Two Former Foes Face Off in Highly Anticipated Weekend Matchup
The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to take on the Houston Astros for yet another rendition of the controversial 2017 World Series that took place between the two teams. Even eight years later, the animosity between the two teams remains. The Dodgers will take on the Chicago White Sox tonight at 7:10 p.m. PST to try and complete a three-game sweep. One huge accomplishment for Los Angeles goes to future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw for grabbing his 3,000th career strikeout in last night's game after falling short in his previous start against the Colorado Rockies. While the Astros will be coming off a series victory against the Rockies, where they have won four series in a row and went 19-7 in June, riding hot into the early days of July.
Friday 7/4 - 6:10 p.m. PST
It’ll be a very interesting weekend for the Dodgers’ pitching staff with all three games projected to be bullpen games in some capacity. Luckily, the Dodgers have many guys who can be inning eaters. In the opening matchup set to take place on the 4th of July, Los Angeles is projected to have Ben Casparius be the innings eater, where he is coming off a brutal June, where he posted a 6.20 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched. The Dodgers hope he can get back on track in his career matchup against the Astros. For Houston, they will roll out Lance McCullers Jr. as the righty has struggled this season, posting a 1-3 record with an ERA of 6.61 and 40 strikeouts in eight appearances this season. He has gone 1-0 in three starts with an ERA of 1.02 against the Dodgers.
Saturday 7/5 - 4:15 p.m. PST
In Saturday’s matchup, it’ll be Shohei Ohtani making his fourth appearance of the season as he still works his way up to regular starter innings. It still isn’t clear how far Ohtani pitches, but he has been solid in his outings, posting a 2.25 ERA over his first three appearances. In his career against Houston, he has a record of 3-6 with an ERA of 4.01 over 67.1 innings pitched. The Astros will give the ball to their ace Framber Valdez, who has had an excellent season, pitching to a 9-4 record with a 2.72 ERA. Valdez has been dominant in his last seven starts, going 6-0, with a 1.57 ERA. The Dodgers have been excellent this season against left-handers, posting a top-five batting average of .259 and a top-three OPS of .785.
Sunday 7/6 - 1:10 p.m. PST
During a potential rubber match, the Dodgers have yet to announce who will start the game. Emmet Sheehan is a potential suitor, if he is named the starter for Sunday afternoon it will be just his second start of the season, with his first start coming against the San Diego Padres in June. Colton Gordon will get the start for Houston. The rookie has been up and down early in his career with a 3-1 record in nine starts with an ERA of 4.37. After having an impressive month of June, Gordon struggled in his first start of July against the Rockies, going 4.2 innings, allowing nine hits and four hits.
Two Great Offenses Collide
Both teams come into the matchup as offensive machines, with the Dodgers ranking first in all of Major League Baseball in terms of offensive statistics, while the Astros sit in the sixth spot. Will Smith has been the biggest bright spot in Los Angeles’s lineup over the last 10 games with a .320 batting average, and Max Muncy, who unfortunately went down with an injury last night, was batting .313 over his last 10 games. Even in a lineup where star Mookie Betts has recorded one of his worst first halves of his career, including a career-low .697 OPS, the Dodgers’ lineup still finds ways to succeed. Houston rookie sensation Cam Smith has been electric, posting a .436 batting average over his last 10 games, having 17 hits and 11 RBIs with three home runs.
