Having dropped consecutive games to the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in need of a win Wednesday night to avoid losing their first series of the 2020 season. L.A. enters 2-3 in head-to-head meetings with San Diego thus far.
They turn to Tony Gonsolin, who was just recalled and is making his second start of the year. Gonsolin held the Arizona Diamondbacks to one hit over four scoreless innings in his 2020 debut, but he was optioned the next day.
By inserting Gonsolin for a spot start, the Dodgers are providing their rotation with an extra day of rest during a stretch of 17 consecutive games. Their next off day is not until Monday, Aug. 24.
“We want to make sure we really take care of the starters and pitchers in general,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained. “Right now, to give them the extra day over a few turns, I think makes sense for everybody. We can kind of push them a little bit more when we get into September.”
Inserting Gonsolin pushed Julio Urias back to Thursday, and Clayton Kershaw into the series opener against the L.A. Angels this weekend. Regardless of who’s on the mound, a more pressing matter for the Dodgers in their offense.
The lineup has struggled to maintain any sort of consistency. Roberts has generally been pleased with his team’s approach and focus at the plate, and is confident they will soon begin to turn the tide.
“It happens every year, that a group of guys aren’t swinging the bat well,” he said before Wednesday’s game. “We have this conversation every year, every manager does. It’s just about going out there and continuing to take good at-bats.”
The Dodgers look to begin that process against Zach Davies. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA in three starts and proven to be a stable commodity for the Padres at the back of their rotation.
Davies is a career 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in six starts against the Dodgers.
Dodgers lineup
LF: Joc Pederson
RF: Mookie Betts
CF: Cody Bellinger
3B: Justin Turner
2B: Max Muncy
CF: AJ Pollock
SS: Chris Taylor
1B: Edwin Rios
C: Will Smith
Padres lineup
SS: Fernando Tatis Jr.
CF: Trent Grisham
3B: Manny Machado
LF: Tommy Pham
1B: Jake Cronenworth
RF: Wil Myers
DH: Greg Garcia
C: Francisco Mejia
2B: Jurickson Profar
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