The Los Angeles Dodgers bats have come alive in a big way so far in their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, combining for 25 runs in the first two games. Now, they go for the sweep over the Pirates at Dodger Stadium on the Fourth of July.
Getting the start on the mound for the Dodgers is left-hander Rich Hill, who is coming off one of his best starts of the season.
Last week against the Chicago Cubs, Hill gave up six hits and one run in 6.2 innings while striking out a season-high 10 hitters without allowing a walk.
Overall on the season, Hill is 1-3 with a 4.68 ERA, 5.19 FIP and 1.42 WHIP with 46 strikeouts and 16 walks in 42.1 innings of work. He is still making his way back from blister issues that caused him to miss a good chunk of the season.
Hill is pitching against the Pirates for the first time since his infamous 2017 outing at PNC Park when he completed nine no-hit innings, but came away with the loss as the Dodgers could not score any runs and he gave up a walk-off home run to Josh Harrison to lead off the 10th inning, ending his no-hit bid.
Opposing Hill will be 25-year-old right-hander Clay Holmes, who will be making his first career Major League start in place of the injured Joe Musgrove.
Holmes was a ninth-round pick of the Pirates in 2011, and in 13 games (12 starts) for Triple-A Indianapolis this season, he is 6-3 with a 3.39 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. He has 71 strikeouts compared to 30 walks in 66.1 innings.
He was called up earlier and appeared in two games out of the bullpen, allowing two hits, three walks and one run in four innings.
The challenge for Holmes will be slowing down a Dodgers offense that has been on fire the last few days. That is led by Max Muncy, who leads the Dodgers with 20 home runs on the season in just 63 games. Muncy is slashing .378/.511/.946 with seven home runs in his last 11 games.
Pirates catcher Elias Diaz has been swinging a hot bat as well with Francisco Cervelli on the disabled list. In his last 10 games, he’s hitting .353/.378/.676 with a pair of home runs, one of which came in the opener of this series.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Joc Pederson
2B: Max Muncy
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
C: Yasmani Grandal
SS: Chris Taylor
CF: Kiké Hernandez
RF: Yasiel Puig
P: Rich Hill
Pirates lineup:
LF: Austin Meadows
CF: Starling Marte
RF: Gregory Polanco
C: Elias Diaz
1B: David Freese
3B: Colin Moran
SS: Jordy Mercer
2B: Max Moroff
P: Clay Holmes
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