Going into Friday, the Dodgers stand in second place in the National League West. The San Diego Padres are currently in first place by half a game. With the Dodgers having an off day yesterday, the Padres defeated the Cubs to take over the division lead.
The Dodgers will look to reach 40 wins this weekend, as their current record stands at 39-23. It won’t be an easy task. The Guardians are 8-2 in their last ten games and hold the final playoff spot in the American League, with a record of 32-27.
Friday night’s game won’t be on SNLA, as it has been selected as an Apple TV exclusive.
The Guardians will start all right handed pitchers, beginning with Zach Plesac in the opener, Cal Quantrill in the middle game, and Shane Bieber in the finale. The Dodgers will counter with left-handers, Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urias. Sunday’s Dodger starter is still to be determined, but it is a possibility we can see the return of Andrew Heaney.
The left-hander had two great starts early this year in which he gave up no runs, but has been out since April. Heaney has completed three rehab starts, and the Dodgers are hopeful he can return soon, especially with the absence of Walker Buehler.
Buehler had elbow surgery done this week to remove a bone spur. However, it does not impact his timetable for a return. The Dodgers hope he can return in early September.
After this homestand, the Dodgers won’t return to Los Angeles until the end of the month. They will have a nine-game road trip, including the Braves, who have won 14 straight games.
This is the first time the Dodgers and Guardians have played each other since 2017.
Kershaw will make his second start since coming off the injured list last weekend. In his first start back, he pitched four innings, allowing two runs against the Giants. He only allowed three hits but still received the loss as the Dodgers struggled to score runs throughout that series.
Plesac is 2-4 with a 3.70 ERA. In his last start, he allowed three runs on eight hits throughout six innings. One player to watch on the Guardians is the third baseman, Jose Ramirez. He currently leads in the MLB with 62 RBI.
The first pitch for Friday night’s opener is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Pacific.
Afternoon thoughts:
Major League Baseball has sent teams a memo saying that they must have a maximum of 13 pitchers on their roster beginning Monday. Wondering which teams will be most affected by the contraction. Of course some have had 13 all along.
With a bench of Barnes, Alberto, and Alvarez, the Dodgers don’t appear to have much of a bench. I wish the Dodgers had a full-time masher to be DH, rather than the DH being just the guy who needs a day off from the field.
Added DH comment: HOU, PHI, & BOS lead MLB with wRC+ from DH of >160, while LA is 20th with 90.
Right Waldo. DH is a position not a rest drop.we have no depth and 4 of our position players are having dreadful years. Nothing on the farm. I expect they will correct this situation next year. wRC+ of 90 is not very good planning but they have no options this year and they did not anticipate the decline of Turner and muncy or the injury to Rios.
I forgot Rios. He is the kind of guy who has DH written all over him and could have become a difference maker.
This bunch is becoming unwatchable. When your only run comes from a guy hitting .210, and your vaunted offense goes 1-12 with runners in scoring position, you deserve to lose. Pitiful performance last night. Lasorda would be blowing the roof off of the dugout.
And Alston would have been grateful for the 1 run.
I am a big Rios fan. I think we may have a couple of position players brought up next year and one should be Vargas who makes contact and is beginning to hit for power. Lamb has been hitting for power at OKC. I think Father Time has caught up with JT and Muncy is still injured. They need to get people that can make contact. Constantly striking out with less than two out and RISP is not OK.