The two-time reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are closing in on the National League West title and still have their sights on the NL’s top seed.
Despite the positives, the Dodgers are limping into the opener of a three-game series against the host Cincinnati Reds on Monday.
Los Angeles (90-59) enters play having dropped two straight against the Miami Marlins, including a 6-4 loss on Sunday that saw the club allow four runs in the ninth and a walk-off homer.
Maybe even more concerning is the injury status of manager Dave Roberts’ star players. After placing Shohei Ohtani on the injured list on Friday with knee and biceps ailments, Roberts announced plans to keep first baseman Freddie Freeman out of the lineup on Monday as he deals with right knee tendinitis.
“(Freddie) is obviously not moving as well as he’s used to,” Roberts said. “I’ll give him a chance to recover and then he’ll be back in there on Tuesday. He’s doing everything he can to prepare, but it’s been obvious the last week that he’s not himself in the box.”
Freeman, 37, sat on Wednesday and Friday before returning to the lineup and going 0-for-8 the last two games. The 10-time All-Star is batting .293 with 16 home runs and 66 RBIs this season.
Tarik Skubal (9-7, 2.84 ERA) will make his eighth start since being traded from Detroit to the Dodgers and his second against the Reds in as many appearances. The 29-year-old tossed 7 1/3 innings of two-run, four-hit ball against Cincinnati on Tuesday. The left-hander struck out five and walked two in a 3-2 win.
Skubal has a 2.93 ERA with the Dodgers and has surrendered two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. Still, the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner believes he has more to give. Coming off the longest outing of his short Los Angeles career, Skubal is beginning to live up to his lofty expectations.
“I think that’s ultimately the job of a starting pitcher,” Skubal said of his longest start with the Dodgers on Tuesday. “One, to give your team a chance to win every time you’re out there, and two, to eat as many innings as you can. … I don’t think I’ve thrown the ball as well as I know I’m capable of yet.”
Skubal is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in two career starts against the Reds.
With only a few starts left in what’s been a lackluster year, Nick Lodolo (3-4, 5.12) is hoping to correct an inconsistent personal stretch for the Reds (70-79). The 28-year-old has battled through a pair of stints on the injured list due to a blister on his left index finger.
Since returning on Aug. 11, Lodolo has failed to complete five innings in four of six starts. The left-hander faced Skubal and the Dodgers in a losing effort on Tuesday, when he allowed three runs on five hits across 4 2/3 frames. He struck out six and walked three, extending a seven-start stretch without a win.
“I thought early, he wasn’t commanding the ball,” Reds manager Terry Francona said of Lodolo’s last start. “When he got into the third, fourth and fifth (inning), I actually thought he got better. I really wanted him to get through that fifth. I thought it would have been good for him.”
In three career starts against Los Angeles, Lodolo is 0-2 with a 5.52 ERA.
–Field Level Media
