The Los Angeles Dodgers begin a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final leg of their road trip. Los Angeles is 5-1 through the first six games of the road trip and enter play Tuesday on a four-game winning streak.
Yasmani Grandal returns after being removed in the eighth inning last Saturday due to back spasms. He did not start or appear in the series finale against the New York Mets, though Steven Matz starting the game also played a role in that.
Grandal this season is batting .268/.315/.471 with 22 doubles, 14 home runs and 41 RBI over 85 games. He catches Kenta Maeda, who with a win will tie Don Newcombe and Fernando Valenzuela for most (27) in first 50 starts with the Dodgers.
Since a disastrous start at Chase Field on April 22 in which he allowed four home runs in just five innings, Maeda is 9-2 with one save and a 2.72 ERA in 15 games (13 starts).
Maeda is coming off seven shutout innings in which he held the Atlanta Braves to just two hits, and had six strikeouts in the road start. He’s allowed one earned run or fewer in eight of the last nine appearances (eight starts).
Overall this season, Maeda is 10-4 with a 3.79 ERA, but he’s 0-1 with a 10 runs allowed in 13 innings over two starts against the Diamondbacks.
Arizona counters with Zack Godley, who’s 5-4 with a 2.86 ERA, 2.98 FIP and 0.99 WHIP in 15 starts this year. The right-hander threw a combined 13 shutout innings, while allowing just seven hits and collecting 12 strikeouts in his last two starts.
Godley allowed one run on three hits, walked one and struck out six over 5.1 innings in a start at Dodger Stadium last month. He’ll need to cool off Chris Taylor, who’s swung the bat particularly well against the Diamondbacks this season.
In five such games (four starts), Taylor is batting .588/.611/.941 with three doubles, one home run and three RBI. Overall, Taylor has at least one extra-base hit in his last four games.
The Dodgers get their first look at J.D. Martinez since he was acquired from the Detroit Tigers. Martinez is 12-for-53 with one double, one triple, six home runs and 15 RBI in 15 games with the Diamondbacks.
Dodgers lineup:
LF: Chris Taylor
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
C: Yasmani Grandal
2B: Logan Forsythe
CF: Joc Pederson
RF: Yasiel Puig
P: Kenta Maeda
Diamondbacks lineup:
LF: David Peralta
CF: A.J. Pollock
3B: Jake Lamb
1B: Paul Goldschmidt
RF: J.D. Martinez
2B: Daniel Descalso
C: Chris Iannetta
SS: Ketel Marte
P: Zack Godley
