Momentum the Los Angeles Dodgers had from a 6-1 homestand has quickly slipped away as they now are facing the prospect of being swept by the Houston Astros.
The Dodgers were shut out on Friday night and squandered a 5-0 lead Saturday as recent bullpen woes surfaced once again. Manager Dave Roberts took blame for his decision to remove Justin Wrobleski in the sixth inning changing momentum in favor of the Astros.
Now River Ryan becomes the third Dodgers rookie pitcher to start in the weekend series at Minute Maid Park. Ryan allowed just one run over 5.1 innings in his MLB debut last week.
The Astros start a rookie as well in Spencer Arrighetti, but he’s already gained more experience than Ryan. Arrighetti’s start against the Dodgers is his 19th of the season.
The right-hander enters 4-8 with a 5.65 ERA and 1.58 WHIP, and is coming off a loss to the Oakland Athletics in which he allowed four runs in six innings.
Arrighetti faces a Dodgers lineup that remains without key starters Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy. Betts and Muncy are on the mend from respective injuries, while Freeman was put on the family emergency list Saturday as he returned to Los Angeles due to his son, Maximus, battling an illness.
Gavin Lux is once again batting third in Freeman’s absence. Lux went 1-for-3 with an RBI and was hit by a pitch Saturday. The reigning National League Player of the Week is batting .462/.500/.846 four doubles, two home runs and six RBI through nine games (eight starts) out of the All-Star break.
Dodgers lineup
DH: Shohei Ohtani
LF: Teoscar Hernández
2B: Gavin Lux
RF: Jason Heyward
3B: Kiké Hernández
1B: Cavan Biggio
CF: James Outman
C: Austin Barnes
SS: Nick Ahmed
Astros lineup
2B: Jose Altuve
3B: Alex Bregman
LF: Yordan Alvarez
DH: Yainer Diaz
SS: Jeremy Peña
1B: Jon Singleton
CF: Jake Meyers
C: Victor Caratini
RF: Joey Loperfido
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
