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Cody Bellinger gets a rare center field start on Wednesday against the Marlins, his first outfield start of the season.
Bellinger played eight innings in right field and two innings in left field this season, both in reserve. He made 43 outfield starts for the Dodgers in his rookie season, including three in center field.
Starting lineups
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Marlins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Marlins |
| 2B | Utley (L) | 3B | Prado |
| LF | Pederson (L) | C | Realmuto |
| 3B | Turner | 2B | Castro |
| C | Grandal (S) | 1B | Bour (L) |
| CF | Bellinger (L) | RF | Anderson |
| SS | Taylor | LF | Dietrich (L) |
| 1B | Muncy (L) | SS | Rojas |
| RF | Puig | CF | Brinson |
| P | Buehler | P | Hernandez |
The Marlins switched things up a bit, bumping scheduled starter Caleb Smith, a left-hander, to Thursday morning. On Wednesday, right-hander Elieser Hernandez will make his first major league start. Hernandez has allowed a run in three innings in his two relief appearances this season. He was a Rule 5 pick from the Astros in December.
With the right-hander on the mound the Dodgers went with the left-handed Max Muncy at first base. Muncy is hitting .232/.328/.446 in 22 games this season, including .220/.316/.460 against right-handed pitchers.
Counting the switch-hitting Yasmani Grandal at catcher, the Dodgers have five left-handed batters in the starting lineup against Hernandez.
Matt Kemp sits after starting the Dodgers’ last 13 games. He has two hits in his last 22 at-bats. Kemp started 18 of the Dodgers’ first 26 games against right-handed pitchers this season.
Kiké Hernandez also sits but that’s less of a surprise since he has only started four of the last (now) 17 games against righties. He is 7-for-46 (.152/.235/.326) over his last 18 games.
The Dodgers are hitting .216/.304/.357 and averaging 3.08 runs per game in May.