It’s the Dodgers’ first chance to bounce back after losing the home series against the Miami Marlins.
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Looking to get the bats going, manager Dave Roberts has moved some hitters up the order.
Who will play for the Dodgers on Friday?
Emmet Sheehan (2-0) will start after his last pitch against the Chicago Cubs on April 24.
The Boys in Blue lost that game and Sheehan got a no decision.
In his 6.1 innings of work, he allowed four hits and one run and struck out 10 batters.
He also walked a batter and hit a batter with a pitch.
However, he is excelling when it comes to his breaking run value, which is in the 99th percentile, although he struggles in his fastball run value, which is only in the 7th percentile, according to Baseball Savant.
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Offensively, Ohtani is back in the Dodgers lineup as a designated hitter. First baseman Freddie Freeman maintains his No. 2 spot and catcher Will Smith moves up to third in the lineup.
Left fielder Teoscar Hernández will hit fourth, while right fielder Kyle Tucker will hit fifth.
Right fielder Andy Pages, one of the best so far this season, bats sixth, followed by third baseman Max Muncy.
Veteran Miguel Rojas, a potential future Dodgers manager, is at shortstop and bats eighth, while Santiago Espinal takes second base and hits last.
Dodgers lineup for Friday
Who will the Dodgers face on the mound?
The Cardinals are starting Matthew Liberatore (0-1), who has a 4.75 ERA.
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Liberatore has started six games so far this season and has 19 strikeouts in 30.1 innings of work.
His WHIP is 1.55.
Baseball Savant shows that he is struggling in many categories, especially pitching run value, which is worse than 99% of pitchers, and overall pitching run value, which is worse than 96% of pitchers.
What do you think of the Dodgers’ chances against the Cardinals on Friday night?