Reds seeking to end Dodger Stadium hex

LOS ANGELES -- The Cincinnati Reds will try to end their seven-game slide at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

Reds right-hander Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 4.50 ERA) will oppose Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood (6-0, 1.69) in the second game of their three-game set. Wojciechowski will be making the 23rd start by a Cincinnati rookie pitcher this season.

Using their young arms has been trendy during the past few seasons for the Reds, who set a modern-day major league record with 64 consecutive starts by rookies to end the 2015 season.

"So much of it is you have to go through the experience and really put all of that other stuff aside and focus on making pitches," Reds manager Bryan Price said of throwing his young starters into the fire. "Again, so much about this game is talking yourself into believing you can do it and building up the confidence where you know you can do it. It's not so much anything else.

"All of the stadiums are big, all of the stadiums have that opportunity to have 25,000 to 50,000 people in them. You're playing against another team that's trying to beat you, so the environment is about the same. However, if you don't go into (it) with the right frame of mind, you've talked yourself into losing before you've even taken the field."

In his past three starts, Wojciechowski has received no-decisions. Wojciechowski yielded two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks in six innings in his last outing, a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.

Wojciechowski has never faced Los Angeles.

Wood, who the Dodgers will activate Saturday from the 10-day disabled list after sustaining an SC joint inflammation, hasn't pitched since May 26, when he tossed five scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Wood struck out eight, walked two and allowed just two hits. That outing extended his scoreless innings streak to 25 1/3.

Against the Reds, Wood is 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in three career games. He last faced them on Aug. 25, 2015, limiting Cincinnati to a run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 5-1 Los Angeles decision at Great American Ball Park. Wood struck out four and walked three.

Wood has fared well against National League Central clubs, compiling an 8-4 record and a 2.45 ERA.

In the opening game of the series Friday, the Dodgers rolled to 7-2 victory. Justin Turner homered in his first at-bat since coming off the disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Enrique Hernandez also went deep for the Dodgers.

That's a good way to come back if I had to draw it up," said Turner, who has hit safely in his last six games and is batting .524 with a homer and four RBI during that stretch. "That's the most ideal way to do it."

Dodgers starter Rich Hill (3-2) allowed a run on two hits for the win. Kenta Maeda earned his first save in his first relief appearance after the Dodgers removed him from the starting rotation.

Joey Votto hit his 17th home run in the ninth inning for the Reds but it wasn't enough.