Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (78-59) were coming off of a four-game winning streak and a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds (70-68), before dropping two of three at home against the downtrending Arizona Diamondbacks (68-71). Will Smith saved the series and narrowly avoided a sweep with a pinch-hit walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday afternoon.
The Dodgers still gained ground in the division race, as the San Diego Padres (76-62) have lost four of their previous five games, resulting in a 2.5 game lead. Still, they trail the Philadelphia Phillies (80-58) by 1.5 games for the second seed in the National League. Naturally, the Dodgers need to focus on winning the division, but catching the Phillies would result in a first-round bye, avoiding the Wild Card series altogether. This series begins a favorable stretch, with three games against the Pirates (61-77), followed by three against the Orioles (62-76), and finally three against the Rockies (39-99) at home. Clayton Kershaw takes the ball today, up against the right-handed Carmen Mlodzinski.
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| 3:40 P.M. | Pittsburgh | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | SS | Triolo |
| SS | Betts | 2B | Gonzales |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | RF | Reynolds (S) |
| C | Smith | LF | Pham |
| RF | T. Hernández | DH | McCutchen |
| LF | Conforto (L) | CF | Canario |
| CF | Pages | 1B | Yorke |
| 3B | Freeland (S) | C | Davis |
| 2B | Rojas | 3B | Devanney |
| P | Kershaw (L) | P | Mlodzinski (R) |
It’s the first game of September, and Michael Conforto is still here and starting against a right-handed pitcher. He’s also still batting sixth despite a .516 OPS and 45 wRC+ in August, in addition to a 33.8% strikeout rate. Tommy Edman and Max Muncy are set to return soon, and if Conforto makes it past those two returning, he will have had an unprecedented, record-setting leash from a top-tier contending team. Nevertheless, can only hope he turns it around sometime soon.
Mookie Betts has seemed to figure things out, with a .337/.412/.472 slash since August 5, with eleven walks to just five strikeouts over 23 games. Smith had been scuffling in August with just a .630 OPS and an 88 wRC+, but the home run on Sunday was encouraging. Smith returning to the form he showcased prior to August would be a huge boost to this offense over the final month. Shohei Ohtani (1.020 OPS, 178 wRC+) and Freddie Freeman (.993 OPS, 170 wRC+) both had an excellent August, and the MV3 have been performing how they should for a month now. They’ll need some help from the rest of the order before the final reinforcements arrive, but the team as currently constructed should be good enough to go on a run over the final few weeks.
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Here’s how Kershaw and Mlodzinski have fared.
Mlodzinski started the year in the rotation, but after a 5.67 ERA across his first nine starts, a move to the bullpen completely turned his season around. He’s made a couple starts as of late as a multi-inning opener type, and now has a 5.01 ERA across 46.2 innings pitched as a starter, compared to a 2.41 ERA in 37.1 innings out of the bullpen. His last time out he allowed one run on three hits and three walks across three innings against the Cardinals on 46 pitches, before Pittsburgh turned to Bubba Chandler for four innings. It’s likely that happens again today, as Mlodzinski and Pittsburgh’s top pitching prospect in Chandler continue to split bulk innings.
Kershaw allowed just one run on two hits with six strikeouts across five innings against the Reds his last time out, earning his fifth consecutive win. He’s had just three scoreless outings of his 17 thus far, but consistently puts the team in a position to win and limits damage as well as anyone. He’s the definition of a true “pitcher” despite sitting under 90 MPH on his fastball these days. Over his five-game winning streak in August, he allowed just six earned runs across 28.2 innings, with a 1.88 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. Since his poor season debut against the Angels on May 17, Kershaw has a 2.67 ERA, the tenth best ERA over that stretch, sandwiched between Zack Wheeler (2.73) and Garrett Crochet (2.63). He just keeps finding a way to get results.
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Hyeseong Kim is back with the Dodgers as part of the September roster expansions, albeit with some apparent delays.
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This likely alludes to the idea that Teoscar Hernández could move to left field with Andy Pages moving to right while Tommy Edman is the everyday center fielder. Edman and Muncy returning in a week will be the final offensive reinforcements, so look for the Dodgers to start deploying their likely postseason lineups after they return.
Roki Sasaki continues to rehab with OKC, but based on his performance and the current starting rotation, it’s hard to see a spot for him anytime soon.
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First pitch is at 3:40 PT on SNLA.
