Dodgers at Giants (Game 2)
These are strange days indeed for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who opened their 11-game road trip Friday with a loss when Pedro Baez slipped on the mound and balked in the go-ahead run. The Dodgers look to snap their three-game losing streak Saturday during a split doubleheader against the host San Francisco Giants, who have won five of their last seven.
Los Angeles began the four-game series with Friday's 6-4 loss and could be without two key players Saturday after outfielder Matt Kemp (left quad tightness) and reliever Tony Cingrani (dead arm) both exited the opener with injuries. The Dodgers have dropped 23 of their last 33 games at AT&T Park but received a piece of good news Friday when shortstop Corey Seager singled as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning after being held out of the starting lineup due to a sore hip. Seager could start both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Giants, who are hoping to have left fielder Mac Williamson back in the lineup after he missed Friday’s contest due to concussion symptoms. The Giants' offense has received a much-needed spark from Williamson and first baseman Brandon Belt, who is 13-for-33 with five home runs during his nine-game hitting streak.
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, KTLA, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Alex Wood (0-2, 3.72 ERA) vs. Giants RH Johnny Cueto (2-0, 0.35)
Wood is still seeking his first win despite turning in a quality start against Washington last Sunday, when he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits. The 27-year-old native of North Carolina is looking to rediscover his dominant form from the first half of last season, when he was 10-0 with a 1.67 ERA in 15 games (13 starts). Wood is 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 10 career games (six starts) against the Giants and has limited Belt to two hits in 16 at-bats.
Cueto has been the Giants’ clear MVP over the season’s first month, allowing one run in four starts across 26 innings. The two-time All-Star allowed two hits in six shutout innings and struck out seven in last Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Kemp is 12-for-39 with three homers against Cueto, who owns a 6-8 record and 3.22 ERA in 18 career starts against the Dodgers and flirted with a perfect game in his victory on March 30.
WALK-OFFS
1. Saturday's doubleheader marks the first between the Dodgers and Giants since Sept. 27, 2003.
2. Dodgers 3B Justin Turner (wrist) was cleared to swing a bat on Friday and hopes to return in mid-May.
3. The Giants placed LHP Josh Osich on the 10-day disabled list with a right hip strain.