After splitting the first two games of the series, National League West division rivals Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants take the field Wednesday night for the rubber match at Oracle Park.
The pitching matchup features two lefties that seem to be heading in different directions the last couple of years in Hyun-Jin Ryu and Madison Bumgarner.
Ryu is off to a very strong start to this season after a career year in 2018. In his first five starts, the 32-year-old has gone 3-1 with a 2.96 ERA, 3.77 FIP and 1.02 WHIP. He has struck out 33 while walking just two in 27.1 total innings.
The Giants have always been a team that Ryu has fared well against. In 16 career starts against them, he is 6-6 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 63 strikeouts and 20 walks in 88.2 innings.
Bumgarner, a four-time All-Star, is off to one of the worst starts of his career. The 29-year-old has a 1-4 record to go along with a 4.30 ERA, 3.54 FIP and 1.12 WHIP in six starts. He has a total of 35 strikeouts compared to five walks in 37.2 innings.
The southpaw is coming off his worst start of the season when he allowed 11 hits and five runs in 5.2 innings against the New York Yankees last week.
In 33 career games (32 starts) against the Dodgers, Bumgarner is 15-12 with a 2.59 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 202 strikeouts and 43 walks in 208.2 innings.
It is no secret Kiké Hernandez has hit Bumgarner well in is his career, going 21-for-42 (.500 batting average) with five doubles and four home runs. David Freese has also seen Bumgarner well though, earning seven hits in 15 at-bats (.467 batting average) with a home run.
Keeping with what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated wold be the case while A.J. Pollock is out, Alex Verdugo is receiving an opportunity to start against a southpaw. Verdugo is 4-for-11 with one double, two triples, one home run and four RBI when facing left-handed pitching this season.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Kiké Hernandez
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
RF: Cody Bellinger
1B: David Freese
C: Russell Martin
CF: Alex Verdugo
LF: Chris Taylor
P: Hyun-Jin Ryu
Giants lineup:
RF: Steven Duggar
LF: Tyler Austin
1B: Brandon Belt
C: Buster Posey
3B: Evan Longoria
CF: Kevin Pillar
SS: Brandon Crawford
2B: Yangervis Solarte
P: Madison Bumgarner
