It was an unfamiliar feeling for the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend when they were swept at home for only the second time this season at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.
The two-time reigning World Series champions will look to reset as they hit the road for the first of three games at the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts diagnosed the Red Sox series with three simple words: “They outplayed us.”
“You’ve got a lot of players over there that are under control, they’re fighting for a higher seed in the postseason, they’re playing good baseball.”
Boston outscored Los Angeles 20-10 over the three games.
There were consequences — at least temporarily — for the Dodgers getting swept. They lost their hold on the best record in baseball to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Roberts said of the challenge against the Cubs, “We got a team that’s fighting to keep their spot in the playoff race and they’re going to come after us, so we’ve just got to go out there and reset.”
Los Angeles’ skipper named Justin Wrobleski (11-2, 2.88 ERA) as the starter for Monday’s opener, citing him as a player who “would bring some intensity” as the Dodgers look to get back on track.
Wrobleski took a no-decision last Tuesday, giving up five runs in six innings as Los Angeles lost 7-6 to the visiting Seattle Mariners. The 26-year-old left-hander earned a win in his only previous career appearance against the Cubs earlier this year, striking out six in six innings as the Dodgers were 6-0 victors at home on April 26.
The Cubs also lost a home series over the weekend, dropping two of three to the New York Yankees. They are four games clear in the top National League wild-card spot and bolstered their rotation on Sunday, acquiring veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman from the Toronto Blue Jays for a pair of minor-league prospects, shortstop Ty Southisene and outfielder Brett Bateman.
Left-hander Matthew Boyd (6-1, 3.41) will start for Chicago. The 35-year-old threw seven innings in each of his last two starts, both no-decisions. He didn’t allow a run against the Cardinals last Wednesday, but Chicago lost 3-2 in extra innings.
Chicago manager Craig Counsell said of Boyd’s performance in St. Louis, “The first four innings was kind of just a clinic. Efficient, early swings, pop-ups, nothing. And then he had to make some big pitches the last three innings, and he did.”
Boyd shared the praise with catcher Miguel Amaya after the game, crediting Amaya for how he called the game and how he used the Cardinals’ hitters’ aggressiveness against them.
“You play to the aggression, you don’t pitch away from it,” said Boyd, who walked two, hit another and allowed four hits but kept St. Louis off the scoreboard across seven innings.
“Even when I got in my own way with the hit batter and a few walks in some of those traffic innings, (Amaya) did a great job of just reading the swings and keeping them off-balance.”
In four games (three starts) against the Dodgers, Boyd is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA.
–Field Level Media
