The Los Angeles Dodgers lost their first game Tuesday night since July 2 to a team not named the Atlanta Braves as Jake Lamb’s seventh-inning grand slam propelled the Arizona Diamondbacks to a comeback victory.
Wednesday is a new day, and if the 2017 Dodgers have done one thing particularly well it’s turning the page. The second game of the series at Chase Field is a matchup between two of the National League’s best pitchers this season in Zack Greinke and Alex Wood.
Wood brings a stellar 13-1 record into the game to go along with a 2.33 ERA, 2.56 FIP and 1.02 WHIP in 19 appearances (17 starts). He has struck out 112 and walked 29 in 104.1 innings of work.
Wood has struggled a bit in recent starts, however, yielding a 6.11 ERA in his last three outings (17.2 innings), although managing to go 2-1 in that span.
In 11 career games (seven starts) against Arizona, Wood is 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. All-Star first baseman Paul Goldscmidt has face Wood the most among his Diamondbacks teammates, going 5-for-17 with two home runs and four walks.
A.J. Pollock is not far behind Goldschmidt, as he’s 6-for-13 with two home runs of his own off the Dodgers starter.
After a rough first season in Arizona, Greinke has really bounced back in 2017. In 22 starts, he’s 13-4 with a 3.10 ERA, 3.24 FIP and 1.03 WHIP, while striking out 157 compared to 27 walks in 142.1 innings.
Greinke has been phenomenal at Chase Field this year, as in 12 starts he’s a perfect 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA and 0.85 WHIP.
In eight career starts against his former team, Greinke is 3-3 with a 4.34 ERA. Corey Seager has had plenty of success when facing Greinke, going 6-for-9 with two home runs and four walks.
Seager has been red-hot as of late, hitting .450/.522/.800 with three home runs and five RBIs in his last 10 games. Justin Turner has also broke out of a bit of a slump in his last three games, going 6-for-13 with four home runs.
Two of those home runs came in Tuesday night’s series opener. Turner has a homered in a career-best three consecutive games.
Tuesday’s hero, Lamb, is having a stellar season for the Diamondbacks, building off his 2016 breakout campaign. The 26-year-old has launched 25 home runs to go along with 90 RBIs, which ranks second in all of baseball.
Lamb has struggled against southpaws this season though, as he is hitting just .152/.271/.359 compared to .304/.410/.597 against righties.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Chris Taylor
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
C: Yasmani Grandal
2B: Chase Utley
CF: Joc Pederson
RF: Yasiel Puig
P: Alex Wood
Diamondbacks lineup:
LF: David Peralta
2B: Adam Rosales
CF: A.J. Pollock
1B: Paul Goldschmidt
RF: J.D. Martinez
SS: Ketel Marte
3B: Jake Lamb
C: Jeff Mathis
P: Zack Greinke
