The Los Angeles Dodgers snapped their three-game losing streak against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday and now play host to the Colorado Rockies in the first of six games at Dodger Stadium.
Fresh off a thrilling comeback victory, the Dodgers returned home with even more excitement on the horizon, as top prospect Gavin Lux was officially promoted to the active roster. To make room for the 21-year-old on the 40-man roster, L.A. transferred Tyler White to the 60-day injured list, effectively ending his season.
Lux is starting at second base and batting eighth in what is his highly anticipated MLB debut. He tore the cover off the ball while splitting time between Double A-Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City this season, hitting .347/.421/.607 with 59 extra-base hits, 76 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 113 overall games.
The Dodgers lineup is also notable in that it includes seven of the organization’s own draft picks, plus Matt Beaty is playing third base and A.J. Pollock is in left field.
Lux and the rest of the Dodgers lineup are tasked with solving Rockies right-hander Peter Lambert, who makes his 16th start of the season. He enters with a 2-5 record, 6.63 ERA, 5.92 FIP and 1.63 WHIP in 74.2 innings pitched.
Lambert struggled in his most recent outing against the Boston Red Sox, yielding nine baserunners and five runs over 4.1 innings of work. It concluded a disappointing month of August for the rookie, who posted an 0-3 record, 8.16 ERA and 1.92 WHIP in 28.2 innings (six starts).
Lambert previously faced the Dodgers in back-to-back starts to close out the month of June. He did not factor into the decision on both occasions, pitching to a 7.45 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in 9.2 innings. The 22-year-old allowed 16 hits and recorded just three strikeouts during the stretch.
Opposing Lambert is Walker Buehler in what marks his 26th start of the season. The right-hander brings with him a superb 11-3 record, 3.03 ERA, 2.83 FIP and 1.02 WHIP in 154.1 innings pitched.
Buehler is additionally in the midst of a 13-inning scoreless streak, having not allowed any runs in consecutive outings against the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres. He yielded only nine hits, struck out 19 batters and issued just two walks in those starts.
In his career against the Rockies, Buehler owns a 3-1 record, 3.59 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 66 strikeouts compared to 18 walks over 62.2 innings pitched (13 games, nine starts). In three starts against Colorado this season, Buehler is 2-0 with a 4.58 ERA and 1.12 WHIP across 19.2 innings.
Dodgers lineup:
RF: Joc Pederson
SS: Corey Seager
LF: A.J. Pollock
1B: Cody Bellinger
CF: Chris Taylor
3B: Matt Beaty
C: Will Smith
2B: Gavin Lux
P: Walker Buehler
Rockies lineup:
SS: Trevor Story
RF: Charlie Blackmon
3B: Nolan Arenado
1B: Daniel Murphy
LF: Sam Hilliard
2B: Garrett Hampson
C: Tony Wolters
CF: Yonathan Daza
P: Peter Lambert
