Clayton Kershaw faces Archie Bradley in middle game of series

The Dodgers turn to Clayton Kershaw in the second game of their weekend series against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix. He will be paired up against Arizona's top prospect Archie Bradley, making his major league debut.

Kershaw allowed three runs in six innings on opening day, striking out nine. It was his 24th consecutive regular season start allowing three or fewer runs for Kershaw, dating back to 2014. The last start with more runs allowed was his seven-run blow-up start last May 17, in Arizona.

Bradley, 22, like Kershaw was drafted No. 7 overall, in 2011 by the Diamondbacks. He was rated the No. 11 prospect in baseball heading into this season by Baseball Prospectus, rated No. 15 by MLB.com, and No. 25 by Baseball America. That was down from ninth, fifth and ninth, respectively entering 2014 after a 4.45 ERA in 18 starts between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno last year, with 75 strikeouts and 49 walks in 83 innings, sidelined for two months with an elbow strain.

Bradley is just the second starting pitcher to make his major league debut against Kershaw. The first was Brandon Cumpton of the Pirates, who allowed three runs in five innings on June 15, 2013. Kershaw allowed one run in seven innings and left with a 3-1 lead, a game eventually won by the Dodgers in extra innings.

Notes

Yasiel Puig and Juan Uribe get days off on Saturday, with Andre Ethier starting in right field and Justin Turner at third base. As expected, A.J. Ellis is catching Kershaw.

Carl Crawford bats second for the first time this season, carrying an 11-game hitting streak into Saturday's game. Crawford is hitting .400/.442/.550 (16-for-40) during the streak, which is two games shy of his career high, which he's done four times, last in 2009.

Kershaw enters Saturday with 1,454 career strikeouts, three shy of passing Orel Hershiser for sixth place on the Dodgers all-time franchise leaderboard.

Gerald Laird was originally in Arizona's lineup behind the plate, planning to pair him with Bradley, but was scratched with back issues per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. That means Tuffy Gosewisch starts at catcher for a second straight game in the series.

The Dodgers finished 15-4 against the Diamondbacks in 2014, including winning their first six road games against Arizona. This year, that first loss came in the first road game.

Game info

Time: 5:10 p.m.

TV: SportsNet LA