Preview: Zack Greinke, Dodgers Go For Series Sweep Against Reds
The Los Angeles Dodgers look to salvage an eight-game road trip that started with five straight losses by sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in Thursday afternoon’s matchup.
The National League West leaders come into the game 2.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants and will send Zack Greinke to the mound hoping to extend their winning streak to three games. As for Greinke, he’s hoping to start a streak of his own after his 11-start unbeaten streak ended last weekend against the Houston Astros. While he pitched well, allowing only three hits in seven strong innings, two of those hits were solo home runs and the Dodgers didn’t provide him with much run support. The right-hander looks to rebound against the team he one-hit earlier this month.
Anthony DeSclafani will start for Cincinnati as he seeks his first win since August 4. In his three starts since then, the rookie right-hander has pitched 17 innings allowing 26 hits and 11 earned runs. He pitched against the Dodgers on August 16, allowing two runs on home runs by Joc Pederson and Zack Greinke. Overall, DeSclafani has a 7-9 record with a 3.97 ERA.
After using the same starters in back-to-back wins, Don Mattingly made a few changes to the Dodgers lineup. Joc Pederson gets the start in center field instead of the hot-hitting Kiké Hernandez, who has a .351 batting average in the month of August. Yasmani Grandal returns to the lineup after missing the last three games due to shoulder soreness. Lastly, Andre Ethier will start in left field. Scott Van Slyke, who homered in Wednesday’s game, had started the past two nights but with a right-hander on the mound Mattingly elected to start the left-handed Ethier.
The Dodgers look to earn their first series sweep since they defeated the Los Angels Angels of Anaheim in a three-game series at the beginning of the month.
Dodgers Lineup:
SS Jimmy Rollins
2B Chase Utley
3B Justin Turner
LF Andre Ethier
RF Yasiel Puig
C Yasmani Grandal
CF Joc Pederson
P Zack Greinke
Reds Lineup:
LF Skip Schumaker
3B Todd Frazier
1B Joey Votto
2B Brandon Phillips
SS Eugenio Suarez
RF Jay Bruce
CF Jason Bourgeois
C Tucker Barnhart
P Anthony DeSclafani
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