Bellinger, Dodgers hope to solve Brewers, end five-game skid

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger and Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Zach Davies were separated by two grades when they went to high school about three miles apart in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona.

They never faced each other at the high school level, however. Bellinger spent his sophomore year on the junior varsity at Hamilton High School, while Davies was across town starring for the Mesquite varsity.

Bellinger and Davies have faced each other at the major-league level, and they'll likely meet up again Saturday night.

Davies is set to start the second game of the three-game series in Los Angeles, and it's safe to predict Bellinger will be somewhere at the top of the batting order.

Bellinger hit his National League-leading eighth home run on Friday night in an 8-5 loss to the Brewers in the series opener. Bellinger also leads the NL in RBI (21), runs (19) and is second in batting average (.417).

Bellinger is more concerned with helping the Dodgers end their five-game losing streak.

"Still the middle of April, there's a lot of baseball to be played," he said. "At the end of the day, we're going to be all right. We've just got to stick to our plan."

Davies (1-0, 1.69 ERA) is also off to a strong start this season, allowing two earned runs in 10 2/3 innings so far.

He most recently went 5 2/3 innings against the visiting Chicago Cubs in a 4-2 win on Sunday. Both runs scored by Chicago were unearned against Davies, who gave up five hits, struck out one and walked two.

That outing was similar to his season debut on April 1, when Davies gave up two runs and four hits in five innings of a 4-3 win at the Cincinnati Reds.

"After last year, after missing most of the year, it feels good to start the year that way," Davies told reporters after his latest start. "The last few years, the mantra with me is 'slow starts.'"

Davies combined for 13 shutout innings in two regular-season starts against the Dodgers in 2017, but shoulder and back injuries limited him to 13 games last season.

He was added to the postseason roster prior to the NL Championship Series last October against the Dodgers and blanked them in one inning of relief in a Game 5 loss. Los Angeles won the series in seven games.

Bellinger went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and run scored off Davies in the first meeting in 2017, a 3-0 win by the Brewers.

Following the loss on Friday night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said left-hander Caleb Ferguson (0-0, 0.95 ERA) will come out of the bullpen to start on Saturday.

Three of Ferguson's 29 appearances for the Dodgers last season were starts.

"I think the bullpen, with where we're at, we're in pretty good shape," Roberts said.

The Dodgers had an opening in their starting rotation after placing left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu on the injured list on Tuesday. Ryu left in the second inning the night before at the St. Louis Cardinals with a groin injury.

Getting through the first inning unscathed will be a challenge for both starting pitchers.

The Dodgers have scored 32 runs in the first inning this season and the Brewers have scored 37.

"We've got to get ahead of hitters, and that's across the board," Roberts said. "Starters, relievers, we've just got to pitch better."

--Field Level Media