Alex Wood makes Dodgers debut, Jimmy Rollins returns to Philadelphia

The Dodgers start off a six-game road trip with a new face and an old friend returning home against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Alex Wood gets the start on the mound making his Dodgers debut, in his fourth start against Philadelphia this season. Wood, acquired last Thursday from the Braves in a three-team, 13-player trade, was excited to join the Dodgers staff.

"Kershaw and Greinke and some of the other guys are probably going to hate me because I'm going to ask them a million questions. In this game especially you can always be learning. There are always things to pick up, even from the mental side," Wood said. "It will be good to pick their brains. It's almost like a fresh start. I feel like I'm back at my first big league camp."

The left-handed Wood has held left-handed batters to hit just .255/.266/.283 this season with 21 strikeouts and two walks. The Phillies have only two left-handed batters in their lineup, first baseman Ryan Howard and center fielder Odubel Herrera.

The Phillies do have five right-handed bats and two switch hitters. Right-handed batters are hitting .297/.362/.419 against Wood in 2015.

Wood struck out seven in his last start for Atlanta, but overall his strikeout rate is down this year, 17.7 percent after a 24.2-percent mark in 2013-2014 combined. Daniel Brim at Dodgers Digest dug deep trying to figure out the root of the decline, and noticed a change in release point this year.

Wood will face a Phillies team and lineup that has been playing much better of late. Since the Phillies dropped to 29-62 (a 111-loss pace), they have won 12 of their last 15 games, hitting .289/.339/.449 and averaging 5.33 runs per game during that span.

Jimmy Rollins is batting leadoff in his return to Philadelphia, where he played 15 seasons and 2,090 games. Rollins is the all-time Phillies leader in hits (2,306), doubles (479) and stolen bases (453), and he is the all-time Citizens Bank Park leader in games (803), hits (904), runs (537), doubles (177) and triples (47).

The Dodgers have won three straight series at Citizens Bank Park, dating back to 2012, and have won eight of their last 10 games in Philadelphia.

The Dodgers on Tuesday will try for their first five-game winning streak since May 7-12.

Game info

Time: 4:05 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA