The Los Angeles Dodgers are gearing up for the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies, where they hope to still win the series.
Both games have been quite intense for the Dodgers, given that the Phillies crowd has not seen their team play much recently due to the All-Star break.
The Dodgers lost Monday’s series opener, 10-7, after a rough start from Emmet Sheehan, but they bounced back through a stellar outing from Justin Wrobleski, winning a tight 2-1 game.
LA has not played their best baseball through two games, but they still get a shot at turning things around.
Dodgers’ Lineup vs. Phillies
1. Shohei Ohtani, DH
2. Andy Pages, CF
3. Freddie Freeman, 1B
4. Max Muncy, 3B
5. Mookie Betts, SS
6. Kyle Tucker, RF
7. Teoscar Hernandez, LF
8. Tommy Edman, 2B
9. Dalton Rushing, C
The Dodgers are facing a righty in Aaron Nola, and considering how hot Max Muncy has been, it makes sense why he is bumped up so high.
Typically, Kyle Tucker takes that spot in the lineup, but due to his slump, Muncy is the choice.
Additionally, Dalton Rushing returns to the order after sitting on Tuesday, along with Teoscar Hernandez.
At full strength, this is the best lineup that the Dodgers can field.
Who is pitching for the Dodgers?
On the mound, the Dodgers are fielding Eric Lauer instead of Shohei Ohtani, who was originally supposed to pitch in this spot.
Lauer has been quite capable at the end of the rotation, providing good innings amid the run of injuries to the starting rotation.
Lauer has a 3.12 ERA with the Dodgers in 40.1 innings of work, with just 21 strikeouts, but also only 11 walks.
He gives up a ton of hits, 33 in total with the Dodgers, but the defense behind him has been mostly good, helping him bounce back to his baseline level as an average starting pitcher in MLB.
One Response
Better line-up batting wise would be substituting somebody else, like maybe Freeland or Kim, for Betts. For all the talk about how Betts has been hitting better lately, well, he hasn’t. Inconsistent at best, with a batting average that competes with Tucker’s. Not that Freeland is much better in the batter’s box, but anything is better at this point, and sitting Betts may force him to reflect on his off field activities, i.e. his new glove company business, his guitar lessons, his Toy Story promos, his bowling, etc., and how they may be negatively affecting his focus in the line-up, because his head doesn’t seem to be in the batter’s box.