Last week, the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped a series to both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies, posting a 2-5 record over that span. Since then, they swept a four-game series at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks, including a sweep of a doubleheader. The team will now begin a 10-game road trip riding a five-game winning streak.
The Dodgers will attempt to get a little bit of revenge against the Phillies this upcoming weekend. The Phillies took three out of four games at Dodger Stadium last weekend, and nearly swept the series if it wasn’t for a two-RBI walk-off double from Gavin Lux in the finale.
Philadelphia enjoyed great success off of Dodger pitching, as they scored an average of nearly eight runs throughout the series, scoring 33 runs in the four games, including more than eight or more runs in the first three contests. It appeared that Dodger pitching had imploded last weekend, but credit to the Phillies’ offense for putting it on the Dodgers.
Currently, the Dodgers stand at 25-12 in first place in the N.L. West while the Phillies stand at 18-20 in the N.L. East in second place. Julio Urias will start the first game of the weekend series and will face fellow left-hander Ranger Suarez. The pitching matchup is a rematch of last Saturday, when the Phillies beat the Dodgers by a score of 8-3.
Urias allowed five runs on eight hits over six innings. Suarez allowed three runs on five hits throughout seven frames.
The Dodgers will also face right-hander Aaron Nola on Saturday, who pitched in the previous series allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings. The Dodger starter for Saturday’s game is still to be determined.
For the finale on Sunday, the Dodgers will start Tony Gonsolin, who was the only starter not to face the Phillies. He will face Philadelphia right-hander Zach Eflin.
After the series in Philadelphia, the Dodgers will face the Nationals in a three-game set, followed by another four-game series against the Diamondbacks.
The team also made a minor transaction yesterday, signing right-handed reliever Pedro Baez to a minor league contract. And yes, it is old friend Pedro Baez from several years back.
Baez signed with the Astros after winning the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020 but never really solidified himself in Houston and struggled with a lot of injuries. The 34-year-old Baez was released by the Astros earlier this season.
So the Dodgers hope things will be different this time around Philadelphia. First pitch for Friday’s opener is scheduled at 4:05 p.m. Pacific.
Jose, where did you get the information about Baez signing a minor league deal with us? I haven’t seen that anywhere.
Figures the one game I get to see this year will be a bullpen game. I’m leaving for Philadelphia straight from work, so there likely won’t be a Saturday column.
I thought Baez was often unfairly criticized. His overall record with LA was decent.
ERA 3.03
WHIP 1.096
9.3 Ks per 9, vs 3 walks per 9 and 1 HR per 9
Will see if he can regroup in minors.
I also liked Baez. He had good ball movement and learned to throw an off speed pitch. He was effective. Good pick up and Baez knows the Dodger culture he should fit right in.
Baez is still pitching? He must be fortyleven by now.
Another guy I liked, that others often didn’t, was Antonio Osuna. He pitched a lot of innings for us for a few years. He has a good sinking 2 seamer. Might have been a split finger. Which I still called a forkball until I was in my 60s. Maybe Osuna threw a forkball. A fork seamer. Split fork seamer.