The Dodgers are rolling into Miami with momentum to spare, but this trip brings a different kind of test. Los Angeles has won seven straight and arrives at 89-57 after back-to-back sweeps of the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals. The Marlins, meanwhile, are trying to stop the skid after getting swept by the New York Mets and dropping six of their last seven.
Friday’s opener also comes with a couple of notable changes for the Dodgers. It will be their first official series without Shohei Ohtani, who is headed to the injured list because of lingering knee, biceps and neck injuries. It also marks the debut of top prospect Josue De Paula, who is being called up directly from Double-A and will serve as the designated hitter on Friday.
This is also a rematch of sorts. The clubs met for three games in Los Angeles from April 27-29, and Miami took two of them.
The series starts Friday, Sept. 11 with left-hander Blake Snell against right-hander Ryan Gusto. Snell has been sharp since coming off the IL on Aug. 11, going 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA and 38 strikeouts across 29 innings in five starts.
He has not given up more than one run in any of those outings. Gusto enters at 1-4 with a 4.23 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 72.1 innings over 20 appearances, including 15 starts.
Saturday, Sept. 12 brings a matchup of right-handers Tyler Glasnow and Tyler Phillips. Glasnow has made three starts since returning from the IL on Aug. 25, and the results have been uneven.
He’s thrown 18 innings, allowed eight runs for a 4.00 ERA, and struck out 21 while walking four. His last full start against the Marlins came on April 29 before his early-season back injury, and he worked 5.2 innings that day, giving up two runs with nine strikeouts and a tied-for-career-high six walks.
Phillips has been used in a variety of roles this season, appearing in 34 games with 17 starts. Overall, he has a 3.51 ERA in 115.1 innings.
As a starter, that number sits at 4.23, with 60 strikeouts and 13 home runs allowed over 78.2 innings. He faced the Dodgers twice in April as a reliever, covering 1.1 innings and allowing two hits with one strikeout.
The finale on Sunday, Sept. 13 features Emmet Sheehan against Eury Pérez. Sheehan is set for his second start since being called back up this week to rejoin the rotation, and he looked strong against the Reds, giving up one run over 5.2 innings with 10 strikeouts. After that outing, manager Dave Roberts said, "Good to get him back here throwing the baseball like he did tonight," and added, "I thought he did a nice job through five, certainly holding his velocity, his stuff and getting into the sixth inning was big.”
Pérez has taken the ball 26 times this season and is 7-11 with a 3.94 ERA and 150 strikeouts over 139.1 innings. But he’s been hit hard lately, allowing 16 earned runs, 18 runs total, over his last three outings in just 11.2 innings.
Friday’s game begins at 4:10 p.m. PT/7:10 p.m.
ET, Saturday’s at 1:10 p.m. PT/4:10 p.m.
ET, and Sunday’s finale at 10:40 a.m. PT/1:40 p.m.
ET. All three games will be broadcast on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app.
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Brewers Are Giving Fans A Bigger Reason To Dream This Season
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For the Marlins, the backdrop looked a little different after a wild loss to the Mets in which runs came fast and often and the scoreboard stayed busy all night. Miami made it a fight, but games like that can be a brutal snapshot of a team still searching for steadiness, especially when another contender in the league is building momentum at the same time. [Read more 🡒]