The Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in a familiar hole following a 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Now down 2-to-1 in the series, their backs are against the wall in a must-win game.
The Dodgers turn to Tyler Anderson to keep the Padres in check while they hope for their offense to find some shred of life. Game 3 marked another performance in which the Dodgers continued to struggle with runners in scoring position.
They are mired in an 0-for-19 drought in such situations and haven’t collected a hit with a runner in scoring position since Gavin Lux’s two-out RBI double in the third inning of Game 1.
Anderson makes his first postseason start with the Dodgers after a terrific regular season that featured a 2.57 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across 30 appearances (28 starts). Against the Padres this season, he’s 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings pitched and has only surrendered one home run to their lineup which overall has feasted on offspeed pitches.
The Padres counter with Joe Musgrove, who is coming off of an incredible start in the Wild Card Series against the New York Mets in which he tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit. On the year, Musgrove posted a 2.93 ERA across 181 innings, which was a career-best.
Musgrove is 0-2 against the Dodgers this season and in 17.1 innings, he’s allowed four home runs while issuing six walks.
Following an awkward dive back into first base in the eighth inning on Friday night, Trea Turner is dealing with a jammed finger but X-rays were negative. Turner is statistically having himself a solid series, but he’s also left six men on base.
The Dodgers lineup has been a shell of itself from the regular season, but with their ability to create the scoring abilities, they are unfortunately searching for the one extra hit to capitalize on them.
Cody Bellinger is out of the Dodgers lineup for a second consecutive game. He’s a career 2-for-16 with four strikeouts and two walks against Musgrove. That’s not far off from Taylor being 4-for-19 with eight strikeouts and two walks. Thompson has never faced Musgrove.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
SS: Trea Turner
1B: Freddie Freeman
C: Will Smith
3B: Max Muncy
DH: Justin Turner
CF: Trayce Thompson
LF: Chris Taylor
2B: Gavin Lux
Are you following Dodger Blue on Instagram? It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
