Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (73-56) dropped the first game of this road series against the Padres (73-56) last night by a score of 2-1, behind a very disappointing offensive performance. Alex Freeland accounted for the only scoring with his first career home run in the third inning. The offense wasted a great Blake Snell outing, who allowed just two runs over seven innings despite facing a good offense in back-to-back outings. Mason Miller and Robert Suarez both had stressful outings, while the Dodgers only used Edgardo Henriquez, which is a bit of a silver lining for the remaining two games. Tyler Glasnow will be on the mound looking to earn his first win since March, while Nestor Cortes looks to secure the series victory for the Padres.
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| 5:40 PM | San Diego | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | RF | Tatis Jr. |
| SS | Betts | DH | Arraez (L) |
| C | Smith | 3B | Machado |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | 1B | O’Hearn (L) |
| RF | T. Hernández | SS | Bogaerts |
| LF | Call | LF | Sheets (L) |
| CF | Pages | CF | Laureano |
| 2B | Rojas | 2B | Cronenworth (L) |
| 3B | Kennedy | C | Fermin |
| P | Glasnow (R) | P | Cortes (L) |
The Dodgers will run out a similar lineup as yesterday, with Alex Call starting over Michael Conforto, and Miguel Rojas starting over Alex Freeland. Conforto warrants very limited playing time regardless, but the swap for Call against the left-handed Cortes makes sense. Freeland has been playing well and added the solo homer off Yu Darvish yesterday, but he is weaker from the right side while Rojas has been very good against lefties (.798 OPS). I’d personally consider starting Freeland over Buddy Kennedy, but the lineup decisions aren’t up to me.
The Padres will run out the same lineup, with Luis Arraez and Ryan O’Hearn swapping positions, with O’Hearn at first base and Arraez as the designated hitter.
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Glasnow allowed two runs on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts over five innings his last time out against the Padres. It was a solid outing despite going just five innings, and he’s allowed just five runs over 17.2 innings across three starts in August. It hasn’t all been pretty since returning from the IL, but over seven starts since returning, he now has a 2.50 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and 49 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He has an 0-1 record over that stretch because he isn’t getting any run support, but the performances have been strong. On the season, he now has a 3.12 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 72 strikeouts to 28 walks through 57.2 innings.
Cortes allowed four runs on seven hits and four walks over 5.2 innings his last time out against the Giants. All four runs came in the first inning via three home runs, and he now has a 5.87 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP through 23.0 innings. It was his third outing with the Padres, and he now has a 4.20 ERA with 14 strikeouts to 8 walks in 15.0 innings with San Diego.
He famously came in to face Freddie Freeman in Game 1 of the World Series with the bases loaded and … the rest is history.
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Kirby Yates rejoins the roster while Blake Snell is placed on the paternity list, buying the team a few days to figure out their corresponding move.
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First pitch is at 5:40 PT on SNLA and FOX Sports.
