Dodgers interleague schedule finally hits home

The Dodgers hope to get back on the beam with a part of their schedule that has been pretty good for them in the last four-plus seasons: interleague play.

With eight games against American League teams already on the books, the Dodgers are tied with Pittsburgh for the most interleague games played this season. Los Angeles begins a nine-game homestand with a quick, two-game set against the Mariners at Dodger Stadium.

Believe it or not, but Tuesday night is the first interleague home game for the Dodgers this season. The previous eight were in AL parks, with the road portion of LA’s interleague schedule concluding with a pair of games in Houston.

So far this season, the Dodgers are 4-4 in interleague play, with the timeline an early microcosm of their season. They won a series in Oakland as part of a 13-2 start, then split two games in Seattle for their first series not won in 2021, and lost a series in Anaheim over the weekend as part of a 5-15 stretch.

But even with the slow start this year, since the start of the 2017 season the Dodgers have the most interleague wins in MLB (58), and the best interleague winning percentage (.6591), narrowly ahead of the Red Sox (.6585).

At home against American League teams during that span, the Dodgers have been even better, 28-12 (.700) over the previous four seasons.

The Dodgers are 12-7 all-time against the Mariners at Dodger Stadium, including winning the last five straight such games, sweeping the series in 2015 and 2020. Seattle last won a series in Los Angeles in 2009.

But the 2021 Dodgers haven’t won any series in the last three weeks, dropping 15 of their last 20 games. The last series the Dodgers didn’t lose was April 19-20, when they split two games in Seattle. Both of those games were decided by one run, with the Mariners winning the opener 4-3, and the Dodgers taking the finale 1-0 behind Julio Urías, who pitches Wednesday in the finale of this series as well.

One-run games have plagued the Dodgers this season, at 4-10 with the most one-run losses in the league. That includes eight losses in nine such games since that 1-0 win in Seattle three weeks ago, thanks to a bullpen getting stretched and tested beyond its limits.

Brotherly duel

The Seager brothers never played against each other until last season, and this marks the fourth two-game series since that seal was broken in 2020. Kyle Seager homered twice last year against the Dodgers, but was 0-for-8 in the two games last month in Seattle.

Corey Seager homered once last year against his brother’s team, and did so again this year in Seattle, making their numbers against the other (in games both are active) fairly similar:

• Corey: 6-for-21, 2 homers, double, 7 RBI, 3 runs, 2 walks, .286/.348/.619
• Kyle: 5-for-21, 2 homers, double, 3 RBI, 4 runs, 4 walks, .238/.360/.571

Corey Seager had three hits in each of the last two games against the Angels in Anaheim. He has never faced Tuesday Mariners starter Yusei Kikuchi.

Game info

Teams: Dodgers (18-17) vs. Mariners (18-17)

Location: Dodger Stadium

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)