Their starting shortstop, a defensive genius who is having one of the best offensive seasons of his 11-year career, left Tuesday night’s game in the third inning after aggravating a left adductor strain not once, not twice, but three times in the first three innings, and he looks doubtful for Wednesday night.
Their first baseman and No. 3 hittereight-time All-Star and 2020 National League Most Valuable Player, was removed for a pinch runner in the eighth inning, his severely sprained right ankle hurting so much he could barely run to first goal after his two-out single. , and it is questionable for Wednesday evening.
Their rotation is so thin, with only three playoff games, that facing a win or go home game In the National League Division Series on Wednesday night, they will use a bullpen game.
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Is this any way to win a World Series?
If you are the Dodgersyou have no choice.
“We can’t look at the mountain, we just have to look at the task at hand, and it’s one throw at a time. » Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts said after tuesday evening 6-5 Third game loss to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park pushed them to the brink of elimination in the best-of-five series.
“Every time we come to bat, we have to make something happen. (Whether we are) up or down, it doesn’t matter. There will obviously be a lot more pressure. Every at-bat will be exponentially important, so we have to find a way to make that happen.
That work begins on the mound, where a deep and versatile bullpen that has been the backbone of the pitching staff all season will look to quell an explosive Padres offense that has pinned a six spots on Dodgers starter Walker Buehler in the second inning of Game 3 after hitting six home runs in a 10-2 beating of the Dodgers in Game 2.
Manager Dave Roberts said a bullpen would start Wednesday night. The team’s strongest arms — Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda and Ryan Brasier — will be available, although Banda, who pitched 1⅓ innings Tuesday night, and Kopech, who pitched a round, could be limited. .
Padres manager Mike Schildt said Dylan Cease, who threw 82 pitches while allowing five runs and six hits in 3 ⅓ innings of Game 1 Saturday eveningwill begin Game 4 with three days of rest.
“Essentially it’s all hands on deck, knowing that we have Jack (Flaherty) And (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto for a potential Game 5,” Roberts said. “Certainly this situation is not ideal, but I think the fact that we can stay away from (most) of our leverage arms gives these guys three days off before Game 4, and we We can kind of push them a little more.”
Roberts may also need to field a lineup, after Rojas twisted his injured left leg twice in the second inning, first trying — and failing — to throw an unassisted double play onto Xander’s grounder Bogaerts, then going to his right to prevent Jake Cronenworth’s single from reaching the outfield two batters later.
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Rojas stayed in the game and singled to spark the Dodgers’ four-run rally in the top of the third. Rojas took second place Shohei Ohtani’s single, and when Betts followed with a single to center, Rojas rushed around third just as third base coach Dino Ebel put up a stop sign. Rojas returned to the bag and was replaced by Andy Pages.
“I don’t know,” Rojas said when asked if he would be out for the rest of this series. “Let’s see how I wake up and come here (Wednesday). I will do everything I can to be available, but obviously this question is not easy to answer at the moment.
Rojas, who fielded Bogaerts’ chopper up the middle but rushed to the second base bag too late to force Jackson Merrill out, kicked himself afterward, and not just because he didn’t throw the ball to second baseman Gavin Lux, that’s for sure. out.
“It was also a bad decision for my body and for my health,” he said, “because it was on that play that I aggravated the injury.”
Freeman, who injured his ankle during the final week of the regular season, underwent hours of daily treatment and took painkillers and injections in order to start the first three games, but he was pulled from Game 2 in the sixth inning and did not was able to finish Game 3 Tuesday night.
“It’s pretty bad,” Freeman said after Tuesday night’s game.
How does Freeman feel about playing Wednesday night?
“Tomorrow is tomorrow,” he said. “There’s a lot to do before these games, but I was able to get through it today, and tomorrow we’ll get together and start (the treatment) again.”
If Rojas can’t play Wednesday, Tommy Edman would move from center field to shortstop, and Pages would likely play center field. If Freeman can’t play, Max Muncy would move from third base to first base and Kiké Hernández would play third.
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“Being that it’s a playoff game, I’m sure he’ll want to be there,” Roberts said of Rojas. “But we have to evaluate at what cost, how effective he can be, whether defensively at the range or at the plate. So I don’t know at the moment.
Is it the same for Freeman?
“Same thing with Freddie,” Roberts said. “That’s right.”
Roberts saw a glimmer of hope Tuesday night — Betts, who was three runs for 44 (.068) in his previous 12 playoff games dating to Game 4 of the 2021 NL Championship Series, ended a drought is 0 for 23 in the playoffs with a first run. a home run – a 342-foot drive that came off the glove of left fielder Jurickson Profar – and a single in the third inning.
But after Teoscar Hernández’s grand slam in the third inning, the Dodgers went 21 with seven strikeouts against Padres starter Michael King and relievers Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, Tanner Scott and Robert Suarez over the 6 last ⅔ rounds.
“We just have to keep playing,” Betts said. “I don’t think there’s a magic potion or anything like that.” We’re all trying to do the same thing – win a World Series – and every game is a stepping stone toward that goal.
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
