an effort to give their offense some life, they called up their first-round pick from the 2014 draft, Michael Conforto, who hit .312 in 45 Double-A games this season. Conforto’s debut didn’t necessarily go as planned, as he went 0-for-3 with one RBI.

While the Mets offense is trending down, the Dodgers are trending up as they lead the league with 122 home runs, 335 walks, and a .330 on-base percentage. Over the last two weeks the Dodgers have slashed .284/.335/.435 with 11 home runs.

With their win Friday the Dodgers are now a season-high 14 games above .500 and started the day with a three-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

Dodgers Lineup

CF: Joc Pederson

2B: Howie Kendrick

3B: Justin Turner

1B: Adrian Gonzalez

RF: Andre Ethier

C: Yasmani Grandal

LF: Carl Crawford

SS: Jimmy Rollins

P: Zach Lee

Mets Lineup

RF: Curtis Granderson

SS: Ruben Tejada

3B: Daniel Murphy

2B: Kelly Johnson

1B: Lucas Duda

LF: Michael Conforto

CF: Kirk Nieuwenhuis

C: Kevin Plawecki

P: Matt Harvey

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