The Los Angeles Dodgers play host to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night in an NL showdown from Dodger Stadium. This will be the series opener between the two and after the Reds took two of three games back in June, the Dodgers will certainly be looking for some revenge at home. Only two games separate these two in the win-loss column, while both have their eyes on divisional titles. This is a series that fans will want to be locked into and should captivate the baseball audience.
The Reds have been one of the best stories in baseball this season and after taking two of three against the Dodgers last month, they want to find a way to shift that success to the road. They have 28 road wins this season, which is one of the best totals in baseball, while a 6-4 record over their last ten games adds even more momentum. Locked in a crucial battle in the NL Central, they know that the ability to steal a game or two against one of baseball's best teams, could go a long way towards helping themselves in the Wild Card race, if nothing else. The Dodgers will certainly prove to be trouble but this isn't a group that will back down.
Brandon Williamson will get the ball for the Reds in this one, as the lefty makes one of the biggest starts of the season. The lefty comes into this one with a 2-2 record and 4.60 ERA but has been electric this month. Over his last four starts, h e's only allowed five runs across 20 innings of work, though struggled in his start against the Dodgers back on June 7th. He made it through 5.2 innings in that one but after allowing six runs, will need to find a way to be far more efficient with his innings in this one.
The Reds could have a hard time matching Los Angeles on the offensive side of things, especially given the 0.8 runs per game disparity between the two. A lack of injuries has at least allowed for some consistency, though that might not be enough in this one. Elly De La Cruz has slowed down some, while the rest of the youngsters have been hot or cold at times. Look for Spencer Steer (.360 OBP, 100 hits) and Jake Fraley (14 home runs, 59 RBI) to pace the offense, though they'll need quite a few others to step up if they want to grab the road win in this one.