A first-place team arriving in poor order
Los Angeles sit 90-59, closing on a National League West title with the NL’s top seed still within reach. The record says one thing. The last 48 hours say another.
The Dodgers dropped two straight to Miami before travelling to Cincinnati, including Sunday’s 6-4 defeat in which they conceded four runs in the ninth and lost to a walk-off homer. That is the kind of loss that carries into a Monday series opener.
The injury list is the heavier problem. Shohei Ohtani went on the injured list Friday with knee and biceps ailments. Dave Roberts then confirmed a few hours ago that Freddie Freeman would sit out Monday with right knee tendinitis.
“(Freddie) is obviously not moving as well as he’s used to,” Roberts said. “I’ll give him a chance to recover and then he’ll be back in there on Tuesday. He’s doing everything he can to prepare, but it’s been obvious the last week that he’s not himself in the box.”
Freeman, 37, had already sat on Wednesday and Friday before returning to go 0-for-8 across the weekend. The 10-time All-Star is batting .293 with 16 home runs and 66 RBIs this season, numbers that look nothing like a player who cannot move.
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Skubal draws the same opponent twice
Tarik Skubal (9-7, 2.84 ERA) makes his eighth start since the trade from Detroit, and his second against Cincinnati in consecutive appearances. The first went his way: 7 1/3 innings, four hits, two runs, five strikeouts and two walks in a 3-2 win on Tuesday, the longest outing of his short Los Angeles career.
The supporting numbers hold up. A 2.93 ERA in blue, two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts, and a 1.88 ERA across two career outings against the Reds. The two-time American League Cy Young winner is not convinced by any of it.
“I think that’s ultimately the job of a starting pitcher,” Skubal said. “One, to give your team a chance to win every time you’re out there, and two, to eat as many innings as you can. … I don’t think I’ve thrown the ball as well as I know I’m capable of yet.”
Lodolo needs a result
Nick Lodolo (3-4, 5.12) takes the ball for the Reds, who sit 70-79. Two stints on the injured list with a blister on his left index finger have broken up his season. Since returning on Aug. 11 he has failed to complete five innings in four of six starts, and he has gone seven starts without a win.
He lost the Tuesday matchup to Skubal as well, conceding three runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and three walks.
“I thought early, he wasn’t commanding the ball,” Terry Francona said of that outing. “When he got into the third, fourth and fifth (inning), I actually thought he got better. I really wanted him to get through that fifth.”
Lodolo is 0-2 with a 5.52 ERA in three career starts against Los Angeles. The numbers all point one way. Mid-September baseball does not always read them.
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