Dodgers and Diamondbacks to play four in Phoenix

The Dodgers make their last regular season visit to Chase Field to play four games against the Diamondbacks. They come into to their final August series with a single-digit magic number, any combination of wins or losses numbering nine will eliminate Arizona.

It should be noted, the magic number to eliminate the Giants is eight, so it could well be that the Giants are in second place after this series, though that remains to be seen.

This series will also be the last with the 25-man active roster; on Sunday, teams can expand their active roster up to all 40 players on their roster. Expect some players to arrive immediately before the Dodgers return to Los Angeles.

Thursday: Hyun-Jin Ryu (12-4, 2.00 ERA) vs. Merrill Kelly (9-13, 4.86 ERA)

First pitch: 6:40 p.m. PT // SportsNet LA

The Dodgers continue their six-man rotation at least through Saturday on this trip. Hyun-Jin Ryu will look to bounce back from his last two starts.

In three prior starts this season against the Diamondbacks, Ryu is 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA in 20 innings. Ryu has struck out 14 and walked one in those starts.

Kelly has pitched 146⅓ innings in his rookie season. The right-hander has pitched better at home with a 3.66 ERA and 7.5 strikeout to walk ration at Chase Field versus a 6.00 ERA and a 1.6 strikeout to walk ratio on the road.

Friday: Tony Gonsolin (2-1, 2.74 ERA) vs. Zac Gallen (2-4, 2.56 ERA)

First pitch: 6:40 p.m. PT // SportsNet LA

Tony Gonsolin will make his second start against the Diamondbacks and his fifth start overall on Friday. Since that first start, Gonsolin has not given up more than one run in any of his last four appearances.

Gonsolin has struck out only two batters in his last two starts, overall he has 17 strikeouts and three walks total in his first five games in the majors.

Zac Gallen will be making his second 2019 start against the Dodgers and he will have made them in two different uniforms. Gallen started for the Miami Marlins against the Dodgers in July and pitched well. The right-handed thrower went 5⅓ innings and gave up two runs (one earned) and three hits. He did walk four while striking out five in that game.

Saturday: Clayton Kershaw (13-3, 2.76 ERA) vs. Robbie Ray (11-7, 3.86 ERA)

First pitch: 5:10 p.m. PT // SportsNet LA, KTLA

Over Clayton Kershaw’s career, he has pitched the most against his National League West opponents. And there are two ballparks where his ERA is much more than run higher than his career 2.42 ERA.

One of those two is Coors Field, that is the stadium where he has his highest career ERA at 4.60. The second is Chase Field where in 16 games, he has a 3.84 ERA.

Kershaw has made one start this season against the Diamondbacks and it was a Chase Field. He gave up four runs in six innings pitched and took the loss.

Kershaw has pitched at least six innings in all 23 starts this season. He has tied a career high streak of 23 games, the only other time he has done this was in 2015.

Robbie Ray will be making his fifth start this season against the Dodgers. He is 0-2 this season and in 24⅓ innings, Ray has allowed 11 runs and 15 hits. The southpaw has struck out 34 Dodgers while walking 12.

Sunday: TBD vs. Alex Young (6-3, 3.81 ERA)

First pitch: 1:10 p.m. PT // SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out-of-market only)

The Dodgers will welcome September in Arizona and while it is unknown exactly who will be coming up from the minors, manager Dave Roberts has begun to drop some hints about some of the rehabbing Dodgers who should be available once the rosters expand.

Ross Stripling could be available on Sunday given he will have four days off between his rehab appearance and Sunday.

The Dodgers could also have JT Chargois, Josh Sborz and Jaime Schultz available from Oklahoma City.

Young will making his second start and third appearance against the Dodgers in his rookie season.

In his only start, the left-handed pitcher gave up four runs and five hits in 3⅓ innings at Dodger Stadium.