Dodgers on Deck: August 28 vs. Diamondbacks

The Dodgers are back home for a week-long homestand beginning Monday night with the Diamondbacks in town. It’s the last series of the year between these two teams, with Arizona in a dogfight for a wild card berth in the National League.

The D-backs started August with nine consecutive losses, including losing twice to the Dodgers at home on August 8-9. But since then, Arizona is 11-3 and enter Sunday in third wild card position, a half-game up on the Reds and a half-game behind the Cubs for second wild card position.

Arizona has also moved back into second place in the NL West, but are a whopping 12 games behind the Dodgers.

Bobby Miller starts the series opener Monday night at Dodger Stadium, and amazingly for the first time in his 16 major league starts will face a team for a second time. Miller pitched six scoreless innings at Chase Field in Phoenix on August 9. He pitched into the seventh inning that night for the first time in his career, though he didn’t retire either batter he faced in the frame.

Miller has pitched into the seventh twice in his last three starts, and his 5.44 innings per start trails only Lance Lynn, Clayton Kershaw, and Julio Urías on the team. Miller has a 3.11 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break.

D-backs ace Zac Gallen starts the opener, coming off an 11-strikeout performance last Tuesday against the Rangers, the fifth double-digit-strikeout game for the right-hander this season. Gallen has a 3.11 ERA with 179 strikeouts in 168 innings this season, and in August he’s at 2.01 in five starts, with 36 strikeouts and only six walks.

Game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. D-backs
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English); KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)