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Alex Wood will take the mound Thursday in Atlanta looking to give the Dodgers the series victory. The lefty will try to start a new winning streak since Los Angeles’ nine-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday.
Wood hasn’t fared well against his old club, going 0-2 while giving up 15 runs (10 earned) in 8.2 innings over two starts since joining the Dodgers in 2015. The Braves roughed him up for nine runs on July 21 to hand Wood his only loss in 2017.
The Dodgers have only played in three previous series that ended in a rubber match this season. The team is 1-2 with losses to the Cubs (April 13) and Giants (May 3) before a win over the Cardinals (May 25).
The Braves will counter with rookie Sean Newcomb who pitched the series finale in Los Angeles on July 23. The left-hander received a no-decision after tossing six innings while giving up three runs on three hits and five walks.
Atlanta has only won two of Newcomb’s nine starts this season since his debut on June 10.
Justin Turner is back in the lineup after taking Wednesday off, aside from a pinch-hitting appearance. One significant improvement for Turner this year has come against left-handed pitching where he is hitting .406/.496/.752 with nine of his 11 homers and 24 RBIs.
Starting Lineups
| Pos | Braves | Pos | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Braves | Pos | Dodgers |
| CF | Inciarte (L) | LF | Taylor |
| 3B | Phillips | SS | Seager (L) |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | 3B | Turner |
| C | Flowers | 1B | Bellinger (L) |
| RF | Markakis (L) | 2B | Forsythe |
| SS | Camargo (S) | C | Barnes |
| LF | Rodriguez | CF | Hernandez |
| 2B | Albies | RF | Puig |
| P | Newcomb (L) | P | Wood |
Cody Bellinger has homered in both games in this series so far and is seven for his last 15 at the plate. It was Bellinger’s 30th homer on Wednesday which makes him just the 10th National League rookie to accomplish the feat. Ryan Braun and Chris Young were the last NL rookies to hit 30 with both coming in 2007.
The Dodgers are only a couple games off the pace of most wins in major league history through 107 games.
The Dodgers have the 3rd most wins through 107 games in the divisional era. pic.twitter.com/2kK5B2DTGP
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 3, 2017
Roster Moves
The Dodgers on Thursday optioned Brock Stewart to Triple-A Oklahoma City in order to make room for newly acquired lefty Tony Cingrani to be activated.
Stewart has allowed only two earned runs in 20.2 innings in eight games (two starts). Cingrani has a 5.40 ERA in 25 appearances over 23.1 innings with 24 strikeouts and only six walks.
Cingrani just got on team bus & introduced himself to every media member. I have never seen that in my 13+ years of broadcasting. Very nice.
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) August 3, 2017