Although the Los Angeles Dodgers had a winning record on their road trip, they head into the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on yet another two-game losing streak.
Both teams enter the series playing below their expectations, with the Dodgers at 13-13 for second place in the National League West and the Cardinals at 10-16, good for last in the NL Central. For the Dodgers, it is their worst start through 26 games since they were 12-14 during the 2018 campaign.
Dustin May takes the mound for his sixth start of the season and the second time in his career against the Cardinals.
The right-hander has gone 2-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 19 strikeouts across 29.1 innings this year. Among qualified pitchers, May ranks fifth in WHIP, third in opponent’s batting average (.167) and third in opponents’ OPS (.499).
With a victory tonight, May would match his career high in wins with three, previously set during the 2020 season.
He holds a career ERA of 3.23 with a 1.06 WHIP in 173 innings.
The Cardinals counter with Jack Flaherty, who has been a lone bright spot in their rotation. Once considered one of the better starters in baseball, the Burbank, Calif., native has dealt with injuries and struggled to regain his form, but he is in the midst of a rebound year.
Through 27.1 innings, the right-hander has pitched to a 3.29 ERA with 26 strikeouts and a 1.35 WHIP. Flaherty’s WHIP is a bit inflated after struggling with walks to begin the year, giving up 13 free passes in his first 10 innings, but he has since cut that to six in his last 18.1 innings.
Over his career, Flaherty owns a 3.40 ERA AND 1.12 WHIP in 550.2 innings.
The Dodgers lineup has some reinforcements with Max Muncy and Will Smith both being activated. Smith returns from the seven-day concussion injured list while Muncy is back from the paternity list.
To make room for the pair, J.D. Martinez was placed on the 10-day injured list while Luke Williams was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Dodgers lineup has not faced Flaherty much, with Jason Heyward leading the way with 18 plate appearances against him and a .111 average. Freddie Freeman has faced him eight times while batting .375.
Dodgers lineup
SS: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
DH: Will Smith
3B: Max Muncy
RF: Jason Heyward
CF: James Outman
2B: Miguel Vargas
LF: David Peralta
C: Austin Barnes
Cardinals lineup
CF: Lars Nootbaar
1B: Paul Goldschmidt
DH: Nolan Gorman
3B: Nolan Arenado
C: Willson Contreras
RF: Alec Burleson
LF: Tyler O’Neill
2B: Brendan Donovan
SS: Paul DeJong
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