Coming off a 4-1 road trip that included a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers get another look at their longtime rival. The team enter play tied for second place in the National League West and trailing the San Diego Padres by 1.5 games.
Alex Wood gets another crack at his former teammates, six days after facing them at Oracle Park. Wood allowed just two runs despite giving up eight hits over six innings. One of those was to Chris Taylor on a two-run home run.
“We’ve obviously seen Woody pitch over the last couple years, so we kind of have an idea of how he attacks hitters,” Taylor said after the Dodgers’ 2-1 win. “He’s going to mix his stuff, he’s going to try to make good pitches on the corners.
“We were just trying to be disciplined, really kind of wait him out and take advantage of when he did make a mistake. That’s what I was able to do on that 2-0 swing. I got a pretty good pitch in the middle of the plate and just tried to use the whole field. Not trying to do too much. Big things happen when you think little.”
The loss last week was Wood’s first of the season. He enters 5-1 with a 1.93 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in seven starts.
Still without a fifth starter since Dustin May’s injury, the Dodgers again turn to a bullpen game. David Price was tabbed as the opener for the second time this season. He hasn’t pitched since throwing one inning against the Giants.
Although a challenging situation, the Dodgers have managed relatively well with their string of bullpen games. “It’s not ideal,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I think the credit goes to the starting pitchers. We feel that having four guys that can give you a really good chance to go deep in games certainly gives us a fighting chance for the bullpen days. But again, not ideal.”
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
3B: Justin Turner
SS: Chris Taylor
2B: Max Muncy
1B: Albert Pujols
C: Austin Barnes
LF: Sheldon Neuse
CF: DJ Peters
P: David Price
Giants lineup
CF: Austin Slater
RF: Mike Yastrzemski
2B: Donovan Solano
LF: Alex Dickerson
3B: Evan Longoria
SS: Brandon Crawford
C: Curt Casali
1B: Jason Vosler
P: Alex Wood
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