On a roll since the start of July, Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes will now work on his spotty history against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Burnes (9-6, 3.60 ERA) will face the Dodgers on Thursday in the finale of a three-game series as the Brewers look to avoid the sweep following a 7-1 defeat at Los Angeles on Wednesday. The Dodgers extended their season-best winning streak to 10 games.
"We aren't playing our best baseball, and I think everyone in here knows that," Burnes said. "We know that if we play our best baseball, we are the best team in the division and we can win the division."
Over his last eight starts, Burnes is 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings. The worst of those eight outings came in his most recent start, on Friday against the host Chicago White Sox, when he gave up five runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings in a game Milwaukee won 7-6 in 10 innings.
Now he meets the Dodgers, against whom he is 2-2 with an 8.50 ERA over six career outings (four starts). It is his second-worst ERA against any team, better than just his 9.16 mark vs. the Atlanta Braves.
Despite the two defeats in Los Angeles, the Brewers still hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central. However, Milwaukee is just 8-10 since July 28.
The Dodgers have no concerns at the present time when it comes to winning. In addition to their winning streak, they have gone 14-1 in August.
Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith combined for eight hits at the top of the Dodgers' batting order on Wednesday, and Betts scored four runs. An unexpected run producer has emerged, too.
Miguel Rojas had no home runs and 12 RBIs in 77 games through the end of July. Since Aug. 1, though, Rojas has three home runs and 11 RBIs in 15 games after going deep on Wednesday from the No. 9 spot in the order.
Expected to be a utility man when he returned to the Dodgers this season, Rojas instead became the starting shortstop when Gavin Lux went down with a knee injury in spring training. Rojas has played solid defense, and now he is experiencing a run of offense to match.
The only negative for Rojas this month? His sports car was broken into while having a postgame meal on Tuesday.
"One through nine (in the lineup), even including the bench, this winning run we're on right now is a shoutout to everybody," Betts said on the SportsNet LA broadcast. "It takes everybody to put something together like this (winning streak), and it's fun."
Dodgers right-hander Lance Lynn (9-9, 5.88 ERA) takes the mound on Thursday, having posted a 3-0 record with a 2.00 ERA in three starts with his new club. Lynn was acquired from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline.
Lynn leads the majors with 32 home runs allowed and has given up four long balls with the Dodgers, though he held the visiting Colorado Rockies in the park on Friday. He yielded just one unearned run in five innings while striking out nine in that contest.
Lynn has dominated the Brewers in his career, going 11-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 21 outings (17 starts). He logged 117 strikeouts in 108 1/3 innings during those contests.
—Field Level Media