Dodgers at Rays
The Los Angeles Dodgers attempt to get their struggling offense in gear as they begin a five-game interleague road trip against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. Los Angeles, which later visits Toronto, managed three hits while snapping a six-game slide with Sunday’s 1-0 victory over San Diego behind Clayton Kershaw and produced just 12 runs total in the last seven contests.
“I don’t know how it happened, but we got one,” Kershaw, who had 14 strikeouts as the Dodgers evened their record at 13-13, told the Los Angeles Times. “That’s good. We get that monkey off our back.” The Dodgers are 8-5 away from home and send former Rays left-hander Scott Kazmir to the mound in search of his 100th career victory as he faces southpaw Matt Moore. Tampa Bay has lost three of four and is having its own offensive troubles, standing last in the league in runs (77) and batting average (.221), but Evan Longoria has homered in back-to-back games. “I’m hitting mistakes a little better,” Longoria told reporters. “But I’d like them to come with runners in scoring position. It’s all about timely hitting, and I haven’t been doing a good job of that. Overall, we need to get better at that as a team.”
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet LA (Los Angeles), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Scott Kazmir (1-2, 5.76 ERA) vs. Rays LH Matt Moore (1-2, 3.66)
Kazmir has gone winless in his last four starts since a dazzling Dodgers debut on April 6 when he shut out San Diego on one hit over six innings. The 32-year-old, who won 55 games with Tampa Bay from 2004-2009, is also five strikeouts shy of 1,500 in his career. Longoria is 4-for-13 with a homer and four RBIs versus Kazmir, who has not fared well in five games against his former team (1-4, 5.13 ERA).
Moore had a solid April despite his record, allowing three or fewer runs in four of five starts while striking out 35 and walking just seven in 32 innings. The 26-year-old lost his last two starts, including last Wednesday when he permitted three runs on three hits in seven innings against Baltimore. Moore, who will face the Dodgers for the first time, has contained Adrian Gonzalez (1-for-7, three strikeouts).
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay 2B Logan Forsythe is 9-for-17 with three doubles, a homer and two RBIs during a five-game hitting streak.
2. Gonzalez is 0-for-20 over the last seven games and OF Yasiel Puig is 1-for-20 in his past five contests for the Dodgers.
3. The Dodgers swept a three-game series against the Rays at Los Angeles in 2013 and are making their first visit to Tampa Bay since 2007.