The Mariners caught a break on this trip to Los Angeles, but it’s the kind of break that only trims the edge off a brutal assignment.
Shohei Ohtani will not pitch against Seattle during the three-game series, taking one of baseball’s most overpowering arms out of the matchup. He’s 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings, and that alone changes the shape of the series for a Seattle offense that has had plenty of trouble scoring.
Still, this is hardly a soft landing for the Mariners.
Ohtani is staying in the Dodgers’ lineup as the designated hitter, and his bat is still producing at a high level. He comes into the series hitting .282/.387/.520 with a .919 OPS, 22 home runs and 61 RBI. His left knee discomfort is tied to the plant leg in his pitching delivery, but Los Angeles says hitting and running do not aggravate it.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani won’t return to the mound until everyone involved is fully confident in the knee. Ohtani has not pitched since July 3, and as of Monday the Dodgers had not announced a starter for any of the three games against Seattle.
For most clubs, that kind of rotation uncertainty would be a problem. For the Dodgers, it’s just another issue they’re built to handle.
Seattle, meanwhile, badly needs this series. The Mariners are 52-55 after losing three of four to Texas, a result that left the Rangers with a 2 1/2 game lead in the division. The Mariners finished that set tied with the Astros in second, another reminder that their postseason position is much shakier than it looked after last season’s run.
Even without Ohtani on the mound, the task doesn’t get much easier. The Dodgers are 67-39 with a +155 run differential, and they’re coming off a 6-3 road trip that included series wins over the Yankees, Phillies and Mets. They’ve looked every bit like a championship machine.
And they can lose a pitcher of Ohtani’s caliber and still show up as the clear favorite.
Seattle’s pitchers will still have to work through Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, Andy Pages and Kyle Tucker, with Teoscar Hernández also waiting in the lineup against his former team. There’s no easy stretch in that order.
That puts the spotlight on Luis Castillo, who is scheduled to start the opener for Seattle. The Mariners got the best possible break by avoiding an Ohtani pitching start. But the Dodgers remain deeper, steadier and far more dangerous than Seattle, and that’s the reality the Mariners still have to face.
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