Dodgers will try to beat the Mets

The Dodgers will conclude their final East Coast road trip with a weekend visit to Citi Field. They will face a hot Mets team that just swept a four-game series against the Diamondbacks.

The 2019 Dodgers are currently tied with the 2017 Dodgers with their highest winning percentage, .642, in Los Angeles franchise history. In their 62 seasons in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have won 95 or more games 12 times.

The Dodgers will continue to try a lower their magic numbers to clinch home field advantage in the National League playoffs. Any combination of Dodger wins or Cardinal losses equaling four will clinch hosting Games 1 and 2 in the Divisional Series.

Their magic number to clinch overall home field advantage in the National League playoffs is ten. Any combination of Dodger wins or Braves losses will mean the Dodgers will start those series at home.

The Dodgers will have Max Muncy back as he was activated from the 10-day injured list today.

The Mets are still in the Wild-Card race, they are tied with the Phillies and are two-games behind the Cubs and Brewers for the second Wild-Card position.

Both the Dodgers and Mets will have their best on the mound this weekend and with the series ending with a Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, it should be a fun one to watch.

Friday: Clayton Kershaw (13-5, 3.06 ERA) vs. Noah Syndergaard (10-7, 4.06 ERA)

First pitch: 4:10 p.m. PT // SportsNet LA

Clayton Kershaw has had two consecutive sub-par outings after making 23 consecutive six-plus innings starts. Kershaw will likely have only one more full start this season before prepping for his postseason.

This will be Kershaw’s sixth start with six or more days of rest, he has a 4-0 record and 1.95 ERA in those five previous starts, in 32⅓ innings, Kershaw has 40 strikeouts and six walks.

Noah Syndergaard has been vocal about his preference at catcher, requesting either Tomas Nido or Rene Rivera instead of Wilson Ramos. Ramos did start the first three games against the Diamondbacks before not playing on Thursday.

This will be Syndergaard’s fifth career start against the Dodgers. He is 1-0 with a 2.42 ERA, pitching 22⅓ innings, striking out 20.

Saturday: Hyun-Jin Ryu (12-5, 2.45 ERA) vs. Jacob deGrom (9-8, 2.70 ERA)

First pitch: 4:10 p.m. PT // SportsNet LA, KTLA

The Dodgers will hope that Hyun-Jin Ryu will find the form he had for most of this season until the last four starts. Ryu has insisted that it is something mechanical instead of fatigue. Ryu has not pitched this many innings since his first season in 2013 when he had his Dodger high 192 innings pitched.

Ryu and the Dodgers will face Jacob deGrom who is having another fine season. The right-hander has thrown 400 innings in the last two seasons and has 500 strikeouts in that time.

In his last start against the Diamondbacks, deGrom struck out 11 in seven innings.

In the second half of 2019, deGrom is 5-1 in 11 starts. He had pitched 73 innings and has struck out 93. After giving up 14 home runs in 110 innings pitched in the first half, he has only given up five home runs in the second half.

Sunday: Walker Buehler (13-3, 3.14 ERA) vs. Zack Wheeler (11-7, 4.21 ERA)

First pitch: 4:05 p.m. PT // ESPN

Walker Buehler will try to continue the brilliance he had in his last start against the Orioles on Sunday. Buehler now has five starts where he has struck out 11 or more with no walks. No other National League pitcher has more than one start where he has that many strikeouts with no walks.

Zack Wheeler has allowed just one run in each of his three starts. Like deGrom, Wheeler has lowered his home run rate in the second half. He had given up 16 home runs in 119 innings pitched in the first half and he has cut that down to four in 54 innings pitched since the All-Star break.

After this series, both teams will mostly be playing teams under .500 to finish the season. The Dodgers have two of their final 11 games against the Rays and then will conclude with the three under .500 NL West opponents. The Mets will play the Rockies, Reds and Marlins before finishing their season against the Braves.