After a quick two-game sweep of the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers will travel to Cincinnati where they’ll take on the Reds for three games.
The Dodgers have won three in a row, and seven of their last 10, as they currently sit a top the NL West. The Reds, who have gone 5-5 in their last 10, currently sit at 19-24 and are 7.5 games out of first place in the NL Central.
These two teams met at Dodger Stadium last month, with the Dodgers taking the three-game series sweep.
An interesting tidbit on the Reds, as they currently have the third highest run differential (+29) in the national league, but the fourth worst record in the NL. That’s baseball for you.
Friday: Rich Hill (0-1, 4.20 ERA) vs. Anthony DeSciafani (2-1, 4.17 ERA)
First pitch: 4:10 pm PT
Three starts into his season, Hill has struggled to be effective from beginning to end. In his last start against Washington, he allowed all three of his runs in the first inning. He settled down, going scoreless the rest of the way, but was only able to last five innings due to his high pitch count from the first. On the year, Hill has been dominant against left-handed batters. holding them to a .154 average.
Anthony DeSciafani didn’t face the Dodgers in the last series. He’s been efficient all year, but is coming off one of his worst starts of the season. In his last outing, he lasted only four innings, as he allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out only two.
Saturday: Walker Buehler (4-0, 4.15 ERA) vs. Tyler Mahle (0-5, 3.97 ERA)
First pitch: 4:10 pm PT
Walker Buehler is coming off his best start of the season with LA. On Saturday, he threw seven scoreless innings against the Nationals while adding seven strikeouts. After a few rough starts to begin the year, Buehler has began to settle down on the mound. He’s gone seven innings in back-to-back starts, and has at least seven punch-outs in each start as well. His walk numbers are down as well, as he’s only issued two free passes over his last three starts. In his start against the Reds last month, he struck out eight in 6 1⁄3 innings, while allowing no earned runs.
Tyler Mahle doesn’t have a win on the season, though he ERA is actually lower than Buehler’s. His worst start actually came against LA last month, as he allowed four runs on 11 hits. In his last outing against San Francisco, Mahle allowed four runs, as well as two home runs. Though, he did strike out eight.
Sunday: Hyun-Jin Ryu (5-1, 1.72 ERA) vs. Tanner Roark (3-2, 3.50 ERA)
First pitch: 10:10 am PT
At the moment, you can make the argument that Hyun-Jin Ryu has been the best pitcher in the National League this season. He is near the top in wins (5), ERA (1.72) and WHIP (0.726). His strikeout-to-walk ratio (18:1) is also the best in baseball. He’s thrown at least seven innings in four consecutive starts, and is coming off an outing where he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Over his last four starts, he’s allowed only three runs, while striking out 31 and walking only one.
Over his last seven starts, Tanner Roark has allowed more than three runs only once. He’s been a very good fit so far this season with the Reds. He’s limiting the damage with runs, but he has really struggled with his command. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is just a little better than 2:1, and has 14 walks over his last six starts.