Rodríguez is first southpaw starter faced by LA since April 27
The Dodgers will face Eduardo Rodríguez on Friday night in the second of four games this weekend against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Rodríguez represents a rarity of late, a left-handed starter facing Los Angeles.
Rodríguez is the first southpaw starter against the Dodgers since Bailey Falter of the Pirates on April 27. which was 11 games ago.
This a departure from the early part of the season, when the Dodgers faced eight left-handed starters in their first 15 games. They’ve only faced three in their last 23 games, before Friday night.
The Dodgers as a team didn’t do well against left-handers in the early going. Through April 20, they were hitting just .196/.271/.369 with a 80 wRC+ against southpaws. But then the Dodgers scored 16 runs in two games at Wrigley Field started by lefties Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd, and the offense on the whole has been in good form ever since, averaging over seven runs per game.
Now against left-handed pitching, the Dodgers on the season are hitting .248/316/.481 with a 122 wRC+, the latter fifth-best in the majors.
They also did well against Falter, scoring seven off of him in an April 27 win over the Pirates. But mostly the Dodgers have gotten right against lefties by feasting on relievers. Against southpaws out of the bullpen in their last five series, against the Pirates, Marlins (twice), Braves, and now D-backs, the Dodgers are 14-for-40 against lefty relievers with four home runs, three doubles, and a triple, hitting .350/.435/.775.
That includes two strikeouts by Arizona lefty Jalen Beeks in the seventh inning on Thursday night, his only two batters faced. The Dodgers will have to deal with Beeks and the D-backs’ other left-handed reliever, José Castillo, all weekend. This is where being without Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman, two of the Dodgers’ most potent weapons against southpaws, will hurt.
But first comes Rodríguez on the mound Friday night, plus what’s left of the game after he’s done.
Friday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Diamondbacks
- Stadium: Chase Field, Phoenix
- Start time: 6:40 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)