Dodgers Vs. Braves Preview: Zack Greinke Closes Out July
The Los Angeles Dodgers continued trending upward with an 8-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, which saw Yasiel Puig come a home run shy of the cycle and Matt Kemp have his second multi-home run game of the season.
The Dodgers come into tonight’s contest riding a season high four-game winning streak and send Zach Greinke (12-6, 2.74 ERA) to the mound. Greinke is coming off a strong performance against the San Francisco Giants in which he pitched seven scoreless innings.
Tonight will be the first time since Game 2 of the 2013 NLDS that Greinke has faced the Braves. He gave up two runs and suffered a loss in that outing.
The Braves are 5-5 in their last 10 games and counter with Alex Wood (7-8, 3.44 ERA). Wood has struggled a bit this season and is 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA this month. The left-hander is coming off a loss where he gave up five runs to the San Diego Padres.
Wednesday is Wood’s first against the Dodgers since he faced them as a reliever in two regular season appearances last season.
The Dodgers offense appears to have found its groove since the team swept a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. In the last seven games, the Dodgers have a .284 collective batting average and have scored 33 runs in that span.
Adrian Gonzalez has contributed with a .400 batting average since the All-Star Break and Puig is hitting .474 in the last seven games. Manager Don Mattingly’s only change in Wednesday’s lineup is Scott Van Slyke starting in left field.
Dodgers Lineup:
2B: Gordon
CF: Puig
1B: Gonzalez
SS: Ramirez
RF: Kemp
LF: Van Slyke
3B: Uribe
C: Ellis
P: Greinke
Braves Lineup:
CF: BJ Upton
2B: La Stella
1B: Freeman
LF: J Upton
C: Gattis
3B: Johnson
SS: Simmons
RF: Schafer
P: Wood
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Dodgers Nation Interview With Dee Gordon
http://youtu.be/5pVz406ah5w