Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers lost the World Series this weekend, dropping two of three against the Yankees. That result was more than a little annoying, but it’s a bit concerning that the Dodger offense was nowhere to be seen during those three games. They totaled five runs in the three-game series. They’ve scored five or more runs in a game this season 72 times. It goes without saying that if the offense scores fewer than two runs a game in October, the Dodgers might be in trouble. This weekend didn’t prove or change that. Now, the Dodgers travel down the 5 to San Diego to open up a three-game set against the Padres.
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Dodgers
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Padres
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7:10 p.m.
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San Diego
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CF
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Pollock |
2B
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Garcia | |
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2B
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Muncy |
RF
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Naylor | |
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3B
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Turner |
3B
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Machado | |
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1B
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Bellinger |
1B
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Hosmer | |
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SS
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Seager |
C
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Mejia | |
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C
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Smith |
LF
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Myers | |
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LF
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Taylor | CF | Margot | |
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RF
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Hernández |
SS
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Urias | |
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P
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May (R) |
P
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Lauer (L) |
Dustin May returns to the rotation to give the Dodgers a temporary six-man rotation in the midst of a long stretch without a day off. May hasn’t pitched since August 18th, the day before the last Dodger off day. He made his relief debut in Atlanta and it went pretttty poorly, as May allowed a walk, single and hit by pitch to load the bases. He then allowed a grand slam that turned a 3-1 lead to a 5-3 deficit. May completed the inning and then threw a second inning (he allowed a single but no runs), giving him four earned runs in two innings in his first audition for the playoff bullpen.
May had succeeded in three starts before being moved to the bullpen. His debut came against the Padres, and May allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings. He only struck out three and allowed nine hits, but May was knocked out of the game in the sixth after a two-run double by Josh Naylor. His other two starts were even more successful, as May allowed eight hits and two runs in two starts that each lasted 5 2/3 innings. May struck out 12 and issued only one walk against the Cardinals and Marlins.
Opposing May will be the same pitcher that faced him in his debut, Eric Lauer. Lauer is one of those special pitchers that are pretty mediocre against everyone except the Dodgers. He has a 4.47 ERA in 118 2/3 innings this season, with his ERA falling under 4.00 only once (after his very first start of the season). However, this will be Lauer’s fourth look at the Dodgers in 2019. In 17 innings against the Dodgers, Lauer has allowed 11 hits and only five runs, not allowing more than two in a game against LA. For the season, Lauer has struck out 98 and issued 35 walks. Against the Dodgers, he’s struck out 17 with only three walks.
Lauer is one of the softer-throwing starters in baseball, with an average four-seam fastball velocity of only 91.7 MPH. He takes a few MPH off that for his cutter, which he throws 22.5 percent of the time. He also throws a curveball and slider, and against righties will sometimes throw a changeup.
The Dodgers roll out a pretty typical lineup against a lefty, with Joc Pederson sitting. Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor start in the outfield, with Cody Bellinger getting the start at first.
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May will remain in the rotation for now.
This would line May up to start the final game of this roadtrip in Arizona. It also gives extra time off to other starters, most importantly Hyun-Jin Ryu, who will reportedly maybe skip starts to limit his load in September.
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Russell Martin will return from bereavement tomorrow.
He’ll be in the lineup Wednesday in the finale against the Padres. Austin Barnes caught yesterday, and will likely go back to OKC for a few days before coming back up when rosters expand.
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Dylan Floro threw a bullpen.
Floro will rehab Thursday from his intercostal strain. He’ll give the Dodgers another bullpen option for the final month of the season.
