The Arizona Diamondbacks (68-78, 83-63 RL, 66-75-5 O/U) take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (100-45, 90-54 RL, 62-69-13 O/U) in the first of a long five-game divisional series on Monday night. The Diamondbacks will have Merrill Kelly on the hill. The Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw to the mound. The Dodgers lead the season series 11-3.
Merrill Kelly will make the start to begin the series. Kelly wasn’t quite at his best last time out, conceding three runs including two home runs in five innings against the Dodgers, and was tagged with the loss to fall to 12-6. The veteran right-hander is having a spectacular year, recording a 3.01 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 176.2 innings of work. Kelly has been clobbered against LA, recording an 8.50 ERA in four meetings this season, and stands at 0-8 with a 5.81 ERA in 57.1 career innings.
The Diamondbacks have displayed progress this year. They were close to the .500 mark at one point early this month but have dropped eight out of their last ten games. They lost two of three against the Dodgers in the series finale last week and were dealt a series loss by the Padres.
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Dalton Varsho continues to produce at the dish, accumulating 11 RBIs and a dazzling 1.03 OPS this month. The 26-year-old slugger is having a breakout season, launching 25 homers with 69 RBIs and a .771 OPS. Varsho only has two RBIs and a .573 OPS against the Dodgers.
The Diamondbacks are scoring an average of 4.40 runs per game, ranking them 13th overall. The pitching staff has filed a 4.28 team ERA, placing them 23rd in the Major Leagues.