After breaking out of their slump with a 10 inning slug fest last night, the Dodgers send their ace to the hill Saturday at 7 to attempt to cool off the hot hitting Astros. Clayton Kershaw is coming off a difficult loss in Arizona, falling victim to the long ball as he allowed 4 runs in 6.1 innings recording his 5th loss of the season. A home contest against the Astros should be a welcome sight for the left hander.
Opposite Kershaw is the 32 year old veteran Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez has never been flashy, but he continues to put up solid numbers. Rodriguez is putting up a sub 4.00 xFIP for the fourth year in a row and enters the contest with a line of 3.52 / 3.96 / 3.67.
Notes:
- Wandy Rodriguez has posted a 1.15 ERA in his career at Dodger Stadium in 6 appearances; lowest all time at Dodger Stadium for pitchers with a minimum of 5 starts.
- Since joining the Dodgers, Juan Rivera is posting a wOBA of .383 which would be good for 4th amongst left fielders in major league baseball.
- Coming into the game, Clayton Kershaw is 4th in the National League with a WAR of 4.5 trailing the incredible Phillies trio of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.
- The Dodgers have 14 shutout victories this season which is second most in MLB (along with Texas) and one behind Philadelphia.
Game Time: 7:10 p.m
Television: Prime Ticket