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Adrian Gonzalez is back in the Dodgers lineup for their series opener against the Giants in San Francisco, after missing the weekend with a flare-up of back problems that have plagued him all season.
Gonzalez, who missed 67 games on two disabled list stints with a herniated disc in his back, had an epidural shot last week and was held out over the weekend in Los Angeles. He last played on Tuesday.
With Gonzalez at first base on Monday night, Cody Bellinger makes his second career start in center field.
Starting lineups
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Giants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Giants |
| LF | Granderson (L) | RF | Pence |
| SS | Seager (L) | 2B | Panik (L) |
| 3B | Turner | CF | Span (L) |
| CF | Bellinger (L) | 1B | Posey |
| RF | Puig | SS | Crawford (L) |
| 1B | Gonzalez (L) | LF | Parker (L) |
| C | Grandal (S) | 3B | Sandoval (S) |
| 2B | Utley (L) | C | Hundley |
| P | Maeda | P | Stratton |
Chris Taylor gets the day off, and Curtis Granderson is playing left field. In an effort to absolutely flood my Twitter mentions, Granderson is leading off, in the midst of of 5-for-57 skid and just 8-for-70 (.114; .262 on-base percentage) as a Dodger.
Checking in with with San Francisco
Buster Posey is still doing Buster Posey things, hitting .320/.406/.465. He only has two home runs in 48 games since the All-Star break, but is hitting .313/.407/.410 during that span.
Pablo Sandoval is back with the Giants, but he is no longer anywhere near the dynamic hitter he was in his glory years with San Francisco. He hit rock bottom last week with an 0-for-39, snapped with a three-run home run on Friday. He has one hit in his last 47 at-bats, and is hitting just .180/.233/.270 in 32 games since rejoining his old team.
The Dodgers have six players with at least 19 home runs for the first time in franchise history. The Giants’ home run leader, Brandon Belt, has 18 home runs, and he has been out with a concussion since the first week of August. San Francisco’s next-highest homer total is 13, by Brandon Crawford.
In 13 games this season, the Dodgers and Giants have played seven one-run contests and had two other games decided in extra innings.