MLB At Large: Dodgers, Mets, Tigers, Cardinals Face Challenge of Series On The Road

DODGERS (84-52) at MARLINS (70-67)

● The Dodgers and Marlins are meeting for their second and final series of 2023. Last month L.A. took two of three at Dodger Stadium, including a sweep of a double header. During their last trip to Miami in August 2022 the Dodgers won three of four and outscored the Marlins 22-11.

● Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts have the most combined extra-base hits by any two teammates in MLB. Their 153 combined extra-base hits are 15 more than their closest competition, Matt Olson and Ronald Acuna Jr. With 78 extra-base hits, Freeman is five back of matching his career high and with 75, Betts is nine back of his career high.

● Brusdar Graterol has not allowed a run in his last 16.1 innings pitched, the second-longest active streak in the NL (Justin Steele - 17.0). This is the longest stretch of scoreless innings Graterol has pitched; his previous high was 10.0 innings from June 26 to August 24, 2022. The last team to score a run with Graterol on the mound was the Blue Jays on July 24.

● Jesus Luzardo is second in the NL with 131 strikeouts versus right-handed batters (Blake Snell -166). Luzardo’s season high is nine strikeouts against right-handers in one game which he did twice, on April 5 versus Minnesota and on June 23 versus Pittsburgh.

● Jake Burger has the highest batting average, .313, on the Marlins among qualifying players since August 1, when he was traded to Miami. Burger is batting .099 higher with the Marlins compared to his average with the White Sox prior to the trade.

● As a team, Miami has a .288 batting average versus left-handed pitchers, the second highest in MLB (Atlanta - .298). Among qualifying Marlins Luis Arraez leads with a .339 average versus left-handers, the fifth-highest batting average against lefty pitchers in the

NL. METS (63-74) at NATIONALS (62-76)

● Since the start of the 2014 season, the Nationals are 87-86 against the Mets, with Washington dominating from 2014-18 (56-39) and New York improving to 47-31 from 2019 to 2023.

● Patrick Corbin has allowed 183 hits in 2023, the most in MLB. He also has six games in which he has conceded 10+ hits, also the most in the league.

● CJ Abrams (15 HR/38 SB) is one of just five players in MLB to hit 15+ home runs and steal 35+ bases this season. Ronald Acuña Jr., Bobby Witt Jr., Corbin Carroll and Julio Rodríguez are the others.

● Since July 26, José Quintana and Kodai Senga are tied for the league lead with six quality starts with 10 other pitchers.

● Since 2014, Francisco Lindor is tied for the MLB lead (with José Ramírez) with six seasons of at least 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases.

● The Mets had a .623 winning percentage in 2022 and are currently at .460. Their .163 decrease is the largest in MLB from last season to the current one.

TIGERS (63-74) at YANKEES (68-69)

● The Tigers and Yankees meet for the second time this season, with New York taking three of four last week in Detroit. The Yankees have won eight of the last 10 games against the Tigers and six straight at home, with their last loss in the Bronx coming in 2019.

● The Tigers are currently 6-23 (.207) against the AL East this season – their lowest winning percentage ever against the division and third lowest against any division since 1969 (2019 - .182 and 2003 - .188 vs AL West).

● Kerry Carpenter currently ranks top two on Detroit in batting average (.289), home runs (20), and RBI (56). He would be the third Tigers outfielder to do so in the last 15 seasons (min. 300 PA), joining Nick Castellanos (2018) and Justin Upton (2017).

● At 68-69 (.496), the Yankees are below .500 through 137 games for the first time since 1992 (64-73, .467). This includes being in last place for 63 days in the AL East, their most days since 1990 (136 days).

● Gerrit Cole has 12 career starts against the Tigers with an 8-1 record and ranks first in MLB among active players in ERA (2.03), opponent average (.187) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.54) against the Tigers (minimum 10 starts).

● Jasson Dominguez hit two home runs in his first three career games, becoming the fourth Yankees player to do so, and second youngest to hit two home runs – 20 yrs, 208 days (Mickey Mantle – 19 yrs, 196 days).

CARDINALS (59-78) at BRAVES (90-46)

● The Braves are 8-3 (.727) since the start of 2019 against the Cardinals at home. It is their third best record against any single opponent at Truist Park over that span (min. 10 games).

● Spencer Strider has 245 strikeouts in 2023, the eighth highest single season tally in franchise history and the most since John Smoltz in 1996 (276).

● The Braves are 32-9-3 (.761) in series played (.761). It is their highest series winning percentage since 1897 (36-6-4, .826), when they were the Boston Beaneaters.

● Dakota Hudson owns a 1.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season. Since the start of the 2018 season, Hudson has the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio in MLB at 1.50 (min. 400 IP).

● St. Louis is last in the NL Central with a 59-78 (.431) record. In the live ball era (since 1920), the Cardinals have finished last in their division only one time: 1990 (70-92, .432).

● The Braves have used 68 different lineups this season, the fewest in MLB. The second fewest is 91 different lineups from the Phillies. The Royals lead the league with 135.