Brett Anderson opens Dodgers series with Marlins in Miami

The Dodgers make their first trip to the Eastern time zone with this weekend's series against the Marlins in Miami. The club was 12-13 on Eastern time in 2014, including losing two of three games in Miami. In 2013, they went 16-14 in that time zone.

They face a Marlins team that has lost four straight and seven of their last eight games. The club was 16-22 when manager Mike Redmond was fired, with a minus-8 run differential. Under suit Dan Jennings, the Marlins are 14-22, with a minus-22 run differential.

Brett Anderson gets the call for the Dodgers in the opener, with six quality starts in his last seven outings, and a 2.60 ERA since May 1.

The Marlins lead the National League in OPS, slugging percentage and batting average against left-handed pitchers this year, hitting .271/.325/.449. The Dodgers rank 11th, hitting .240/.311/.369 against southpaws.

Justin Nicolino starts for the Marlins, six days after pitching seven scoreless innings in his major league debut. Combining the minors and his one major league start, Nicolino has held left-handed batters to hit .238/.287/.275 against him.

The Marlins are 8-8 in games against left-handed starting pitchers this season, while the Dodgers are 5-8. This is the first time the Dodgers will have faced a left-handed starting pitcher on consecutive days this season.

The Dodgers are 4-7 in the first game of a road series this year, with the only wins coming in San Diego and Denver (twice each). Overall, they are 14-20 on the road, but have outscored their opponents 128-122 away from home.

Giancarlo Stanton leads the majors with 27 home runs and 67 RBI, hitting .269/.350/.615 on the season. He has 12 home runs in June, and is on pace for a whopping 59 homers on the season. He has seven home runs in his last 11 home games.

Also, in case you were wondering:

The roof and operable wall will be CLOSED tonight as the #Marlins open a series with the Dodgers on Nickelodeon Day. pic.twitter.com/85OrIhNYyF

— Marlins Park (@MarlinsPark) June 26, 2015

Game info

Time: 4:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA