Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jhoulys Chacin hopes to bring along a heavy dose of revenge when he takes the mound Friday night against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.
It will be the second consecutive outing against the Dodgers for Chacin, who ran into unexpected trouble when he pitched at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
When Chacin (2-2, 6.52 ERA) gave up six runs on six hits with three walks in just 2 1/3 innings, it ended his run of 17 consecutive starts in which he yielded three earned runs or fewer, dating back to the 2018 regular season and postseason.
“April has always been a tough month for me,” Chacin said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m just trying to figure out a way to get going. I felt my first three starts weren’t that bad and I was getting better, but (Sunday) I struggled.”
Indeed, Chacin had a 4.54 ERA through seven March/April starts last season. Over his career, his 4.25 March/April ERA is slightly better than his 4.69 mark in May.
Aside from his rough outing last weekend, he also struggled in his one regular-season start against Los Angeles last year, giving up nine runs (eight earned) on five hits with four walks over 4 1/3 innings.
In two starts vs. the Dodgers in the 2018 National League Championship Series, Chacin pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings for the win in Game 3, then yielded two run in two innings to take the loss in Game 7.
Over his career against the Dodgers, he is 11-10 with a 4.70 ERA in 27 regular-season appearances (26 starts).
Where Chacin has a score to settle, Ross Stripling will head into his Friday start with confidence to spare. Not only did the Dodgers starter give up one run on four hits over eight innings against Milwaukee on Sunday, but he also started Los Angeles on its current five-game winning streak.
In the rotation because Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill started the year on the injured list, Stripling has made his case to remain a starter now that Kershaw (shoulder) has returned and Hill (knee) is due back this week.
Stripling (1-1, 2.92 ERA) is off to another hot start after he went 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA in the first half last season and earned his way onto his first National League All-Star team.
“I don’t know if assertive is the right word, but I was really focusing on strike one and getting ahead of guys and trying to get soft contact and early outs,” Stripling said about being the first Dodgers starter to go eight innings this season. “(The Brewers) were aggressive, so try and play into that.
“I’ve got to pitch against them again. That’s when the chess match really starts. We’ll see if they adjust, I adjust.”
Stripling is 1-0 against the Brewers with a 0.69 ERA in four career appearances (two starts). He did not face Milwaukee last year in the regular season or the postseason.
The right-hander will follow a dominating outing from teammate Julio Urias on Thursday. The left-hander gave up just one hit over seven scoreless innings at Milwaukee.
The Dodgers emerged with a 3-1 victory Thursday that ended their four-game road losing streak, all during a series at St. Louis last week.
The Friday game will also match the top two homer hitters in the National League. The Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger and the Brewers’ Christian Yelich each hit their 10th long ball of the season Thursday.
