D-backs @ Dodgers April 15, 2017: Jackie Robinson Day

Photo: Stacie WheelerKenta Maeda has a difficult act to follow. The evening after Clayton Kershaw‘s gem, he will try to clinch a series win against the otherwise-surging Diamondbacks. Maeda has looked a little shaky in his first two starts, allowing seven runs in just ten combined innings of work. He is missing bats, but it hasn’t necessarily been transferring to strikeouts just yet. He’s also allowed homers in both of his starts, which will run up small sample ERAs and FIPs. It’s hard to diagnose any problems after two starts, especially since pitch tracking data is so weird right now (one of Maeda’s starts was removed from Brooks Baseball because the data was too weird, leaving us with just the Colorado start). Still, the Dodgers are still waiting for the command that made Maeda into a legitimate number three starter to make its first real appearance of the season.

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