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The Arizona Diamondbacks appear to finally be hitting their rhythm on offense following the return of Chris Young to the lineup, and they'll have two big series this week at home. First up will be the NL West leading Dodgers, who have the best record in baseball entering Monday, for three games beginning Monday night.
The Dodgers are led by MVP candidate Matt Kemp, but he is currently on the disabled list and will not play this week. Andre Ethier is finally healthy again and hitting the ball hard to the tune of a .304 batting average, .925 OPS and a team-leading 36 runs batted in. Catcher A.J. Ellis has been phenomenal this season so far, posting a ridiculous on-base percentage of .460 in 128 at-bats. After a strong start to the year, speedy shortstop Dee Gordon has really fallen off lately and has even been benched at times the last few days.
The Dodgers rely on everyone to contribute in order to win, especially with Kemp out of the lineup. Their starting rotation has been solid, although their bullpen has struggled the last few weeks.
Pitching Matchups & Start Times:
Monday, 6:40 p.m. - Patrick Corbin (2-2, 5.73 ERA) vs. Chris Capuano (5-1, 2.34 ERA)
Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. - Trevor Cahill (2-4, 4.01 ERA) vs. Aaron Harang (3-2, 3.83 ERA)
Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. - Joe Saunders (2-3, 3.55 ERA) vs. Ted Lilly (5-0, 1.79 ERA)
Following an off-day on Thursday, the D-backs will welcome in the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game series. The Brewers are feeling the effects of losing Prince Fielder in free agency and the team features a record of 17-24. They've been hit pretty hard by injuries, but this is still a solid team.
After falling to the Brewers in the playoffs last year, you can bet the Diamondbacks will want to come out and make a statement over the weekend.
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