NEW YORK — Omaha’s loss Saturday night will be a big win for anyone who likes watching two of the best pitchers in baseball face off against one another.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to make a surprising return to the major league rotation Saturday night
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The Dodgers won the opener 5-2 on Friday night when Cody Bellinger’s sixth-inning grand slam snapped a scoreless pitcher’s duel between Los Angeles left-hander Alex Wood and Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler.
There will likely be more zeroes on the board Saturday when Kershaw (1-4, 2.76 ERA) may not even be the best pitcher to take the Citi Field mound. The Hall of Fame-bound southpaw, who hasn’t pitched this month because of a lower back strain, will be opposed by the hottest pitcher in baseball, Mets ace Jacob deGrom (5-2, 1.51 ERA).
The Mets finally provided deGrom some run support in his most recent start on Monday when he picked up a long-awaited win after allowing two runs (one earned) in eight innings of a 12-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
DeGrom lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.51 in the win. Since 2000, only Randy Johnson (1.47 ERA in 2000) has produced a lower ERA through 15 starts.
DeGrom has a 0.90 ERA in his last 11 starts, during which he has only gone 3-2 while the Mets have gone 3-8. New York scored 16 runs while deGrom was on the mound in his 10 starts before Monday.
“I watched (Corey) Kluber have about a 1.40 ERA for like 12 or 13 starts at the end of one season to win a Cy Young,” said Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who was the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians when Kluber locked up the American League Cy Young Award by posting a 1.42 ERA in his final 12 starts last season.
“But this is pretty special. You don’t see this often.”
Nor do matchups like Kershaw-deGrom happen very often. The clash Saturday night will mark their first regular-season matchup and the second time they’ve opposed one another.
DeGrom picked up the win in the decisive Game 5 of the 2015 National League Division Series when he tossed seven scoreless innings in the Mets’ 3-1 win over the Dodgers and Kershaw, who pitched on three days’ rest and took the loss after giving up all three runs in 6 2/3 innings.
Kershaw was originally scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Oklahoma City against Omaha, but with an uncertain weather forecast in Nebraska, the Dodgers decided to take their chances by having him pitch for the big league team in New York, where scattered thunderstorms are expected.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hinted the famously competitive Kershaw did his share of talking his way out of the rehab start.
“He did play a little weatherman, so with weather.com and Clayton, we were pretty abreast with the weather in Omaha
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Roberts said the Dodgers will proceed carefully with Kershaw, who has made as many trips to the disabled list as to a big league mound since May. Kershaw was sidelined from May 2 through May 30 because of biceps tendinitis.
Kershaw was activated May 31, when he didn’t factor into the decision after pitching through a tight back while allowing one run in five innings of the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Los Angeles placed Kershaw back on the disabled list the next day.
“We don’t know how much he’s going to pitch,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to put a limit on him. Obviously, there is a limitation with Clayton, and I’ll make that decision.”
Both pitchers will have a unique, opponent-specific streak on the line Saturday
DeGrom is 0-3 with a 3.26 ERA in six career regular-season starts against the Dodgers. He has beaten every other team he has faced more than once.
Kershaw is 8-0 with a 1.84 ERA in 12 regular-season starts against the Mets. He is undefeated against eight other teams but has beaten only one of those squads, the Atlanta Braves, more than twice.
After two games filled flaring tempers and alleged beanballs, the Giants and Marlins finally learned to play nice together in their season series finale.
Just the way San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy expected – or at least hoped.
Brandon Belt had three hits, Gorkys Hernandez added a two-run single during a five-run sixth inning and the Giants beat the Marlins 6-5 on Wednesday.
”I didn’t think it would continue,” Bochy said. ”You’re going to have games like that and tempers are going to flare. Boys will be boys, as they say, but it’s back to baseball.”
In comparison to the games Monday and Tuesday when both teams were chippy, Wednesday’s game was tame.
There were more errors than hit batters and the only damage was self-inflicted when Giants leadoff hitter Alen Hanson fouled a ball off his left knee in the first inning.
What fireworks there were came primarily in the sixth when San Francisco chased Miami starter Jose Urena (2-9).
Kelby Tomlinson walked and took second on Joe Panik’s single. After Brandon Belt doubled in Tomlinson, Pablo Sandoval was intentionally walked and Nick Hundley struck out.
Panik scored the go-ahead run when Mac Williamson hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Miguel Rojas with one out. Rojas made a diving stop but second baseman Starlin Castro had to stretch for the throw and was unable to make the relay to first.
Hernandez capped the inning with a two-run single after a 14-pitch at-bat against Urena.
”He really grinded out that at-bat
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Derek Holland (5-7) had seven strikeouts and allowed three runs over six innings in his first start against the Marlins since 2011. He walked two and left after giving up back-to-back hits opening the seventh.
”(Catcher Nick Hundley) and I did a great job establishing what we needed to, getting ahead of hitters,” Holland said. ”I know the line says I gave up three runs but at the end of the day these guys did a good job of keeping the momentum on our side.”
The Giants’ left-hander said he changed his stance on the mound, shifting from one side of the rubber to other.
”Just wanted to do something different, that’s all,” Holland said.
The Marlins scored twice in the ninth off Sam Dyson. Reyes Moronta struck out JB Shuck for his first career save.
Castro drove in a pair of runs and Brian Anderson had three hits for Miami, extending his on-base streak to a career-high 18 games.
The Marlins hit into three double plays, including when Urena was doubled up at first after mistakenly heading for third on Castro’s fly ball to center with no outs in the third.
”I’ve never seen a guy be the leadoff hitter and then lose count of the outs,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said. ”He was hustling though. We had some other chances too.”
QUOTABLE
”That’s cute. I remember my first 14-pitch at-bat.” – Belt, who set a major league record with a 21-pitch at-bat against the Angels on April 22, talking about Hernandez’s long at-bat in the sixth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Marlins: Outfielder Garrett Cooper (wrist) was sent to Triple-A New Orleans to begin a rehab assignment.
Giants: Hanson had to be helped off the field and was diagnosed with a knee contusion after undergoing X-rays. … Buster Posey was given the day off. … RHP Jeff Samardzija (shoulder tightness) makes his second rehab start with Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Marlins: Following a day off Thursday, Miami heads to Colorado to begin a three-game series. LHP Wei-Yin Chen (2-3, 5.91 ERA) pitches the opener seeking his second win against the Rockies this season.
Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (0-2, 4.67) faces San Diego on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Bumgarner has lost four straight to the Padres.
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