Tuesday night will feature a matchup of NL West foes when the Los Angeles Dodgers (42-19) take on the Arizona Diamondbacks (30-31) at Chase Field. This will be the second game of a three-game series. In the first game, the Dodgers won 3-1 behind a spectacular performance by Walker Buehler. The Dodgers righty went eight innings, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out 11.
The Dodgers have now opened up a 9.5-game lead over second-place Colorado, while the Diamondbacks sit at fourth in the NL West, 12 games behind the Dodgers. Tuesday’s matchup will feature Hyun-Jin Ryu (8-1, 1.48 ERA) taking the mound for Los Angeles against Arizona’s Taylor Clarke (1-1, 4.67 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 pm ET.
The moneyline for this one features the Los Angeles Dodgers at -220 and the Arizona Diamondbacks at +190. The over/under on runs scored is set at 9.5.
By The Numbers
Both of these teams have been solid on the offensive side, with the Dodgers coming in just ahead of Arizona. Los Angeles is currently ranked fourth in the majors in runs per game at 5.43 (5.14 on the road). Arizona comes in at seventh, averaging 5.27 runs per game (4.81 at home).
In terms of pitching, the Dodgers once again come in ahead. They rank third in the majors in earned run average with a staff ERA of 3.53 (4.40 on the road). Arizona comes in at 12th in the majors with a staff ERA of 4.18 (3.77 at home).
Dodgers Look To Keep Rolling
The Los Angeles Dodgers have easily been one of the best teams in all of baseball this season, and their 42-19 record certainly reflects it. Trying to keep it going for the Dodgers will be southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu. On the season, Ryu is 8-1 in 11 starts with a 1.48 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and opponents are hitting just .205 against him.
In 73 innings, Ryu has allowed just 54 hits, 12 earned runs, six home runs and has struck out 69 versus just five walks. In his last outing, a 2-0 win over the Mets, Ryu went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts. He will look to keep rolling against Arizona on Tuesday.
Offensively, Cody Bellinger has come back down to Earth a bit, but he is still having a fantastic season. Thus far, he is hitting .376/.462/.733 with 20 home runs, 52 runs batted in, 50 runs scored and seven stolen bases. Over the last week, though, Max Muncy has been one of the hottest hitters for the Dodgers.
In six games over that span, Muncy is hitting .364/.423/.773 with two home runs, five runs batted in and six runs scored. One thing is for sure, the Dodgers’ offense is loaded from top to bottom. Couple that with the fact that their pitching staff has been fantastic thus far, and it makes for a lethal team.
Diamondbacks Trying To Find Identity
After trading Paul Goldschmidt in the offseason, many assumed that Arizona would be looking to rebuild/retool. While an initial hot start had that philosophy in question, it increasingly looks like they will fade into the night this season as they sit in fourth and 12 games back in the NL West. Still, they will look to get going in the right direction and will look to Taylor Clarke to help them get there.
On the season, Clarke is 1-1 in four games (three starts) with a 4.67 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and opponents are hitting .262 against him. In 17.1 innings, he has allowed 17 hits, nine earned runs, two home runs and has struck out 11 while walking five. In his last outing, an 11-10 loss to Colorado, Clarke went just two innings, allowing four hits, two walks, and five earned runs while striking out three. He will need to vastly improve on his performance to have a chance against the Dodgers.
On the offensive side, David Peralta and Eduardo Escobar have led the way. On the season, Peralta is hitting .303/.351/.513 with seven home runs, 30 runs batted in and 28 runs scored. For Escobar, the third baseman is hitting .288/.343/.567 with 15 home runs, 48 runs batted in and 38 runs scored. The offense is there; the question is whether they will be able to prevent the Dodgers from scoring enough to give their offense a chance.
Dodgers Take First Two
Especially with the moneyline set at -220 for the Dodgers, I would love to take the underdog Diamondbacks, but I just can’t. Hyun-Jin Ryu has been dominant this year, and while he has never been able to sustain this level for an entire season, it is hard to bet against him right now.
Throw on top of that the fact that I think the Dodgers will get to Taylor Clarke for a lot of runs, and I just can’t find any reason to justify putting my money on Arizona. The Diamondbacks’ offense has the potential to make me eat my words, but for my money, I am taking the Dodgers in this one.