The Los Angeles Dodgers announced their pitchers for their three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend as they look to break out of a brutal slump.
The Dodgers are in the midst of their worst losing streak of the season, losing six in a row while getting swept by both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, and have seen their seemingly insurmountable lead in the NL West shrink to single digits.
While they lost the final game of their series against the Cubs on Wednesday, they showed some positives throughout the game. The bullpen, which has struggled since the beginning of July, only allowed one earned run, and the offense, which hadn’t scored more than five runs in a game during their skid, brought five runners home in one inning.
The Diamondbacks are just eight games behind the Dodgers in the NL West, and this series could shrink that lead to five if the Dodgers fail to end their losing streak. LA will be prepared, though, coming off of a rest day Thursday and fielding some of their most capable pitchers for the series.
Who is Pitching for the Dodgers Against the Diamondbacks?
Friday, Aug. 7
Roki Sasaki will get the ball for the first game of the series, and the right-hander will look to continue his dominant run of starts. He has thrown 18 innings across his last two outings, allowing three earned runs and striking out 21 batters in the process.
On the year, Sasaki has a 4.64 ERA, and has struck out 101 batters through 99 innings pitched.
Sasaki has a career 9.00 ERA in five innings against the Diamondbacks, and will look to improve his record against the divisional foe on Friday.
Saturday, Aug. 8
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the second game of the set following yet another strong start last weekend. Yamamoto last pitched against the Red Sox, allowing just three runs over the course of eight innings, though the Dodgers couldn’t get him any run support in a loss.
Yamamoto has thrown seven or more innings in three of his last five starts, even throwing a complete game against the New York Yankees two weeks ago. His ERA on the seasons sits at 2.76, and he has 121 strikeouts over the course of 133.2 innings pitched so far.
Sunday, Aug. 9
Justin Wrobleski will start the final game of the series as he looks to bounce back from two of his worst starts of the season. Wrobleski has allowed four home runs in each of his last two appearances, matching his total for the entire season beforehand, and has allowed 12 earned runs through 10.1 innings pitched.
His ERA on the season rose to 3.31 following his two outlier appearances, but previously sat comfortably around 2.60.
He held the Diamondbacks scoreless in his last appearance against them, throwing six shutout innings with four strikeouts—though the Dodgers lost that game.
How Have the Dodgers Played Against the Diamondbacks This Season?
This series will be the Dodgers’ final regular-season series against the Diamondbacks, and will decide who wins the season series between the two. They’ve both won five of their 10 games against each other, with both teams earning a three-game sweep while splitting a four-game series at the beginning of June.
The Diamondbacks have outscored the Dodgers 43-40 so far this season, and have won each of the last four matchups between the two teams.
LA needs to break out of their slump against the Diamondbacks, and will look to do so in Friday’s game, which begins at 6:40 p.m. PT.
How do you feel heading into the series?
One Response
After a days rest they must really refocus and play playoff baseball against the DBacks and the upcoming Brewers series. They have to return the favor and sweep the DBacks at their place or they’re going to lose ground and give hope to them and the Padres. Get back to play winning baseball.