Wednesday is thankfully an off day for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as the fans and team alike deal with two bad losses against the Angels, and absorbing the blow that Corey Seager will once again be sidelined for an extended period of time.
Seager pulled up and grabbed his left hamstring in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s game, and has initially been diagnosed with a Grade 2 plus strain. He will undergo an MRI today, and is expected to be out at least four to six weeks. Not that an injury ever comes at a good time, but it’s especially unfortunate as Seager was just really starting to hit his stride at the plate. Chris Taylor will most likely see the majority of the time at shortstop in his absence.
After many of the Dodgers attend the Dodgers Foundation Gala this evening, they will turn their attention to the Chicago Cubs, with whom they begin a four game series with on Thursday. The Cubs are expected to be the biggest block in the road that would lead Los Angeles back to the World Series. The Dodgers are looking to do better against them at home than they did when they last met in Chicago in April, with the Cubs taking two of three.
The Cubs currently sit at 38-29, tied for first place in the NL Central with the Milwaukee Brewers. In their last nine games, they have split two series with the Colorado Rockies, and swept the St Louis Cardinals. Their offense seems to have the same problem that the Dodgers offense does, in that they both like being streaky.
That offense is lead by Joe Buck’s favorite player Javier Baez, who’s batting .297 with 17 homers and sporting a .907 OPS. He’s tied with Anthony Rizzo for most homers on the team.
The series kicks off with the pitching matchup of Jon Lester and Clayton Kershaw. The one game the Dodgers won in Chicago came at the expense of Lester, although they only managed to score one run off of him. The big lefty now sits with a record of 5-4, a 3.56 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 65.2 innings of work. He allowed four earned runs in six innings of work Saturday in St Louis and gathered his fifth win.
Friday will see Kyle Hendricks take the mound for the Cubs, while the Dodgers starter has not been announced but would figure to be Rich Hill. Hendricks has a record of 7-4 with a 3.00 ERA and 74 strikeouts. The righty last went 8.0 innings of one run ball against the Cardinals last Sunday.
On Saturday, it should be Walker Buehler going up against Yu Darvish. The former Dodger is not having a great season, although he has been better as of late. He currently has a record of 2-3 with a 4.98 ERA with 81 strikeouts. The right handler has given up seven earned runs in his last three games against the Rockies and the Cardinals.
And for Sunday’s finale, the ESPN Sunday Night Game, Hyun-Jin Ryu will take on Jose Quintana. The Dodgers could not do much against the righty in April. He since has compiled a record of 4-6 with a 3.89 ERA and 69 strikeouts. Quintana lasted only 4.2 innings yesterday against the Rockies in Colorado.
The Dodgers will be looking to have an angry win Thursday, after losing two games they could have won against the Angels. Let’s hope the offense comes out firing, otherwise it could be a long series.