The Los Angeles Dodgers suddenly are crawling into the All-Star break, and manager Dave Roberts said he will look for a professional approach from his team in its series finale against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon.
The Dodgers, who have a 12 1/2-game lead over the second-place Diamondbacks in the National League West, saw their division rival deliver a pair of nine-run outputs to open the series.
Roberts was asked if his club, with an MLB-best 61-35 record but two straight losses and three in the past four games, might have its eyes on some upcoming time off.
“I hope that’s not the case,” he said. “It’s certainly kind of an easy answer or thought, but these games all matter. They still matter, but I don’t know (the issue).”
Six Los Angeles players, as well as Roberts and the entire coaching staff, were selected for Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia, although Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani will not participate.
That visit will lead into a three-city road trip, with a stop at the White House also planned to celebrate the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series championship.
On Sunday, it will Los Angeles right-hander Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.91 ERA) out to improve his pitch efficiency. Sheehan gave up one run in his most recent start last Sunday against the San Diego Padres, but he lasted just 4 1/3 innings after throwing 96 pitches. He tied a season high with three walks in a 5-2 loss.
Sheehan is 0-1 with a 5.99 ERA in two career starts against Arizona, with both taking place this season.
Traditionally a sure-handed team, the Dodgers have struggled with errors of late. They had six miscues lead to six unearned runs during a three-game stretch over the past week.
“I think the last four out of five games, something like that, just hasn’t been clean baseball,” Roberts said. “When you give teams free bases and extra outs, it’s hard to win.”
The Diamondbacks were expected to send Zac Gallen to the mound for the series finale, but he was sent back to Phoenix for further examination on his right elbow inflammation. A stint on the injured list is expected.
Gallen was 0-4 with an 8.24 ERA in eight starts since May 29.
Arizona left-hander Mitch Bratt (0-0, 3.00 ERA) is expected to be placed on the active roster and start in Sunday’s game.
Bratt made his major league debut June 24 and gave up one run over three innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in his only start as Arizona won 9-4. He rejoins a staff that includes recent call-ups in Jose Cabrera and Brandon Pfaadt, who opened with five scoreless innings Saturday.
“I feel great knowing that we have depth and we’re going to be OK with guys getting experience,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “But it’s nothing that we predicted. It’s very unfortunate. It’s the unfortunate part of this game, and everybody has to deal with it.”
The starting staff indeed has been thriving of late. Since July 4, Arizona is 5-3, while the rotation has a 3.43 ERA over those eight games. That includes a game in which the Padres scored 10 runs on Wednesday.
The Diamondbacks’ offense now is getting into the act as James McCann hit his first two home runs of the season Saturday, while Nolan Arenado also went deep.
Arizona saw center fielder Tommy Troy depart in the fifth inning with a right shoulder contusion. He is considered day-to-day, according to Lovullo.
–Field Level Media
