Fresh off a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue their road trip with a highly anticipated matchup against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The visit to Houston is the Dodgers’ second since the Astros were discovered to have illegally stolen signs during the 2017 season en route to winning the World Series.
It didn’t take long for tensions to flare up last year as Joe Kelly got into a verbal exchange with Carlos Correa that sparked a benches-clearing incident in their first of four meetings of the season.
The right-hander received an initial eight-game suspension but appealed the ruling and had it reduced to five.
As the Dodgers get set for another showdown with the Astros, manager Dave Roberts is expecting an exciting, but more calm series this time around. “These are two different clubs, two very good ballclubs. We’re almost four years removed,” he said.
“I know we’re excited to play this club, go back in there and win a couple ballgames. I expect the crowd to be energized, and that’s what it’s all about.”
The Dodgers and Astros both are within one game of first place in their respective divisions, so the two-game series at Minute Maid Park should be plenty competitive. L.A. enters having won 11 of their last 12 games, while Houston is mired in a three-game losing streak.
Both contests have interesting storylines as well, with Tuesday’s opener featuring a pitchers’ duel between Clayton Kershaw and former Dodgers teammate Zack Greinke.
The finale will see Trevor Bauer start against the Astros, who was one of the most outspoken players in the wake of the organization’s sign-stealing scandal.
After the series in Houston, the Dodgers and Astros will meet two more times this season at Dodger Stadium from Aug. 3-4. Chavez Ravine will be back at full capacity by that point, so Houston can expect to hear it from the more than 50,000 Dodgers fans in attendance each game.
Kelly excited for ‘fun baseball atmosphere’ in Astros series
With Dodger Stadium returning to full capacity on June 15, Minute Maid Park will have a full house beginning with this week’s series against the Dodgers.
Kelly is looking forward to the setting, even though he’ll likely be booed by Astros fans.
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