Dodgers at Giants
The rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants was put on hold Friday when a major storm forced the first rainout at AT&T Park since 2006. The teams will attempt to start an abbreviated two-game series Saturday when the Dodgers’ Rich Hill faces the Giants’ Chris Stratton for the second time in less than a week.
The Dodgers' offense sputtered out of the blocks in last weekend’s series against the Giants and is hitting the skids once again heading into Saturday’s contest. Right fielder Yasiel Puig is batting .179 with two RBIs for the Dodgers, who split their four-game series against the Giants before heading to Arizona, where they were swept in three games by the Diamondbacks after plating only one run in the final two contests. Los Angeles is hoping to jump-start its offense against the Giants, who belted four home runs in Wednesday’s 10-1 victory over Seattle. San Francisco is 3-3 despite slow starts from new arrivals Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria, who are a combined 3-for-43 with 12 strikeouts.
TV: 6:05 p.m. ET, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), NBC Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Rich Hill (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Giants RH Chris Stratton (0-1, 5.06)
Hill tossed six scoreless innings against the Giants on Sunday and allowed five hits with five strikeouts in the Dodgers’ 9-0 victory. The 38-year-old native of Massachusetts posted a 4.06 ERA in 11 road starts last season compared to a 2.77 ERA in 14 outings at Dodger Stadium. Hunter Pence is 5-for-23 with a home run against Hill, who owns a 6-2 record and 2.23 ERA in 12 career starts against San Francisco.
Stratton took the loss against the Dodgers on Sunday after giving up three runs with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old earned a spot in the rotation after posting a 3.29 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in spring training and drawing raves for his improved curveball. Stratton, who has gone 1-2 with a 5.91 ERA in four career games (three starts) against the Dodgers, hopes to stick in the rotation after bouncing between the minors and majors for the past two seasons.
WALK-OFFS
1. Friday’s game has been rescheduled as part of a split-admission doubleheader April 28.
2. Los Angeles C Yasmani Grandal recorded multi-hit performances in two of the first three meetings with San Francisco, but is 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his last two games.
3. Giants C Buster Posey is 6-for-14 with two doubles and three runs scored during his four-game hitting streak.