Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Walker Buehler struggled once again last night, turning in one of the worst starts of his career. He failed to get out of the third inning and allowed five runs and two homers. The Mets reclaimed the highest win total in the National League (36, one more than the Dodgers but with two more games played). The Dodgers still have a chance to take the four-game series with a win today, and call on another pitcher that has not looked his usual dominant self so far this season.
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| 1:10 PM | Los Angeles | ||
| CF | Nimmo (L) | RF | Betts |
| RF | Marte | 1B | Freeman (L) |
| SS | Lindor (S) | SS | T. Turner |
| 1B | Alonso | C | Smith |
| DH | Davis | DH | J. Turner |
| LF | Canha | CF | Bellinger (L) |
| 3B | Escobar (S) | LF | Taylor |
| 2B | Guillorme (L) | 3B | Alvarez (L) |
| C | Nido | 2B | Lux (L) |
| P | Williams (R) | P | Urias (L) |
Much like Buehler, Julio Urias struggled against the Pirates in his last start. They had nearly similar starts against the Pirates as they each allowed four runs early. Buehler allowed three in the second and one in the third, while Urias allowed two in each of the first two innings. They also both recovered to give the Dodgers some length, as they each lasted six innings and didn’t give up any other runs. Urias did throw a season-high 91 pitches and struck out a season-high eight batters. Urias has been mostly solid this season with a 2.89 ERA, but has a 4.15 FIP and a 19.7 percent strikeout rate, his worst since he made five starts in 2017.
Trevor Williams makes his fifth start and 10th appearances overall for the Mets this season. Williams has a 3.58 ERA and 3.65 FIP in 27 2/3 innings, but has been pretty uneven in his starts. He’s totaled 15 innings over four starts. Two of those starts were shutouts, including five shutout innings his last time out against Washington. In his other two starts, he’s allowed eight runs and struck out only two batters in six innings. He allowed four in both of his non-shutout starts, both coming on the road against NL West teams (one in Colorado and one in Arizona). Williams has seen the Dodgers five times in his career. Most recently, he finished off a Mets win against the Dodgers last August. Before that, the Dodgers had knocked Williams around. As a member of the Pirates, Williams pitched in four games against the Dodgers and allowed 15 runs and 26 hits in 20 innings.
Eddy Alvarez gets his first start as a Dodger. Yesterday it was reported he would serve as the DH today, but Justin Turner‘s hamstring is reportedly a bit tight so Turner will DH with Alvarez starting at third.
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Kevin Pillar‘s season is over.
Pillar’s shoulder popped out Wednesday and it will require surgery. Pillar had a double and a walk in 13 plate appearances and made a couple nice defensive plays, including almost making one of the sickest home run robberies in recent memory.
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The pitching matchups are set for the Dodger trip to Chicago this week.
The White Sox will face the three best Dodger starters. Johnny Cueto probably gonna throw six shutout.
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First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM PT and will be shown on Sportsnet LA.
