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The Dodgers will be looking for their first return on investment Friday night in New York when Yu Darvish debuts for his new team. Darvish will face an inconsistent Mets team that sends their ace to the hill in Jacob deGrom.
Expectations were sky high even before the Dodgers traded three minor leaguers for Darvish July 31. The team believes their big right-hander can recover from a July that saw Darvish post a 7.20 ERA in five starts.
The Mets have won 14 of deGrom’s 21 starts this season and had won eight straight until his last time out in a tough luck loss to Seattle. The right-hander is 12-4 with a 3.29 ERA and 10.4 strikeouts per nine.
Starting Lineups
| Pos | Mets | Pos | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Mets | Pos | Dodgers |
| CF | Conforto (L) | LF | Taylor |
| 3B | Cabrera (S) | SS | Seager (L) |
| 1B | Bruce (L) | 3B | Turner |
| LF | Cespedes | 1B | Bellinger (L) |
| RF | Granderson (L) | CF | Pederson (L) |
| 2B | Walker (S) | C | Grandal |
| SS | Rosario | 2B | Utley |
| C | d'Arnaud | RF | Puig |
| P | deGrom (L) | P | Darvish |
Yasiel Puig will once again occupy the eighth spot in the Dodgers order. The Wild Horse is hitting .312/.372/.527 with five homers, three doubles and a triple in his last 26 starts.
Chris Taylor has been a road warrior this season, hitting .355/.428/.589 with 17 extra-base hits. Taylor hit his 13th homer of the season in the Dodgers win Thursday in Atlanta.
The Mets have a pair of lefties that have hit well over the last month. Michael Conforto has hit .314/.379/.616 with seven homers while Jay Bruce is hitting .281/.312/.584 with eight homers during that span.
The Dodgers swept four games in Los Angeles June 19-22, scoring 36 runs in the series.