Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers got destroyed by Eric Lauer once again last night, ultimately losing by a score of 4-0, just their sixth time being shutout all year. Lauer has now started eleven games in his career against the Dodgers, and has a 2.37 ERA over 64.2 innings, resulting in 7-1 record against them. This is the sixth of seven games these two teams will play against each other this season, and the Dodgers are currently down 2-3 in the season series. Even with the loss, they still hold a 17.5 game lead in the NL West over the San Diego Padres (68-56), and a 6.5 game lead over the Mets (79-45) for the best record in baseball. Tonight features two of the best pitchers in the game this year, Tony Gonsolin vs. the reigning Cy Young winner, Corbin Burnes.
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| 7:10 PM | Los Angeles | ||
| LF | Yelich (L) | RF | Betts |
| SS | Adames | SS | T. Turner |
| 1B | Tellez (L) | 1B | Freeman (L) |
| RF | McCutchen | C | Smith |
| DH | Hiura | 3B | Muncy (L) |
| 2B | Wong (L) | LF | Gallo (L) |
| 3B | Urías | 2B | Taylor |
| C | Narváez (L) | CF | Bellinger (L) |
| CF | Davis | DH | Thompson |
| P | Burnes (R) | P | Gonsolin (R) |
Justin Turner sits as the team will bat a plethora of lefties against the right-handed Burnes. Initially Chris Taylor was going to be at DH, but with Gavin Lux scratched he’ll play second base instead as Trayce Thompson will be the designated hitter. Yesterday, the Dodgers had eight hits and three walks, but left nine on base as a team and were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position, with the one hit resulting in an out at home. It was a questionable send by Dino Ebel, but I like challenging the arm of Christian Yelich.
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Here’s how Gonsolin and Burnes matchup.
Burnes allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six across 5.2 innings last Thursday against the Dodgers. Burnes held the lineup scoreless through five innings, however he allowed the first three batters he faced in the sixth inning to reach base and ultimately surrendered a two-out, two-RBI triple to Gavin Lux to end his outing. Though Burnes has failed to work at least six innings in three of his last six starts, he’s still maintained a 3.60 ERA with 43 strikeouts to just 11 walks in that 35 inning span. For the season, Burnes has a 2.48 ERA with 187 strikeouts across 148.2 frames, just trailing Gerrit Cole with 189.
Gonsolin (15-1) earned the win over Milwaukee on Wednesday, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out eight batters over seven scoreless innings. Gonsolin held the Brewers without a hit until the fifth inning, and he didn’t allow any baserunners to reach second base over his seven innings of work. He continued his All-Star season, tying a season high with eight strikeouts and picked up his fourth straight win. Gonsolin is nearing his high mark as a professional with 123.1 innings on the campaign, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He’s been dominant over his past three starts, allowing just one run over 18.2 innings. He’s tied for the MLB lead with 15 wins, has held opponents to a league-low .169 batting average and ranks second in the National League with a 2.12 ERA.
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Terrible news for Walker Buehler and the Dodgers.
The official report states that it was Tommy John as well as flexor tendon repair, so I guess a positive spin would be that it’s handling two issues at once?
Dustin May recently returned from Tommy John surgery, and he missed 476 days since his last start in the big leagues. Theoretically if Buehler were to miss the same amount of time, that would put his return at September 29th of 2023. This is almost assuredly ending his 2023 season.
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Usually, when Dave Roberts says he doesn’t see it as an IL stint, it means he’ll miss eight games and should’ve just been placed on the IL in the first place. In all seriousness, hopefully it is just a minor issue and he’ll only be out two games.
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It should be fun to see the best pitcher in baseball on the second-best team in baseball match up against the Dodgers.
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David Laurila of FanGraphs had a great interview post about Emmet Sheehan, another young pitcher in the Dodgers’ system that is shooting up prospect rankings.
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First pitch is at 7:10 PM PDT on SNLA.
