Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (86-57) finished off a sweep of the Nationals in a rare Sunday night game, winning the finale 7-5. Mookie Betts came up with the big hit, turning a 4-5 deficit into a lead with a three-run no-doubter in the eighth inning. Justin Wrobleski struggled in his first start since August 15, but Bobby Miller made his return and after a shaky first inning finished with three one-run innings to keep the game within reach. Edgardo Henriquez picked up his second save of the season, and the Dodgers got the sweep and extended their winning streak to four. As of me scheduling this post, the Dodgers are now two back of the Brewers (who won today) for the top seed in the NL. Arizona also won today, so the division lead is at 10. Atlanta got CGSO’d by Jesus Luzardo, so the Dodgers are 1.5 ahead of them for the 2-seed and first round bye in the NL. Today, they open up a three-game set with the Reds (69-74).
The Reds are in last place in the NL Central and their -105 run differential is the third-worst in all of baseball. Their offense has been surprisingly rough with the third-worst wRC+ in baseball (93) and the worst strikeout rate in baseball (25.3 percent). Their pitching staff has also not been great, as their 4.69 team ERA is the sixth-worst and their 5.14 road ERA is the second-worst. Their starters were supposed to be a strength headed into the season, but their 4.73 ERA is the fourth-worst in baseball and worse than their bullpen’s ERA (4.63). A lot of that can probably be attributed to Hunter Greene only making five starts and Nick Lodolo struggling and dealing with a couple injuries. The Dodgers only have 19 games left in the regular season and seven of them are against the Reds, as they have a four-game set in Cincinnati starting a week from today.
 |
 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:10 P.M. | Los Angeles | ||
| RF | Rodríguez (L) | DH | Ohtani (L) |
| SS | De La Cruz (S) | 1B | Freeman (L) |
| 1B | Stewart | 2B | Edman (S) |
| LF | Bleday (L) | 3B | Muncy (L) |
| C | Stephenson | LF | T. Hernández |
| DH | Suárez | RF | Tucker (L) |
| 2B | McLain | C | Feduccia (L) |
| CF | Jorge (L) | CF | Call |
| 3B | Hayes | SS | Freeland (S) |
| P | Burns (R) | P | Sheehan (R) |
Emmet Sheehan returns to make his 21st appearance and his first Major League outing in over a month. Sheehan had a really rough season in the Majors, going 4-8 with a 5.29 ERA/4.79 FIP in 95 1/3 innings. Sheehan started the season with a 4.70 ERA in his first 10 starts and the Dodgers went 7-3, but they only won one of his final 10 starts and he put up a 5.98 ERA. His final start came the day before the deadline against Boston and he gave up five runs, six hits and three homers in only 2 2/3 innings. He’s been much better in the Minors with only three runs allowed in 18 innings over four starts. Miller was optioned back to OKC to make room on the roster for Sheehan.
The Reds’ rotation has struggled as a whole, but Chase Burns has been one of the best starters in baseball this year. Burns has the 10th-best ERA among qualified starters (2.79) and on a team under .500, he’s 15-3. He’s struck out 171 batters in 145 1/3 innings and has struck out at least seven batters in 17 of his 26 starts. Burns has had a couple rough starts of late, giving up five runs in two different starts in Washington and San Francisco. Last time out, Burns gave up two runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings at Wrigley. Burns faced the Dodgers in Cincinnati last season and came an out away from a quality start, giving up three runs over 5 2/3 innings. Burns had a rough 2025 overall, but that start against the Dodgers was his third consecutive starts with 10 strikeouts and in the middle of a stretch where he did that in four of five starts (with the lone non-10K start coming in that weird ass Nascar track game that got rained out after an inning).
Among qualified starters Burns has one of the lowest zone percentages in baseball at 43.9 percent, only higher than five other pitchers. His 35.1 percent chase rate and 31.5 percent whiff rate are both in the 90th percentile, and his 28.9 percent strikeout rate is the seventh-highest. He’s essentially a two-pitch pitcher, throwing a high velo fastball 55.7 percent of the time and a slider 38.6 percent of the time. His 97.6 MPH average heater is the third-fastest among qualified starters and his 90.1 MPH average slider is the fourth-fastest. He mixes in a changeup against lefties (5.2 percent overall but 8 percent against lefties) and has had a handful of pitches tracked as sinkers (9 total pitches) and a curve (literally once). His slider’s been exceptional, with a .162 average and .262 slugging against it and he has nearly as many strikeouts on the slider (115) as batted balls put in play (120).
Shohei Ohtani returns to the lineup, back to his usual leadoff spot. Betts and Will Smith both get the day off, with Hunter Feduccia starting behind the plate and Alex Freeland starting at short. Tommy Edman starts at second and Alex Call gets a rare start against a righty in center.
——
Sheehan could remain in the rotation.
Dave Roberts said tonight might not just be a spot start for Sheehan, as the Dodgers have a need with only four other fully built up starting pitchers on the active roster. But the team needs to see him hold his stuff throughout his start, which he has not done consistently. https://t.co/l3BsSKHXbe
— Sonja Chen (@SonjaMChen) September 7, 2026
With Eric Lauer moving to the bullpen (and struggling) and Wrobleski not really being built up, the Dodgers need someone to take down some innings. They’re off on Thursday but play 10 games in 10 days after that, so they’ll need someone to fill in there with Ohtani out of the rotation.
——
Andy Pages is pain-free.
Andy Pages said he’s been hitting off a tee the last two days, starting his swing progression off his broken left hand. He’s pain-free, he said.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) September 7, 2026
He’s been hitting off a tee and hasn’t suffered a setback yet, which seems like a win.
Somewhat related, Roki Sasaki continues to progress.
Dave Roberts said Roki Sasaki is close to returning.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 7, 2026
Sasaki will throw another bullpen and then possibly face hitters in a live BP first.
Sasaki could have two more steps before returning and might skip a rehab assignment (considering the Minor League season ends before the Major League season does. He’s still expected to have a bullpen role in October, but could return as a starter given the need.
Dave Roberts said there is no timetable when Ohtani will pick up a baseball again. “I’m choosing not to say it’s dead.”#Dodgers
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) September 7, 2026
It’s dead. Thankfully this update didn’t come this coming Thursday, otherwise I would be making a joke that would almost definitely get DoDi put on a list.
——
FIrst pitch is scheduled for 6:10 PM PT and will be on SportsNet LA.
