Game 4 Preview: Brett Anderson Makes 2015 And Chase Field Debut

Coming off Adrian Gonzalez’s three home-run night Wednesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers now begin a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night at Chase Field. Gonzalez carries with him a hot bat and looks to continue rolling in a stadium where he’s had great success and enjoys hitting.

While the Gonzalez storyline is certainly one to watch, so too is Brett Anderson making his regular season debut and the first start of his career at Chase Field. Friday marks the first day of what Anderson hopes will be a bounce-back season for him.

Due to various injuries, the left-hander managed to make just eight starts last season with the Colorado Rockies, finishing 1-3 with a 2.91 ERA. His tendency to be a groundball pitcher may be put to the test by the thin air in Arizona, though Anderson allowed just one home run during Spring Training.

Although Anderson hasn’t faced the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, he did make a start against them last season, throwing six innings and allowing five runs (two unearned) in what was his second start and loss of the 2014 season.

The Diamondbacks meanwhile counter with an of their own Anderson, though named Chase and a right-hander. After being called up in May, Chase went 9-7 with a 4.01 ERA for a Diamondbacks rotation that collectively struggled.

Chase faced the Dodgers three times last season with one of the games coming at home in what was his second career Major-League start. The right-hander allowed five runs in 5.1 innings and earned a win largely by benefitting from Clayton Kershaw having one of the worst outings of his career.

Chase is 1-1 with a 4.96 ERA against the Dodgers in his young career. Aside from needing to solve Gonzalez, Chase has been susceptible to the long ball. Carl Crawford, Gonzalez, Yasmani Grandal and Yasiel Puig all have at least one home run against the Diamondbacks’ starter; Grandal has hit two.

The Dodgers again send out the same lineup for a third straight game. An additional factor to keep an eye on is Grandal has yet to throwout a baserunner attempting to steal while the Diamondbacks come into the series with just one stolen base.

Given that the managers of both clubs seemed to bury the hatchet over the tension that surfaced during Spring Training, there shouldn’t be any extracurricular activity during the three-game series.

Dodgers Lineup

SS: Jimmy Rollins

RF: Yasiel Puig

1B: Adrian Gonzalez

2B: Howie Kendrick

C: Yasmani Grandal

LF: Carl Crawford

3B: Juan Uribe

CF: Joc Pederson

P: Brett Anderson

Diamondbacks Lineup

CF: A.J. Pollock

LF: Ender Inciarte

1B: Paul Goldschmidt

RF: Mark Trumbo

3B: Aaron Hill

2B: Chris Owings

C: Tuffy Gosewisch

SS: Nick Ahmed

P: Chase Anderson

Carl Crawford Discusses Stealing Bases And Health