Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
10 games into the season, Clayton Kershaw makes his season debut after a short trip to the injured list with back stiffness. After a blowout win last night, the Dodgers (6-3) are now tied atop the NL West with the Rockies and the Padres. The team is currently 4-1 on this nine game road trip, and their +27 run differential leads the league. Kershaw and the Dodgers hope to extend that before ending their road trip in San Diego.
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| 1:10 p.m. | Phoenix | ||
| RF | Betts | 2B | K. Marte (S) |
| 1B | Muncy (L) | CF | S. Marte |
| 3B | Turner | 1B | Walker |
| CF | Bellinger (L) | DH | Escobar (S) |
| SS | Taylor | RF | Calhoun (L) |
| LF | Pollock | C | C. Kelly |
| DH | Pederson (L) | LF | Peralta (L) |
| 2B | Hernandez | 3B | Vargas (S) |
| C | Barnes | SS | Ahmed |
| P | Kershaw (L) | P | Merrill (R) |
Corey Seager is out of the lineup today with a quad issue that is reported as just cramp related. Hopefully it’s nothing. Besides that, Cody Bellinger returns to the lineup batting cleanup after his day off. Edwin Rios is available off the bench, and based on how he’s been batting, it’s likely we’ll see him more and more. Mookie Betts leads off and looks to continue to build upon his last handful of games. He’s slashing .346/.433/.615 over his last six games, for a 1.048 OPS and 190 wRC+.
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Like I mentioned, Seager is out today with a left quad cramping issue. Assuming everything is fine, a day off for the league’s hottest hitter is well warranted — hopefully it’s just one game.
Adding Gavin Lux to the lineup would be ideal, this would also be easier if the MLB decided to keep active rosters at 30. The plan had been to cut the limit to 28 by Thursday, but given the circumstances I think there’s a good chance it stays at 30.
Simple move to get Kershaw activated, Mitch White will be back eventually.
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First pitch is at 1:10 PT on SNLA and MLB Network.
