Since Juan Rivera was acquired from Toronto during the All-Star break, James Loney has seen his playing time decrease precipitously, and deservedly so. Loney is hitting a paltry .251/.295/.319 this season, ranking next to last among qualified hitters in the National League in both OPS (.614) and wOBA (.271). Simply put, Loney has been one of the very worst hitters in the league this season.
Loney started 82 of the 92 games at first base for the Dodgers before the break, but has started just 12 of 20 games since. That includes tonight, as Rivera is at first base against the left-handed Joe Saunders of the Diamondbacks. But it isn't just southpaws that have forced Loney to the bench, as Rivera has also started five times at first against righties. Here are Saturday night's lineups from Chase Field in Phoenix:
Dodgers (51-60)
Gordon SS
Blake 3B
Ethier RF
Kemp CF
Rivera 1B
Miles 2B
Barajas C
Gwynn LF
Eovaldi P
Diamondbacks (61-51)
Bloomquist SS
Johnson 2B
Upton RF
Young CF
Montero C
Roberts 3B
Goldschmidt 1B
Parra LF
Saunders P
Saturday night's 5:10 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Prime Ticket. For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read True Blue LA.