The Dodgers’ weekend in Milwaukee has put a little extra heat on Sunday’s game at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium. After Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Brewers, Los Angeles fell to 74-50 and watched Milwaukee grab a 2-1 edge in the four-game series while also drawing even in the season series at three games apiece.
That makes Sunday matter in a bigger way. The winner not only takes the season series, but also the tiebreaker in the race for the best record in the National League. Right now, the Dodgers sit as the No. 2 seed, two games behind the 76-48 Brewers.
Saturday’s defeat came with little offense attached. The Dodgers managed just one run against NL Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski, who worked six innings and kept them in check. On the other side, Justin Wrobleski ran into more second-half trouble, giving up four runs over his six innings.
Now the focus shifts to Tarik Skubal, who is set to start Sunday for the Dodgers. It will be his third outing for LA, and the timing suggests he should be more settled than he was in his first two turns. His debut came against the Chicago Cubs, while his second start was his home debut against the Kansas City Royals.
Skubal said the move has gone smoothly and praised the way the organization handled his arrival.
“It’s as seamless as things can go,” Skubal said of the transition. “When your life gets a little chaotic, [the Dodgers] have done a great job of calming all that stuff down and helping us out and helping this transition go really smoothly.
I really appreciate that. And I don’t expect any different from what I’ve heard about the Dodgers from the outside.
It’s been a ton of fun to be a part of.”
There was also a lineup wrinkle on Saturday, with Kyle Tucker getting the day off as his home-road splits continued to stand out. Dave Roberts said Tucker will be back in the lineup on Sunday, explaining that he wanted the $240 million outfielder to “watch a baseball game and kind of take some of that frustration, and put it to the side.”
Whether the off day sparks a turnaround remains to be seen.
Roberts also addressed another expensive offseason addition, closer Edwin Díaz, and made it clear the Dodgers are not planning to pull him from the ninth inning. Díaz, who signed for $69 million, has had a rough first season in LA, but Roberts said the team is sticking with him.
“He’s got to find his way,” Roberts said. “And he’s got to have a runway to find his way. ... I’m betting on the fact that the stuff will kind of right, and he’ll figure it out.”
There are a few more moving parts around the club as well. Kyle Hurt is en route to LA and is expected to at least taxi tomorrow while the team monitors some of its relievers. Roberts said, “We have a few guys who are ailing,”
Tyler Glasnow is also still working his way back, with one more rehab outing planned for five innings and 75 pitches. Roberts said the hope is to have him back during the Atlanta-Detroit road trip at the end of the month.
And before the game, Mookie Betts spoke with Ken Rosenthal about facing Misiorowski and about the Dodgers trying to create urgency even with October still some distance away. As Betts put it, “Maybe you just close your eyes and swing”
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