The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped their opening matchup with the Washington Nationals in a 6-4 loss and now shift gears to the middle game of the series at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers have received jaded performances in several areas of their roster, which has placed added strain. Still, they sit atop of the National League West with an 11-8 record, one game ahead of the San Diego Padres.
In a surprise move, the Dodgers reportedly recalled Andy Pages to join their active roster. The No. 3 prospect in the Dodgers organization has been stellar in the month of April while in Triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .412/.466/.765 with five home runs, three doubles and 14 RBI this month.
Because of some rough play from Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernández and Taylor Trammell, the absence of Jason Heyward has presented a larger than expected hole in the lineup. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts penciled Pages in for his MLB debut against the Nationals in a solid matchup against southpaw Patrick Corbin to provide a spark.
The Dodgers are going with a bullpen game on Tuesday, expecting to have Ryan Yarbrough take on the bulk of the work.
In his five appearances, Yarbrough owns a 3.07 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, with six strikeouts in 14.2 innings pitched. The 32-year-old has yielded a 24.5% hard-hit rate, placing him in the 94th percentile among qualified pitchers.
Yarbrough’s ability to limit hard contact, coupled with his funky arm slot, makes him a solid weapon for Roberts.
The ceiling for his usage on Tuesday is around four innings, but if Yarbrough makes it through five, expect the Dodgers to have a comfortable lead, or they require some length.
However, it’s Kyle Hurt who gets the start, as was anticipated. Hurt is stretched out to about 45 pitches, so around three innings is likely going to be the max for him, if not fewer.
On the flip side is Corbin, who is set to make his 24th career start against the Dodgers. The veteran left-hander owns a career 4.42 ERA, 1.50 WHIP in 124.1 innings against them.
This year, Corbin is 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, with 10 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched (3 starts).
The 34-year-old allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits to the San Francisco Giants in his last outing on April 11, only tallying two punchouts through 5.2 innings.
In the Dodgers’ mini-skid, they’re 4-6 in their prior 10 games, and have yet to put a complete run together with the uncertainty at the bottom of their batting order. Freddie Freeman has also struggled in the past week, going 5-for-25 since April 9.
Dodgers lineup
SS: Mookie Betts
DH: Shohei Ohtani
1B: Freddie Freeman
RF: Teoscar Hernández
2B: Kiké Hernández
LF: Chris Taylor
CF: Andy Pages
3B: Miguel Rojas
C: Austin Barnes
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