The Dodgers are in Miami for a 3-game series

The Dodgers are making their way to the east coast to commence on a 6-game road trip. The first stop is Miami, Florida.

LA breezed past the last place Marlins the last time the two faced off, sweeping them in a 3-game set. These two teams are performing at almost opposite levels, with the Marlins having almost as many losses (73) as the Dodgers have wins (79). Since their last meeting, the Dodgers have a 12-6 record while the Marlins as 8-12. To add onto the opposite season stats, the Marlins’ elimination number is 20 while the Dodgers’ magic number is 24.

In the head-to-head record between these two teams, the Dodgers have 108 wins against the Marlins’ 90 wins, equating to a .545 winning percentage for LA.

Game one: Clayton Kershaw (11-2, 2.77 ERA) vs. Jordan Yamamoto (4-3, 4.17 ERA)

Tuesday, Aug. 13 - 4:10 p.m. PDT // TV: SportsNet LA

Though Clayton Kershaw isn’t as dominant as he once was, he is still one of the top pitchers in the game. He boasts the sixth-best ERA (2.77) and eighth-best WHIP (1.04) in all of Major League Baseball. And he’ll be on the mound to open up the series against the Miami Marlins.

It’s typical of Kershaw to be a little off the mark in the beginning of his outings — specifically in the first and third innings, where he’s allowed the most runs to score. He has a 5.85 ERA before recording the first three outs of each game and a 3.60 ERA in the third inning. Kershaw does have a 3.60 ERA in the seventh as well, but it’s a smaller sample size since he’s only gone that far in half of his 20 starts. He’s lights out in all other innings, with a 1.80 ERA or lower.

Facing the veteran left hander will be rookie right hander, Jordan Yamamoto. The young player turned heads in his first two MLB outings, where he combined to throw 14 scoreless innings, but he hasn’t been pitching at that level since mid-July. The 23 year old has a 8.55 ERA since earning his first loss against the Dodgers on July 21. He tossed four total innings in that appearance, giving up a home run to Max Muncy and Joc Pederson.

Game two: Dustin May (0-1, 3.18 ERA) vs. Elieser Hernandez (2-4, 4.94 ERA)

Wednesday, Aug. 14 - 4:10 p.m. PDT // TV: SportsNet LA

Dustin May will pitch in his first major league away game in Miami. He is filling in a spot on the starting rotation while Ross Stripling is on the injured list. Since Stripling suffered a setback in his rehab, Dave Roberts hasn’t given a timeline for his return, so it is unclear how long May will be the fifth starter.

What we do know, however, is May is making a great impression with the Dodgers. He tightened up his game after his decent debut on Aug. 2. The right hander pitched 5 ²⁄₃ innings against the playoff bound Cardinals and only allowed six base runners and one run while dealing seven strikeouts.

Up against May will be Elieser Hernandez, who is coming off one of his best starts of the year. He pitched six scoreless innings against NL East leading Braves, holding opponents to a combined two hits.

However, his last outing against the Dodgers is one he’d rather forget. He pitched ²⁄₃ innings of relief on Aug. 20 where he allowed four runs to score off four hits and two walks, including a Matt Beaty home run. He earned the loss in this outing out of the bullpen.

Game three: Walker Buehler (10-2, 3.08 ERA) vs. Caleb Smith (7-6, 3.71 ERA)

Thursday, Aug. 15 - 12:05 p.m. PDT // TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out-of-market)

Walker Buehler will be on the mound to close the series for the Dodgers. Buehler started off rocky this season and despite a couple of bad outings, he has completely settled down. In his last two outings alone, he has pitched a combined 15 innings and has only allowed nine hits, one run and three walks. His most impressive outings by far this year are his 15 and 16 strikeout games, which came on Aug. 3 against San Diego and June 21 against Colorado, respectively.

Buehler has a nice 2.12 ERA against the Marlins, but this upcoming game will only be his fourth start facing this squad. His previous start against Miami was one of his better starts of the season. He went seven scoreless innings, where he only allowed five hits and delivered 11 strikeouts.

Caleb Smith is headed to the mound for the Marlins in game three. Smith’s last outing against the Braves was not so hot, giving up six runs in 4 ²⁄₃ innings. He has only had one scoreless outing this year, where he held the Phillies to one hit and three walks.

He hasn’t had much experience against the Dodgers in his career, only making one appearance against LA. This start came last season, where he gave up four runs in three innings, resulting in a loss.