The Dodgers (86-57), winners of four straight and sitting comfortably atop the National League West by 10.5 games, open a three-game set Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds (69-74) at Dodger Stadium, the first of seven meetings between the two clubs over the next 11 days.
Manager Dave Roberts will send rookie Emmet Sheehan to the mound in a spot start, a corner turned by injuries to Roki Sasaki and Eric Lauer. Sheehan, recalled from Triple-A, last pitched in the majors on Aug. 2. He’ll face Cincinnati’s Chase Burns, the 23-year-old right-hander enjoying a breakout season at 15-3 with a 2.79 ERA. Roberts didn’t undersell the challenge pregame, calling Burns “a heck of a pitcher” with elite velocity, and noted that Cincinnati’s lineup — led by Elly De La Cruz — has plenty of thump of its own.
The bigger story remains Shohei Ohtani, who will be in the starting lineup after a stretch in which he hasn’t looked like himself at the plate. Roberts confirmed the team has shelved Ohtani’s throwing program indefinitely — “not dead,” in his words, but with no set return date — in order to let him concentrate solely on hitting and baserunning. The manager said he’ll be watching closely for barrel accuracy and clean mechanics, hoping not to see the wincing that surfaced a few starts ago. Roberts also floated a silver lining: freed from pitching duties, Ohtani could become more aggressive on the bases, unburdened by the need to conserve energy between starts.
With the Reds fading in the wild-card race but still capable of stinging a favorite, Roberts’ calibration of his two-way star may matter as much as anything on the scoreboard tonight.
FIRST INNING
Top
Hector Rodriguez returns to the dugout after three pitches.
Elly De La Cruz (no relation) sends the next pitch out of the park.
Sal Stewart is totally strickened out.
JJ Bleday flies out to deeeeep left field.
Reds 1, Dodgers coming up.
Bottom
Shohei Ohtani flies out on the first pitch he sees.
Freddie Freeman (no relation) loses a race to first.
Edman grounds out to first.
Reds 1, Dodgers 0.
SECOND INNING
Top
Tyler Stephenson be at 1-2. He flies out to Edman.
Eugenio Suarez is at 2-1. Back he goes to the dugout.
Matt McLain is at 2-1. 2-2. And that be that.
Reds 1, Dodgers, 0.
Bottom
Max Muncy stands at 2-1. He is Walking on Sunshine.
Teoscar (no relation) Hernandez totally strikes all of the way out.
Kyle Tucker flies out.
Hunter Feduccia strikes out.
Reds 1, Dodgers 0.
THIRD INNING
Top
Carlos Jorge out at first.
Ke’Bryan Hayes looks at 0-2. 1-2. Bye-Bye.
Hector Rodriguez is at 2-2. Still. He gets thrown out on a Highlight Reel catch from Edman.
Reds 1, Dodgers 0.
Bottom
Alex Call called out on strikes, three of them.
Alex (no relation) Freeland does the same.
Shohei strikes out, along with those other two guys.
Reds 1, Dodgers 0.
FOURTH INNING
Top
De la Cruz strikes out.
Stewart flies out to center.
Bleday be at 2-2. He strikes out.
Reds 1, Dodgers 0.
Bottom
Freeman grounds out to first.
Edman loses a race to that same previously mentioned base.
Muncy flies out to left.
Reds 1, Dodgers 0.
FIFTH INNING
Top
Stephenson is done.
Suarez sends a fly ball moonward, but is still out at first.
McLain is way out at first.
Reds 1, Dodgers 0.
Bottom
Hernandez, Teoscar, singles.
Tucker is at 0-1. 1-1. He strikes out, and Hernandez steals second.
Feduccia heads back to the dugout.
Call gets the, well, call. Hit by a pitch, he heads to first.
Miggy Rojas is in to pinch hit. He turns a likely out at first into a triple, as a bad throw to first bounces off Stewart’S glove, as Hernandez takes off , chased by Call and Rojas around the bases.
Dodgers 2, Reds 1.
SIXTH INNING
Top
Jorge Carlos singles.
Hayes is at 0-2. He’s mowing the air, Randy!
Rodriguez singles, moving Carlos to third, como un rocket.
De La Cruz, he of the first inning home run, is at 1-2. Down he goes.
Stewart is at 1-0, now 3-0. Sheehan walks him. Bases are loaded. Chat show on the mound. Alex Vescia comes in to pitch for Sheehan.
JJ Bleday goes down, not swinging.
Dodgers 2, Reds 1.
Bottom
Freeman walks.
Edman flies out to deep center.
Muncy is at 3-2, and strikes out as Freeman steals second. No charges filed.
Teoscar homers to deep left, scoring himself, Muncy and Freeman.
Feduccia quietly strikes out.
Dodgers 5, Reds 1.
SEVENTH INNING
Top
Seth Halvorsen now pitching for the Dodgers.
Stephenson flies out.
Suarez sends one into the bleachers.
Matt McLain flies out.
Jorge is safe at first after a call challenge.
Bryant is out at first.
Dodgers 5, Reds 2.
Bottom
Ohtani walks over to first base. Right over there. To my right. There.
Sssshhh…Dodgers go really quietly in the bottom of the 7th.
Dodgers 5, Reds 2.
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