Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers (A: +232, H: -255, Total: 6)
Zack Greinke faces his former team Friday as the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks take a 7-3 record into the opener of a three-game series against the host Los Angeles Dodgers. Greinke, who joined Arizona last year after three stellar seasons with the Dodgers, recorded his first victory on Saturday but will need an even better outing to outduel Clayton Kershaw.
Jake Lamb is hitting .342 with two homers and 10 RBIs for Arizona, which opened by winning six of its first seven games but dropped two of three in San Francisco and has scored four runs or fewer in four consecutive contests. Several players are looking to get untracked after struggling against the Giants, including A.J. Pollock, Paul Goldschmidt and Brandon Drury, who were a combined 4-for-36 in the three-game series. The Dodgers also are hoping to jump-start their offense after losing two of three to the Chicago Cubs while going 1-for-24 with runners in scoring position during the series. Logan Forsythe, who was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay in January, saw his average fall to .229 after going 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot in Thursday’s 4-0 loss to the Cubs.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
LINE HISTORY: The Los Angeles Dodgers opened as -210 home chalk against their division rival Diamondbacks and by Friday afternoon that number has been bet up to -255. The total hit the betting board a 6 and has yet to move off the opening number. View complete line history here.
INJURY REPORT:
Diamondbacks - RP Steve Hathaway (Out Indefinitely, shoulder), RP Jake Barrett (Late April, shoulder), CF Socrates Brito (Out Indefinitely, finger)
Dodgers - SP Rich Hill (Questionable, finger), RP Pedro Baez (Probable, thumb), LF Franklin Gutierrez (Out Indefinitely, hamstring), SP Scott Kazmir (Out Indefinitely, hip), RF Andre Ethier (Out Indefinitely, back), RP Josh Ravin (Early May, groin), RP Brock Stewart (Out Indefinitely, shoulder), RP Yimi Garcia (Out For Season, elbow)
WEATHER REPORT: The forecast for Friday night in Los Angeles is calling for clear skies and temperatures in the mid 60’s for first pitch. As for the wind, there is expected to be a slight breeze to out to center of 3 mph at game time which will die down over the course of the game.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Zack Greinke (1-0, 2.31 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (1-1, 3.46)
Greinke allowed one run without issuing a walk over 6 2/3 innings on Saturday against Cleveland and drew raves from Indians manager Terry Francona. “His changeup was really good,” Francona told reporters. “And I know people make a big deal about his velocity, but he's still 93-94 (mph) and he locates really well. His feel to pitch is tremendous.” Corey Seager is 5-for-8 with two home runs versus Greinke, who is 3-2 with a 3.80 ERA in seven career starts against the Dodgers.
Kershaw surrendered back-to-back homers for the first time in his career on Saturday and took the loss after yielding four runs over six innings against Colorado. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner owns a 12-8 record and 2.75 ERA in 24 career starts against Arizona while holding Chris Owings to two hits in 13 at-bats. Goldschmidt is 10-for-39 with two blasts versus Kershaw, who has registered 168 strikeouts against 48 walks in 147 1/3 frames against the Diamondbacks.
TRENDS:
* Diamondbacks are 1-5 in their last 6 road games vs. a left-handed starter.
* Dodgers are 4-1 in their last 5 games vs. a right-handed starter.
* Under is 5-1-1 in Greinkes last 7 starts when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game.
* Under is 9-2 in Kershaws last 11 home starts vs. a team with a winning record.
* Diamondbacks are 5-22 in the last 27 meetings in Los Angeles.
Click here for a complete list of betting trends for this matchup.
WALK-OFFS:
1. Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (blister) threw a 35-pitch bullpen session on Thursday and could be activated from the disabled list to start Sunday’s game.
2. Lamb has hit safely in eight straight games, going 11-for-35 with two homers and seven RBIs.
3. Los Angeles RHP Pedro Baez (right thumb) is expected to return from the disabled list at some point this weekend.
COVERS CONSENSUS: Early consensus on this NL West matchup has 61 percent of the wagers on the home chalk Dodgers and Over is picking up 56 percent of the totals selections. View full consensus data here.
