Reds at Dodgers
Yasiel Puig made his presence felt in his return to the lineup and looks for a repeat performance when the Los Angeles Dodgers host the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday for the opener of their four-game series. Puig, who hadn't played since April 28 due to hip and ankle injuries, was activated from the disabled list and went 3-for-4 while scoring twice in Wednesday's 6-3 win over Arizona.
Pinch-hitter Chase Utley delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning to seal the victory for the Dodgers, who had lost three in a row. Cincinnati seeks its first three-game winning streak of the season as it begins a seven-game road trip. The Reds ended a three-game slide with Tuesday's 7-2 victory over the New York Mets and came away with a 2-1 triumph the following day when Adam Duvall led off the bottom of the 10th inning with his sixth homer of the year. Eugenio Suarez recorded one of Cincinnati's five hits on Wednesday to finish 6-for-12 with a home run and five RBIs in the three-game series versus New York.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cincinnati), SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Tyler Mahle (2-4, 4.35 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Walker Buehler (2-0, 1.13)
Mahle has allowed three runs or fewer in five of his seven starts this season but has lost two of them - including Saturday's outing against Miami in which he gave up three while serving up two homers among the five hits he yielded in six innings. The 23-year-old Californian did not issue a walk, however, and has given out only 11 free passes while striking out 42 over 39 1/3 frames in 2018. Mahle will be facing Los Angeles for the first time in his brief career.
Buehler's third major-league start on Friday was an historic one, as he recorded eight strikeouts over six innings against San Diego in Mexico in the first combined no-hitter in Dodgers history. The 23-year-old native of Kentucky has given up two runs and 10 hits over 16 frames in his three turns this season but has yet to work more than six innings. Buehler, who has yet to face Cincinnati, scattered four hits over five scoreless frames of a no-decision versus Miami on April 23 in his first career start at Dodger Stadium.
WALK-OFFS
1. Dodgers C Yasmani Grandal went 3-for-7 in the two-game series against Arizona after going hitless in 14 at-bats over his previous six contests.
2. Cincinnati SS Jose Peraza has hit safely in seven of his last eight games and hasn't gone without a hit in back-to-back contests since April 13 and 14.
3. Los Angeles on Wednesday placed LHP Tony Cingrani (shoulder) on the 10-day disabled list, recalled LHP Scott Alexander and RHP Brock Stewart from Oklahoma City and optioned RHP Yimi Garcia and OF Alex Verdugo to the Triple-A club.