Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Currently holding a 6.5-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West, the Dodgers (62-43) will now be without another one of their key players for at least a few days as Freddie Freeman is away from the team due to his son being hospitalized due to an infection he developed during the All-Star Break in Texas.
Dave Roberts on #Dodgers playing without Freddie Freeman: "I was texting with him now. … His son is still getting tests. So I obviously just don’t see him being here for this series. Once we get to the West Coast, we’ll see if that’s in play after the off day."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 27, 2024
I am sure I speak for everyone (at least, most everyone) in not caring at all about him missing games. I think Dave Roberts said it very well yesterday.
Dave Roberts said Freeman made the decison to go back home after his usual pre game work with Dino Ebel:
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) July 26, 2024
"He's trying to be here for the team and also for his family, but when your child is going thru things it's hard to be present and rightfully so."
With that said, it isn’t easy for the Dodgers’ offense right now. Shut out by the first-place Astros (54-49) yesterday, the Dodgers have a Cavan Biggio (.180/.281/.240/.521 in 59 PAs as a Dodgers), a Nick Ahmed (Was quite literally at home for the past few weeks after the Giants released him) and an Enrique Hernandez (.205/.264/.323/.586 in 239 PAs this season) at the bottom of the order today.
The Dodgers have a literal MLB level infield away from the team right now between Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas in addition to Chris Taylor.
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|---|---|---|---|
| 4:10 P.M. | Houston | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | 2B | Altuve |
| C | Smith | 3B | Bregman |
| 2B | Lux (L) | DH | Alvarez (L) |
| LF | T. Herandez | C | Diaz |
| RF | Heyward (L) | SS | Pena |
| CF | Outman (L) | CF | Meyers |
| 3B | E. Hernandez | LF | Dubon |
| 1B | Biggio (L) | 1B | Singleton (L) |
| SS | Ahmed | RF | McCormick |
| P | Wrobleski (L) | P | Blanco (R) |
i quote spongebob all the time just out of it being seared into my brain but one that i feel like i say a lot is “Who are you people!” https://t.co/ushvFTgUe1 pic.twitter.com/aVOAxib3JN
— ✨💖ZANDER 💖✨ (@thezandstorm) June 24, 2024
I’ve already made fun of it above, but seriously this lineup is wild as Gavin Lux (.235/.286/.345/.631) is hitting third. Yes, Lux has at least slashed much better in July and is hitting .429/.460/.800/1.260 in his past 12 games. Facing off with Ronel Blanco (2.75 ERA/4.39 FIP/4.19 xFIP), the group has just 21 career at-bats combined with three career hits. Two of those are home runs from Jason Heyward and Will Smith, but also six strikeouts.
The left-handed Justin Wrobleski will get a very right-handed heavy order from the Astros, but really the lone change from yesterday’s lineup is Mauricio Dubon starting in left field for Joey Loperfido. Jake Meyers went 3-for-3 yesterday while Alex Bregman and Jon Singleton homered.
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Set for his fourth career start, Justin Wrobleski is still looking for his first career victory after he allowed just three hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings against the Red Sox on July 20. Meanwhile, Blanco will face the Dodgers for the second time in his 27th career start (44th career game). Here’s a look at the two, even with Wrobleski’s drastically smaller sample size.
| Stats | Wrobleski | Blanco |
|---|---|---|
| IP | 14 1/3 | 114 2/3 |
| ERA | 4.40 | 2.75 |
| FIP | 6.21 | 4.39 |
| DRA | 5.39 | 4.51 |
| K% | 22.0% | 23.2% |
| BB% | 10.2% | 9.5% |
| HR/FB% | 17.4% | 12.8% |
| BABIP | .250 | .185 |
| AVG Against | .245 | .172 |
Wrobleski’s four-seamer has sat above 50% usage in all three games so far, peaking at 61.4% against the Red Sox. His sinker has risen each game, from 1.3% to 6% to 12% as it matched both the cutter and slider evenly as the second-most used pitch against Boston.
Last season when Blanco faced the Dodgers in Los Angeles, he allowed three runs on two hits and two walks. Those two hits were both the aforementioned home runs which both came in the 1st inning on four-seam fastballs. Blanco threw 53.5% sliders, 31.3% four-seamers and 15.2% changes against the Dodgers last season, which is sure to be a bit different today. Increasing his change usage to 25.3% from 9% last season, Blanco has dropped his slider from 48.6% to 32.4%.
While that game against Blanco was just 13 months ago, the winning pitcher for the Dodgers was Phil Bickford and Jonny DeLuca, Michael Busch and David Peralta all played in the game.
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Though the 2024 Trade Deadline is just a few more days away, the Dodgers have found another way to add to the roster before making any trades. Hunter Feduccia is headed to the majors according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. There’s essentially no one else left internally to add to the team at this point.
Feduccia and Diego Cartaya are the only two position players on the Dodgers 40-man roster who aren’t either active or on the IL https://t.co/K65k2bWVIh
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) July 27, 2024
As expected, he’s taking Freeman’s roster spot who was placed on the emergency family leave list.
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First pitch from Houston is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. PT on SportsNet LA.
