Preview: Dodgers at White Sox

[July 18, 2017]  The Los Angeles Dodgers have a great chance at matching their season-high 10-game winning streak when they go with ace Clayton Kershaw in the opener of a two-game series at the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. The Dodgers' nine-game run includes five one-run wins, the latest a 3-2 triumph to cap a sweep in Miami on Sunday.

"It has been fun," left-hander Rich Hill, who struck out nine in five solid innings Sunday, told reporters."We know our end goal, and what we want to do, and where we want to go, and how we see the season finishing. But we can't get there without focusing on tomorrow." Los Angeles has won 29 of its last 33 overall and Kershaw is riding through another dominant stretch that has seen him go 10-0 with a 1.98 ERA over his last 13 starts. The Dodgers are 36-9 when Justin Turner (.374 average in 68 games) and Cody Bellinger (26 homers in 73 games) are in the starting lineup and will be taking aim at White Sox right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, who gave up 18 runs (15 earned) in 15 2/3 innings in June before going on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. Chicago has lost four straight and seven of its last eight to sink a season-high 14 games under .500.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), WGN (Chicago)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (14-2, 2.18 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Miguel Gonzalez (4-8, 5.15)

After a stretch in which he was having some issues keeping the ball in the park, Kershaw has allowed one home run in 29 innings over his last four starts while posting a 0.62 ERA. He recorded his 25th career complete game - first in 2017 - and struck out 13 in a win over Kansas City prior to the All-Star break. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA in three career starts versus Chicago, and served up homers to Jose Abreu and Melky Cabrera.

Gonzalez's final start before landing on the disabled list saw him allow nine runs (eight earned) in five frames of a loss to Baltimore. He surrendered 25 hits - five home runs - during a three-game losing streak before the injury. The 33-year-old, who has never faced the Dodgers, is 3-5 with a 4.18 ERA in 12 interleague starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Turner has three home runs, five RBIs and four runs scored during a four-game hitting streak.

2. White Sox RF Avisail Garcia homered twice in Sunday's 7-6 loss to Seattle and is 5-for-13 over his last three games.

3. Los Angeles is 19-11 in the first game of a series; Chicago is 10-19.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 6, White Sox 3

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