Series preview: Dodgers look to get back in win column in Seattle

The Dodgers’ winning streak was snapped on Sunday afternoon, and now their record is only... *checks notes* 13-3. I think they’ll be just fine.

LA will travel to Seattle to take on the Seattle Mariners for a quick two-game series before heading home to take on the Padres again for a four-game series. Though this is a brief stop in Seattle, don’t overlook this young Mariners team. Granted, it’s early in the season, but they currently are in first place in the AL West at 10-6. This isn’t the Mariners team of old, they actually look to be pretty good.

Monday: Dustin May (1-0, 1.74 ERA) vs. Justus Sheffield (0-1, 4.94 ERA)

This will be the third start of the season for Dustin May. After a scoreless outing to begin his season, May allowed two runs in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings last week against Colorado. He was cruising through the first four innings, but really got into trouble in that fifth inning after five Rockies players reached on him. Overall, it’s been a very impressive start to the season for the young righty. Most notably, his strikeout numbers are at a career-high. We talked about it a lot during spring training, saying that May could find great success if his SO/9 number were to go up. Granted, it’s been two starts, but making the jump from 7.1 to 12.2 is definitely an encouraging sign.

Like May, this will be the third start of the season for Justus Sheffield. He didn’t have a great first outing, as he allowed six runs in five innings of work. His last start was a great bounce back though, as he allowed only two runs on three hits in six innings of action. Through his career, Sheffield hasn’t pitched exceptionally well at home in Seattle. In 11 games he owns a 4.72 ERA and a WHIP of 1.54.

Tuesday: Julio Urias (2-0, 3.86 ERA) vs. Marco Gonzales (1-1, 8.22 ERA)

After a dominant first outing of the season in Colorado, the last two starts haven’t been as smooth for Julio Urias. In his last two games versus Washington and Colorado, the lefty has allowed eight runs to score on 16 hits in 11 ²⁄₃ innings (5.40 ERA). He’s also allowed three home runs.

Entering the season, Marco Gonzales was expected to be the Mariners No. 1 starter. So far this year, he’s been anything but that. Considering the team is in first place with their top starter struggling is definitely an encouraging sign if he’s able to return to form. He was fine in his last start, as he allowed only two runs in five innings of work. It was his first two outings that really hurt, as he allowed 12 runs on 17 hits in 10 innings of action. Still, this is a pitcher who has shown he’s capable of having shutdown stuff. He owned a 3.10 ERA last season and had the best SO/BB rate (9.14) in all of baseball.