One day after rolling out a predominantly right-handed hitting lineup against Dallas Keuchel and the Astros in the 2017 World Series opener, skipper Dave Roberts and the management crew of the Dodgers have elected to mix in a few lefty bats to face veteran righty Justin Verlander in Game 2.
Verlander, who was voted MVP of the 2017 ALCS, is undefeated this postseason, going 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA in four games—three of which were starts—over 24-2/3 innings pitched. In just one postseason with the Astros, the 34-year-old native of Virginia has already tied Keuchel, Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt for the franchise lead in victories.
As far as their new lineup goes, the Dodgers move shortstop Corey Seager to the two-hole, while shifting Justin Turner back to the three-slot and Cody Bellinger to cleanup. Yasiel Puig will hit fifth, followed by Joc Pederson in left field in the six-slot, Austin Barnes hitting seventh behind the dish, and Chase Utley batting eighth at the keystone. Veteran southpaw Rich Hill will bat ninth and do the pitching.
Hill finished his first full season as a Dodger with a 12-8 record and posted a 3.32
ERA in 25 starts over 135-2/3 innings pitched. He held the opposition to a .203 batting average, while striking out 166 batters against 49 walks and posting a 1.09 WHIP. In his career against Houston, the 37-year-old native of Boston has gone 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA in 40-1/3 innings and has struck out 41 batters against 19 walks, while limiting the opposition to a .163/.274/.312 slash line. In his last start against the Astros in July 2016 as a member of the Oakland Athletics, he surrendered just one run on three hits over an even six innings, picking up the win in Oakland’s 3-1 victory, and striking out 10 batters against two walks on 101 pitches in the process.
With the exception of Verlander on the bump, the Astros will utilize the exact same lineup as they did in the opener.
Dodgers Game 2 lineup:
- Taylor CF
- Seager SS
- Turner 3B
- Bellinger 1B
- Puig RF
- Pederson LF
- Barnes C
- Utley 2B
- Hill P
Astros Game 2 lineup:
- Springer CF
- Bregman 3B
- Altuve 2B
- Correa SS
- Gurriel 1B
- McCann C
- Gonzalez LF
- Reddick RF
- Verlander P
First pitch is slated for 5:09 p.m. Los Angeles time.
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Not sure I understand starting Joc ahead of Ethier. Also, it seems to me that if they were going to give Grandal a start, this might be the game. Maybe stats say otherwise. I wonder where Grandal will be playing in 2018. It sure doesn’t seem like it will be here.
Dave Roberts said Pederson gets start in LF over Ethier based on better defensive range and ability to handle velocity at the plate. Agree with you about Grandal. I think the management crew will try their best to move him around the winter meetings. They definitely need to get something in return before he becomes a free agent at the end of next season.