Diamondbacks look to spoil Dodgers night

The Diamondbacks are hoping to delay the Dodgers from winning their 9th National League West Division title. The Dodgers' magic number to clinch is 2, which means a loss by both Arizona and San Diego would allow the Dodgers to clinch tonight.

Looking to slow down the Dodgers is Merrill Kelly. Jack Sommers notes in the series preview that Kelly is 12-2 with a 2.38 ERA against the rest of MLB, but has struggled mightily against the Dodgers in 3 starts. The Dodgers have scored 14 runs in 13 innings across 3 starts, although much of the damage came on May 17th when the Dodgers scored 8 runs in 2 innings.

D-backs Lineup

Game 141. pic.twitter.com/AU7XTDGYZn
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 13, 2022

Corbin Carroll's exclusion from the lineup may be due to the team trying make sure Carroll does exceed rookie limits of 130 at bats. He currently has 40 with 22 team games to go. Should Carroll open the season on the roster and finish Top two in Rookie of the Year voting, the D-backs will be awarded draft compensation. He currently has 40 at bats.

Once again, Jordan Luplow and Stone Garrett get the start at left field and DH with a lefty on the mound. Luplow may need to do better tonight to continue earning at bats against left hand pitching, as he went 0-for-3 and grounded into two double plays last night against Tyler Anderson.

Christian Walker is 7-for-22 (.318 average) against Clayton Kershaw with 4 home runs. Walker is one of 4 players to hit that many homers against Kershaw, the most the future Hall of Famer has allowed to any batter.

Dodgers Lineup

Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup at D-backs: pic.twitter.com/MaXF4E8kq1
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 13, 2022

Most of the hitters in the Dodgers' lineup have had great success against Merrill Kelly. These are their career numbers against the D-backs starter.

Kelly will have his work cut out to reverse both his personal and the team trend against the Dodgers, who hold a 10-2 advantage in the season series.