Diamondbacks at Dodgers
Paul Goldschmidt looks to continue his hot streak against the Los Angeles Dodgers when his Arizona Diamondbacks visit for the middle contest of a three-game set on Wednesday. Goldschmidt homered for the fourth time in five games against the Dodgers, dating back to last season, in a 4-2 victory to open the series Tuesday.
The talented first baseman batted .397 with eight blasts and 19 RBIs versus Los Angeles in 2015 and knocked in a pair of runs Tuesday as the Diamondbacks rallied for a win. “It was a nice come-from-behind win, especially against these guys,” Goldschmidt told reporters after going deep on a 3-0 pitch. “Hopefully, we’ll be battling them the whole year with the rest of the division.” The Dodgers have dropped four of five games since starting the season with three straight wins in dominating fashion. Yasiel Puig is off to a solid start for Los Angeles while hitting safely in seven of eight games and batting .379 with a .500 on-base percentage.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona Plus, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Rubby De La Rosa (0-1, 12.46 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Alex Wood (0-1, 9.00)
De La Rosa struck out two in an inning of relief Saturday, but is still expected to make his second start of the season Wednesday after struggling in his 2016 debut. The Dominican Republic native, who started his career with the Dodgers, allowed six earned runs and six hits in 3 1/13 innings against the Chicago Cubs last Thursday. Howie Kendrick is 10-for-18 with a homer versus De La Rosa, who is 0-3 with an 11.21 ERA against his former team.
Wood pitched four scoreless innings in his season debut before permitting five runs in the next inning-plus to take the loss against San Francisco. The 25-year-old Charlotte native, who will be making his 100th major league appearance, went 12-12 in 32 starts with a 3.84 ERA between Atlanta and Los Angeles last year. Goldschmidt is 4-for-9 with a pair of homers versus Wood, who is 1-3 with a 3.96 ERA in seven outings (four starts) against the Diamondbacks.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Dodgers placed INF-OF Scott Van Slyke on the 15-day disabled list with a back injury.
2. Arizona RHP Brad Ziegler gave up his first run in four outings Tuesday, but earned his first save of the season.
3. Los Angeles 1B Adrian Gonzalez is 13-for-32 with six RBIs in the early going with four multi-hit games.