Things are maybe, possibly, starting to turn around for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They won their first series after losing five in a row, the short series that it was. They also won two games in a row for the first time in almost a month.
The Dodgers now sit at 20-17, third place in the NL West and a half game behind the San Diego Padres for second, and two and a half games out of first behind the San Francisco Giants, owners of the best record in the National League.
The Dodgers’ bats seem to have finally woken up, scoring six and seven runs in the last two games, respectively. Home runs have also seemed to have re-enter the equation for scoring options.
The good thing is that the Dodgers had a great record before they started on their slide, and there’s a lot of parity in the league right now. There’s no team that’s clearly heads above the rest, at least for the moment. The Dodgers should be able to climb back into the driver’s seat easily.
While weathering this slide and all of the injuries, the Dodgers’ starting pitching has been what’s keeping them in games, even with one of their ranks just having Tommy John surgery. Tuesday, Dustin May posted a picture of himself after undergoing the surgery to repair the elbow of his right arm. He could return as early as fall of 2022.
David Price, once a candidate for the spot May previously occupied, is getting closer to returning to the bullpen. Price recently threw off the mound at Dodger Stadium, and participated in fielding drills. “Didn’t seem like he was compensating at all in his delivery, and the stuff was good,” Manager Dave Roberts said.
Price’s next step will be facing live hitters. Since he will not be building up innings, he is expected to not need to go on a rehab assignment before he returns.
AJ Pollock is expected to return to the lineup on Friday. The outfielder experienced a low grade hamstring strain in Anaheim, but with rest has managed to stay of the injured list.
Edwin Rios will have surgery next week to repair a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder. He will miss the rest of the season. This issue could explain why he was having a rough time at the plate this season.
Thursday, the Dodgers are enjoying their third day off in eight days. They will welcome the Miami Marlins and former manager Don Mattingly for a weekend series starting Friday.
Pitching matchups are slated to be Friday, Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Alcantara, both number 22s. Alcantara is 1-2 with a 2.72 ERA in eight games. Saturday will see Trevor Bauer take the mound for the Dodgers. The Marlins have not yet announced who they will be sending to counter him. Sunday will be Pablo Lopez and Walker Buehler.
Since neither Price nor Catman are fully stretched out, I’m wondering if they would consider using them in tandem when they both return, hoping that between the two of them they can get 8 or 9 strong innings. Probably best to have Gonsolin start since it seems as though he’ll be more stretched out when he returns and then just predetermine that Price will follow him to the mound for as long as he can go.
The only problem with that strategy is that you can probably only use both of them every 5 days. But maybe still worth a try.
Interesting thought. I like it. Should be able to 6 out of them.