FOX
Los Angeles @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Sep 11, 2019 ) LA Dodgers 3, Baltimore 7
Lefty Rich Hill returns to the mound for the first time in nearly three months when he starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday in the finale of a three-game series with the host Baltimore Orioles. Hill went down with a forearm strain June 19 and is expected to make four starts down the stretch for the Dodgers as he aims to earn a spot in the postseason rotation.
The veteran has a 2.66 ERA in 11 playoff games (10 starts) for the Dodgers, who clinched their seventh straight National League West title with a win in the series opener Tuesday. With the division locked up and the stakes much lower, Los Angeles dropped Wednesday's matchup 7-3 as the Orioles ended their six-game losing streak. Jonathan Villar smacked a three-run homer in the seventh to snap a 2-2 tie for Baltimore, which gives the ball to Dylan Bundy in the finale Thursday. A.J. Pollock had two of the Dodgers' six hits Wednesday, including a two-run homer, after going 0-for-10 with five strikeouts over his previous three games.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Rich Hill (4-1, 2.55 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Dylan Bundy (6-13, 5.06)
Hill recorded 61 strikeouts over 53 innings while holding opponents to a .237 average before going on the injured list. He threw a two-inning simulated game at Dodger Stadium last week. The 39-year-old, who appeared in 14 games for Baltimore in 2009, has given up 27 runs (24 earned) across 27 1/3 career innings at Camden Yards.
Bundy has finished at least six innings in three of his last four starts, during which he is 1-0 with a 4.12 ERA. The 26-year-old is 2-8 with a 5.24 ERA at home while giving up 92 hits (16 homers) in 79 innings. Bundy faced the Dodgers once in relief in 2016, spinning 2 1/3 scoreless innings while recording all seven outs via the strikeout.
WALK-OFFS
1. Four of Pollock's last five hits have left the yard.
2. Villar has hit 14 of his 21 homers at home.
3. The Dodgers are 8-9 against AL teams and 86-44 against the NL.
PREDICTION: Dodgers 6, Orioles 5