Dodgers @ Phillies Aug. 12, 2021: White vs. Suarez in bullpen game for each team

The Dodgers go for a series sweep of the (tied for) 1st-place Phillies on Thursday morning/afternoon. They’ll send Mitch White to the hill. He’ll be opposed by Ranger Suarez.

	10:05 a.m.		Philadelphia
2B	Turner	2B	Segura
3B	Muncy (L)	1B	Miller (L)
1B	Pujols	RF	Harper (L)
LF	Pollock	LF	McCutchen
SS	Seager (L)	SS	Gregorius (L)
CF	Taylor	3B	Torreyes
RF	Bellinger (L)	CF	Jankowski (L)
C	Barnes	C	Knapp (S)
P	White (R)	P	Suarez (L)

White is up today, as previously planned (Kevin Quackenbush was designated for assignment). He last pitched in the majors on July 31, when he went 3 2/3 innings against the Diamondbacks. He went five innings (79 pitches) in his last outing for Triple-A Oklahoma City a week ago, so he’s capable of going deeper into games than most when it comes to bullpen games, but the Phillies have a tough lineup, so if the Dodgers can get 3-ish quality innings out of White today, they’d probably consider that a win.

Suarez is having a fantastic season for the Phillies. He’s spent most of 2021 in the bullpen, but there might be plans to stretch him out. He has a 0.98 ERA, 3.35 FIP and a 16.3 K-BB%. He probably won’t be ticketed for a long outing (61 pitches is his season-high), but he should give the Phillies at least a few quality innings.

Austin Barnes is in for Will Smith today, while Tio Albert Pujols gets the nod at first base. Max Muncy gets the nod at third base, while Chris Taylor moves out to center field today, with the suddenly hot Cody Bellinger sliding over to right.

For Philly, JT Realmuto isn’t starting, but is available off the bench today.

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Here are the weekend pitching matchups in New York.

Pitching matchups for #Dodgers visit to 41 Seaver Way, Flushing, NY:
Fri — LHP Julio Urías (13-3, 3.41) v RHP Tyler Megill (1-2, 3.20)
Sat — RHP Walker Buehler (12-2, 2.13) v RHP Taijuan Walker (7-7, 3.89)
Sun — RHP Max Scherzer (9-4, 2.67) v RHP Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 6.75)

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 12, 2021

The Dodgers, seemingly, have the pitching advantage in every game, so expect them to get swept.

Dodgers plan on having Justin Turner available this weekend, Dave Roberts said. Can still activate Zach McKinstry anyway in New York to give them an extra bench anyway.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 12, 2021

The Dodgers haven’t necessarily “missed” Justin Turner in these first two games, but it’ll still be nice to have him back, provided he’s healthy. That’s the biggest thing right now: everyone needs to be healthy, or as healthy as they can be. That’ll be the biggest determiner of how far they (and every team, really) goes in the postseason.

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Tony Gonsolin could throw a bullpen this weekend, Dave Roberts said. Played catch again today. They're still planning on stretching him out as a starter, same as Cole Hamels and Danny Duffy, before making any rotation/bullpen decisions in September.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 12, 2021

Rough year for Tony Gonsolin so far. I’m thinking 2022 will go better for him. Cole Hamels in a Dodger uniform is going to happen and I’m moderately excited for it. Same goes for Danny Duffy, but I expect him to be a multi-inning reliever. If he’s healthy, he could be a nice weapon out of the bullpen come October (if they get past the Padres in the Wild Card game).