The Los Angeles Dodgers saw their three-game winning streak snapped on Friday night when their bullpen faltered late in a 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The two National League West rivals are back at it again in the third of a four-game series at Chase Field on Saturday night with a pair of young starting pitchers in Julio Urias and Luke Weaver squaring off.
Urias is making his second start of the season after tossing five innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits with three strikeouts and three walks against the San Francisco Giants last weekend.
In 37 appearances (eight starts) in 2019, Urias went 4-3 with a 2.49 ERA, 3.43 FIP and 1.08 WHIP with 85 strikeouts and 27 walks in 79.2 innings. In three career games against the Diamondbacks, Urias has allowed four hits and a run while striking out five and walking two in seven innings.
That one run came on a home run by Diamondbacks catcher Carson Kelly last season, and he is back in the lineup and batting seventh on Saturday.
Weaver is also making his second start of the season and he is looking to bounce back from a rough outing against the San Diego Padres in which he gave up seven hits and six runs in 3.1 innings, striking out six and walking two to take the loss.
The 26-year-old has not fared well against the Dodgers in his career, posting a 8.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in nine innings across three appearances (one starts).
Cody Bellinger has worn Weaver out a bit, going 3-for-5 with two home runs against him, although he is out of the Dodgers lineup to get a breather after struggling to begin the season. After an 0-for-5 performance on Friday night, Bellinger is batting just .139/.205/.167 on the year.
The reigning NL MVP made some tweaks to his swing in the offseason, although he may need to make some more changes to get going at the plate.
Corey Seager takes Bellingr’s No. 3 spot in the lineup and for good reason. He is swinging the bat as well as anyone in baseball, entering with a three-game home run streak and is batting .344/.417/.688 with the most hard-hit balls in the league so far this season.
Justin Turner also has a chance to get off his feet for a game, serving as the Dodgers’ designated hitter. Because of that, the team’s defensive alignment is a bit different than usual with Edwin Rios playing third base, Matt Beaty at first, Max Muncy at second and AJ Pollock in center field in place of Bellinger.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Max Muncy
RF: Mookie Betts
SS: Corey Seager
DH: Justin Turner
LF: Joc Pederson
CF: AJ Pollock
3B: Edwin Rios
C: Will Smith
1B: Matt Beaty
Diamondbacks lineup
2B: Ketel Marte
1B: Ildemaro Vargas
CF: Starling Marte
3B: Eduardo Escobar
DH: Christian Walker
LF: David Peralta
C: Carson Kelly
SS: Nick Ahmed
RF: Tim Locastro
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