The Dodgers are set to open a three-game set against the Reds on Monday night at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium, and Los Angeles is lining up a mix of reinforcements and frontline arms for the series.
The club comes in at 86-67 after sweeping the Washington Nationals and winning four straight. Cincinnati arrives at 69-74 and still hanging around the National League wild-card picture, sitting 6.5 games behind the third and final spot. That leaves the Reds in a spot where every loss matters, especially with seven matchups against the Dodgers in the next week-and-a-half - three in Los Angeles this week and four in Cincinnati next week.
Monday’s opener will feature RHP Emmet Sheehan against RHP Chase Burns. The Dodgers are bringing Sheehan up from Triple-A as a spot starter while Roki Sasaki and Eric Lauer are out injured. It’s not yet settled whether he’ll start or work behind an opener, but the plan is for him to handle bulk innings either way.
Sheehan last pitched in the majors on Aug. 2 against the Boston Red Sox. He was optioned after that outing, then returned briefly to the big league roster in mid-August without appearing in a game before going back to Triple-A.
In 20 MLB starts this season, the right-hander has a 5.29 ERA with 108 strikeouts across 95.1 innings. At Triple-A, he’s been sharper, posting a 1.50 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 18 innings over four starts.
Burns, meanwhile, has put together a strong first full season in the majors. The right-hander is 15-3 with a 2.79 ERA and 171 strikeouts over 145.1 innings.
Tuesday brings a left-on-left matchup with LHP Tarik Skubal facing LHP Nick Lodolo. Skubal is making his seventh start as a Dodger and is still looking for that dominant Cy Young-caliber stuff.
He has a 3.03 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 35.2 innings for Los Angeles, compared with a 2.79 ERA over 96.2 innings with the Detroit Tigers. His WHIP has also been better with Detroit at 0.91 than it has been with LA at 1.18.
Lodolo has had a tougher season, carrying a 5.08 ERA with 69 strikeouts and 35 walks over 85 innings.
Wednesday’s finale has RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto matched up with RHP Rhett Lowder. Yamamoto is trying to bounce back after allowing four earned runs, including two home runs, in his last outing against the St.
Louis Cardinals. Even so, his season numbers remain excellent: a 2.67 ERA with 161 strikeouts in 165 innings.
Lowder has posted a 5.43 ERA over 116 innings this season. He spent a short stretch in the bullpen before returning to the rotation on July 24, and he has made eight starts since then with a 4.91 ERA over 44 innings.
Monday’s opener is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. PT/9:10 p.m.
ET. Tuesday and Wednesday both have first pitch set for 7:10 p.m.
PT/10:10 p.m. ET.
All three games will be broadcast on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app.
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Dodgers May Have A Postseason Bullpen Option Nobody Saw Coming
The Dodgers added Tarik Skubal and Kris Bubic ahead of the trade deadline, and the bigger question now is how each fits when October arrives. While Skubal brings obvious front-line value, Dave Roberts also singled out Bubic as a name to watch, noting both his experience and the progress he has made in his rehab work after landing on the injured list in mid-May.
Bubic has been working back through assignments and has shown enough along the way to keep his postseason path open. For a Dodgers club that always wants as many usable arms as possible in the playoffs, the possibility of turning a rehabbing starter into a bullpen option is the sort of depth move that can matter late, even if the final answer is still to be determined. [Read more 🡒]
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Dodgers Hand Emmet Sheehan A Big Late Season Opportunity
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Sheehan has earned the look with his recent work in the minors, and the Dodgers are clearly hoping that form carries over when the games start to matter most. For a club already thinking ahead to the postseason, this start offers both a chance to stabilize the rotation and a reminder that there is still room for one more arm to make a case. [Read more 🡒]