Rangers at Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ recent power surge is being led by Joc Pederson, who has followed a homerless month of May with seven blasts in his last eight games. The 26-year-old looks to continue his hot streak Wednesday, when the Dodgers conclude their brief two-game interleague series against the visiting Texas Rangers.
Pederson, Max Muncy and Yasiel Puig each homered in Tuesday’s 12-5 victory as the Dodgers won for the fourth time in five games. Pederson is 13-for-26 with 11 runs, five doubles and 10 RBIs over his last eight contests for the Dodgers, who are 8-2 with 29 home runs this month. The unheralded Muncy has gone deep in four straight games and is 12-for-32 with six homers and 11 RBIs in 10 contests in June. Texas has fallen 15 games below .500 with five straight losses, but Delino DeShields has shown signs of emerging from a lengthy slump by going 5-for-8 with two walks over his last two contests.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Southwest (Texas), SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Cole Hamels (3-6, 3.86 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Kenta Maeda (4-4, 3.61)
Hamels allowed two home runs in a game for the fourth consecutive start on Thursday, when he gave up five runs over 7 1/3 innings in a 5-2 loss to Houston. The 34-year-old native of San Diego has gone 2-4 with a 3.61 ERA in his last nine turns to lower his ERA from 4.76 to 3.86. Matt Kemp is 8-for-23 against Hamels, who owns a 3-2 record and 1.89 ERA in eight career starts versus Los Angeles but hasn’t faced them since April 23, 2014.
Maeda will be activated from the disabled list prior to the game to make his first start since May 30, when he left in the second inning due to a right hip strain. The 30-year-old native of Japan threw a successful bullpen session on Sunday but did not make a minor-league rehab start. Maeda never has faced Texas but owns a 4-3 record and 3.64 ERA in eight career interleague starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (back) threw a successful bullpen session on Tuesday and hopes to return in early July.
2. Texas OF Nomar Mazara was scratched from Tuesday’s starting lineup due to flu-like symptoms and is listed as day-to-day.
3. Los Angeles placed RHP Walker Buehler on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to June 9, with a right rib microfracture.