Last night, Don Mattingly shared his preliminary starting lineup for the first game of the Opening Series match-up against the Diamondbacks in Australia. Check it out above.
As you know, the Dodgers start the season down under, and the first game will be at 1:00 AM Saturday morning (pacific time). So, we are about 14 hours away from the start of the 2014 season. Later that evening, Game 2 will start at 7:00 PM (pacific time).
The Dodgers will be facing Arizona lefthander Wade Miley. In his career, Miley has started 7 games, is 3-1 against the Dodgers and has a 3.59 ERA. Furthermore, he has given up 8 home runs to Dodger players - more than any other club in his career.
As for the Dodger lineup, it should be no surprise that Yasiel Puig will be batting leadoff. This batting position has been discussed in ad nauseum since the start of Spring Training. He isn't your typical leadoff hitter, but with his combination of speed and OBP he should do fine. BTW, last season he leadoff in 27 games, batted .333, OPS'd 1.026 and belted more home runs on average than at any other batting position.
One surprise to this Opening Day lineup is who is batting 2nd. Recent free agent signee, Justin Turner, will get the start at 2nd base and hit 2nd in the lineup over Dee Gordon. Considering his phenomenal Spring, we shouldn't be surprised. He has been splendid with the glove and has batted an impressive .355 the past month. Something tells me that he'll make us forget about not signing Mark Ellis over the winter. He appears to not only be more than capable, but also versatile. Turner can play every infield position.
Just to let you know, the Diamondbacks lost to Team Australia this morning, 5-0. Their top pitching prospect Archie Bradley was wild, and gave up 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings. Team Australia sent out 7 different pitchers to blank the Diamondbacks. They were gracious about the loss, via a tweet from the @DBacks.
RECAP: We tip our caps to @TeamAusBaseball. #Dbacks drop exhibition game at @scg, 5-0: http://t.co/LjFY0y3Heh pic.twitter.com/1vv5jGv7F0
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 21, 2014
Graphic above via @Dodgers on twitter.
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