Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After splitting the first two games of this four game set with the Mets (39-23) via extra-inning games, the Dodgers (37-25) lost the third game convincingly by a score of 6-1, narrowly avoiding a shutout. The pitching continued to be an issue, particularly early in the game, as Tony Gonsolin (and Kiké Hernández) combined to allow three runs in the first inning. They could’ve called the game after that, as the Dodgers proceeded to score just one run via an Andy Pages solo shot in the ninth inning. They haven’t put together a clean game in a while now, with either poor pitching performances, defensive miscues, or inconsistent offense, and more often than not, with at least two of those occurring per game. Today Landon Knack will get the ball as the Dodgers attempt to avoid losing this series against the Mets before flying to St. Louis. The left-handed David Peterson will start for New York, hoping to replicate his performance against the Dodgers a couple weeks back.
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| 1:10 P.M. | Los Angeles | ||
| LF | Nimmo (L) | DH | Ohtani (L) |
| DH | Marte | SS | Betts |
| RF | Soto (L) | C | Smith |
| 1B | Alonso | RF | T. Hernández |
| 2B | McNeil (L) | CF | Pages |
| CF | Taylor | 2B | Edman (S) |
| 3B | Baty (L) | 1B | K. Hernández |
| C | Alvarez | LF | Conforto (L) |
| SS | Acuña | 3B | Rojas |
| P | Peterson (L) | P | Knack (R) |
Quite a few changes to the lineups for both sides. Francisco Lindor is out of the lineup for the Mets as he was diagnosed with a broken toe prior to today’s game. He indicated that he is day-to-day with the injury similar to Mookie Betts and his toe injury. The lineup shifts around accordingly, with Luisangel Acuña starting at shortstop. Jeff McNeil goes back to the infield with Tyrone Taylor in center field. Ronny Mauricio sits as Brett Baty gets the start at third and Francisco Alvarez is behind the plate.
The Dodgers will rest Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy today against the left-handed Peterson, as Enrique Hernández and Miguel Rojas start in their place. Tommy Edman is back in the lineup and starting at second base after dealing with some minor ankle soreness. It’s a bit of a weak lineup for the Dodgers, so they could use the top four bats in Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, and Teoscar Hernández, showing up.
The Dodgers lead all of baseball in come from behind wins with 20, and while it is a good category to lead as it shows grit, talent, and the ability to focus late in games while trailing, they wouldn’t need to do this every night if they could get or hold a lead. The Tigers (41-22) have four more wins overall and six less come from behind wins (14), as they have some semblance of pitching consistency. More on the pitching in a bit.
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Here’s how Knack and Peterson have fared.
Knack was very good his last time out against the Yankees rather surprisingly, although that was likely in part to having a ten run lead to work with after the second inning. He allowed one run on five hits and three walks with six strikeouts over six innings, earning his third win of the season. He gave up a solo shot to Aaron Judge which seems about right, but has now put up back to back quality starts against the Yankees and Mets. He allowed just one run on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts his last time facing the Mets, although the beginning of the game was eerily similar to the Tony Gonsolin start yesterday. In that previous outing, Juan Soto reached on an error and Pete Alonso hit a two run home run, whereas yesterday it was a HBP, error, and a three run homer.
Before we get to Peterson, the pitching issues need to be addressed.
The Dodgers’ pitching staff has a staggering 6.10 ERA in the first inning, the fourth worst mark in the entire sport. That’s accompanied by the most first inning walks allowed (38), as well as the third most home runs allowed at 15. The teams the Dodgers trail in first inning performance are along the likes of the Athletics (5.49 SP ERA), who are 17 games below .500, and the Rockies (6.55 SP ERA), potentially the worst team of all time. Total earned runs aside, only the Rockies allow first inning runs at a higher rate than the Dodgers. Colorado has given up first inning runs in 31 of their 62 games (50%), while the Dodgers have done so in 26 of 62 (41.9%). They’re 22-11 at home despite allowing runs in the first inning at home at the highest rate in the baseball, doing so in 17 of their 33 home games, (51.5%). More often than not, at home, the offense is playing from behind before they even get a chance to bat.
To get an idea on the other end of this spectrum, the Dodgers have allowed 48 runs in the first inning, while two of the better pitching staffs in the Yankees (21) and Mets (22), have combined for just 43. It’s beyond being a problem, it’s an embarrassment for the staff. The inability to be ready and execute in the first inning with this level of frequency is just unacceptable.
Now that that’s out of the way, the left-handed Peterson has had an excellent season so far, with the sixth best ERA (2.69) in the National League among qualified starters. He’s yet to give up more than three runs in any of his eleven starts this year, and came up one out shy of his fifth consecutive quality start his last time out. He earned his fourth win of the year, allowing one earned run on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Prior to that was his stellar outing against the Dodgers, where he went 7.2 innings of two-run ball, with just five hits and two walks in addition to seven strikeouts and the win. Peterson is good, but the Dodgers can’t let that happen again.
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Great news to have two high-leverage bullpen arms returning to the fold. They’ll need corresponding moves on the 26-man roster for both, in addition to a 40-man spot for Michael Kopech.
James Outman and Esteury Ruiz are clearly the first two in line to be called up should something happen to Edman or Hyeseong Kim at any point. Luckily, they’re not needed right now.
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First pitch is at 1:10 PT on SNLA and MLB Network.
