Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off a series win over the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians, will continue their six-game homestand, welcoming former Dodger Cody Bellinger and the red-hot Chicago Cubs.
The Dodgers, despite some key injuries to their pitching staff and shuffling to their overworked bullpen, have been firing on all cylinders the last three weeks, winning fourteen of their previous twenty games played.
With nineteen games remaining, the Dodgers have a firm six-game lead over the second-place San Diego Padres, and after yesterday’s win in the 103-degree Los Angeles heat, the Dodgers have reclaimed the best record in Major League Baseball.
The Cubs, who entered August six games out of the final National League Wild Card spot behind five other teams vying for a spot in October, enter tonight’s game only five games back. However, they are only behind the Mets and the Braves for the final spot.
The Chicago Cubs have won ten of their last fifteen games. With the clock winding down and the regular season inching to a close, every game is critical for the Cubs if they want to stay alive in the postseason chase.
The Dodgers, despite leading the National League West by a decent margin, are only up one game over the Philadelphia Phillies and four games over the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
It will also be a former fan favorite and 2019 National League Most Valuable Player Award Winner Cody Bellinger’s second appearance at Dodger Stadium as a visitor. The Dodgers look to take care of business with the magic number at thirteen games.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.67 ERA) vs Kyle Hendricks (3-11, 6.60 ERA)
Game Two: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-2, 2.92 ERA) vs Shota Imanaga (12-3, 2.99 ERA)
Game Three: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Jordan Wicks (LHP)(2-3, 4.20 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, Marquee Sports Network
Game Two: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, Marquee Sports Network, TBS (out-of-market only)
Game Three: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, Marquee Sports Network
Who’s in & who’s out?
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who are struggling with starting pitching depth at the worst time of the season with October less than three weeks away, are set to activate rookie right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto from the 60-day injured list.
Yamamoto, 26, was placed on the 15-day injured list in mid-June with a strained rotator cuff that shelved the righty for nearly two months of the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season.
Yamamoto made two rehab starts for the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City Baseball Club, each with mixed results. Still, the main thing was that he averaged 94.5mph on his fastball and came out of each outing healthy.
With Yamamoto being on the 60-day injured list, the Dodgers will need to make a corresponding roster move to add him back to the 40-man roster along with the active 26-man roster.
Prior to yesterday’s game, the Dodgers decided to add right-handed pitcher Nick Ramirez to the activated roster for additional bullpen depth after the team had a bullpen game on Saturday. To make room on the roster, the Dodgers DFA’d right-handed pitcher Michael Peterson and optioned left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobelski back to Triple-A OKC.
Teoscar Hernández is set to rejoin the Dodgers either tonight or tomorrow, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, after suffering a left foot contusion on Friday’s game.
The Dodgers dodged a massive bullet, and the X-rays and MRI scans all returned negative on Hernández’s foot. The team feared the worst when the hit-by pitch had already happened.
Hernández was able to skip an injured list stint and remain on the activated roster, with rookie Andy Pages and Chris Taylor taking at-bats in his absence during the next two games of the series with the Guardians.
Yamamoto will not be the only Dodgers right-handed pitcher making his return during the Cubs series. Righty Brusdar Graterol is set to be activated off the 15-day injured list after suffering a minor hamstring injury in early August.
Graterol has missed the entire 2024 season due to shoulder and hip injuries dating back to spring training. When the righty debuted against the Philadelphia Phillies, he pulled his hamstring in what the team initially thought was a season-ending injury.
While Dodgers right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow will not be active during this series, he is slated to throw an “aggressive” bullpen, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. This is a step in the right direction for Glasnow, who hopes to be activated before the conclusion of the regular season.
The Chicago Cubs have also had their fair share of pitching injuries this season, with one massive one being a left-handed pitcher and former National League Cy Young favorite Justin Steele, who was placed on the 15-day injured list due to left flexor tendonitis.
Steele resumed playing catch on September 1st, and Cubs manager Craig Counsell said the lefty will travel with the team on the road trip that begins on September 8th to continue his throwing progression.
The Cubs are also dealing with various injuries to righties Hayden Wesneski (right forearm strain), Justin Merryweather (right knee tendonitis), and Jorge López (right groin strain).
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