Game 2 Preview: Dodgers Send Zack Greinke To Mound Vs Padres
Just one day after Jimmy Rollins’ three-run home run led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-3 Opening Day victory over the San Diego Padres, the division rivals are back at it.
Zack Greinke will make his season debut on Tuesday night, as the Dodgers will once again host the Padres and right-hander Tyson Ross. Greinke is coming off of an up-and-down spring, in which he missed a start and made a start in a minor-league game.
Ross, who is 27 years old, is coming off the best season of his five-year career. In 31 starts last year he won 13 games with 195 strikeouts and a 2.81 ERA. He was also a National League All-star for the first time. Ross has had some tough luck against the Dodgers in his career. He is 0-4 in six starts, but his ERA is 2.45.
The Dodgers lineup, led by Rollins at the top of the order, will look very similar to the one from Opening Day, except for one change. Catcher Yasmani Grandal will make his Dodger debut against his former team after being acquired for Matt Kemp in the offseason. The 26-year-old will look to provide power and more consistency in the catcher’s slot, a spot where the Dodgers struggled mightily in 2014 (Dodger catchers hit a combined .181 in 2014).
Greinke is 4-0 with a 1.84 ERA in seven career starts against the Padres, but the Padres lineup has never had bats like Kemp and Justin Upton, who is 7-for-14 with a .611 on-base percentage in his career against Greinke.
Carl Crawford is the only Dodgers player that’s really hit Ross hard. He is batting .538 (7-for-13) against him in his career.
Dodgers Lineup:
SS: Jimmy Rollins
RF: Yasiel Puig
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
2B: Howie Kendrick
C: Yasmani Grandal
LF: Carl Crawford
3B: Juan Uribe
CF: Joc Pederson
P: Zack Greinke
Padres Lineup:
CF: Wil Myers
C: Derek Norris
RF: Matt Kemp
LF: Justin Upton
3B: Will Middlebrooks
2B: Jedd Gyorko
1B: Yonder Alonso
SS: Alexi Amarista
P: Tyson Ross
Dodgers 2015 Spring Training – Yasmani Grandal