The Dodgers are getting a little healthier at the right time.
Max Muncy and Josue De Paula are back in the lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles is trying to turn a strong start to the set into a series win. The Dodgers took the first two games by quieting a Reds offense that can do real damage, then dropped Wednesday’s game after Blake Snell exited with a groin injury following just one inning.
Snell, the Cy Young winner, still thinks he may be able to make one more start before the regular season ends in less than two weeks.
On Thursday, the ball goes to Justin Wrobleski. It will be his 25th appearance of the regular season, and his recent usage has been a little of everything - two of his last three outings came in relief, and since coming back from the injured list with a forearm issue, none of those appearances has stretched beyond three innings. Wrobleski has logged a 3.78 ERA this season with 111 strikeouts across 133.1 innings, which is the heaviest workload of his MLB career so far.
If the left-hander needs help, Landon Knack is lined up behind him.
The Dodgers are still without Shohei Ohtani, but Tommy Edman has handled center field in his place and will do so again. The rest of the batting order gets a familiar veteran look near the top, with Freddie Freeman moving into the No. 2 spot and Kyle Tucker batting third.
Teoscar Hernandez hits cleanup, followed by Muncy back at third base in the fifth spot. De Paula is the designated hitter and bats sixth, Hunter Feduccia catches and gives Will Smith the day off, Alex Freeland slots in at second base, and Miguel Rojas finishes the order at shortstop while Mookie Betts gets a rest day.
Dodgers lineup vs. Reds
- Tommy Edman, CF
- Freddie Freeman, 1B
- Kyle Tucker, RF
- Teoscar Hernandez, LF
- Max Muncy, 3B
- Josue De Paula, DH
- Hunter Feduccia, C
- Alex Freeland, 2B
- Miguel Rojas, SS
P. Justin Wrobleski, LHP
Cincinnati counters with Brady Singer, a veteran right-hander making his 30th appearance of the year. He has reached 30 appearances in each of the last three seasons, and in all seven of his MLB campaigns except 2020, he has gotten to at least 25 outings.
The numbers haven’t been kind to Singer this season, though. He enters with a 5.38 ERA over 150.2 innings and 125 strikeouts.
He didn’t pitch against the Dodgers in last week’s series in Los Angeles, but he has given them trouble before. In three appearances against LA, all of them with Kansas City, Singer owns a 1.89 ERA across 19 innings with 15 strikeouts.
Los Angeles will try to snap that pattern Thursday night and keep inching closer to a first-round postseason bye. First pitch is set for 9:40 p.m. PT.
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