Ryu ready for second half as Dodgers battle Red Sox

For the pitching-rich Los Angeles Dodgers, Hyun-Jin Ryu's dominant first half was a revelation.

The Korean left-hander has taken advantage of a largely healthy season to post a major league-leading 1.73 ERA through 17 starts, earning the starting nod for the National League at the All-Star Game in a decision Dodgers manager (and NL skipper) Dave Roberts described as a "no-brainer."

"He's been the epitome of consistency," Roberts told reporters of the decision. "He's been the best pitcher in the National League."

Ryu (10-2) will look to carry that success over through the remainder of the year as his second half begins on the road Sunday against the Boston Red Sox in the rubber contest of a three-game series.

The meeting between the 2018 World Series opponents has featured a pair of blowouts thus far, with the Red Sox winning 8-1 on Friday night before the Dodgers returned the favor, 11-2, on Saturday.

Sunday night's contest figures, on paper, to be a low-scoring affair with fellow southpaw David Price (7-2, 3.24) taking the mound for Boston opposite Ryu.

Price was responsible for two of the Red Sox's four wins on their way to beating the Dodgers in last year's best-of-seven Fall Classic. He bested Ryu in Game 2 before going seven innings with just one run allowed on three hits in the decisive Game 5.

This season, Price has been the Red Sox's ace with Chris Sale's struggles continuing into Saturday's loss to the Dodgers. Price has allowed no more than two earned runs in each of his last four starts and is undefeated since April 27, a span of 11 outings.

Ryu, meanwhile, was roughed up for seven runs on nine hits in four innings on the road against the Colorado Rockies on June 28 before rebounding to shut out the San Diego Padres over six innings in his last start before the All-Star break.

Ryu has faced the Red Sox just once in the regular season, giving up four runs in five innings. In his World Series Game 2 loss, he gave up four runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Price has seen the Dodgers twice in the regular season, allowing seven runs (three earned) over 12 innings.

Saturday's Los Angeles win snapped a four-game losing streak for the visitors while ending a Boston run of five straight victories. Four Dodgers -- Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, A.J. Pollock and Max Muncy -- homered in the contest as the team emerged from an offensive funk.

"You play a 162-game season, there's probably going to be a few lulls in there where you have a hard time getting things going, but that's uncharacteristic of this offense," said Turner, who also had two doubles in a three-hit performance. "Hopefully, we're right back where we're supposed to be."

Xander Bogaerts hit his team-leading 19th home run for the Red Sox in the loss, his second blast of the series and third in his last four games.

Prior to the game, Boston added to its pitching depth by acquiring right-hander Andrew Cashner from the Baltimore Orioles for two minor leaguers.

"We like how our club looks, but we've liked how our club has looked for a long time," said Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. "But we have to continue forward because we've dug ourselves a hole as far as the division."

--Field Level Media