The Los Angeles Dodgers have dropped two of the last three since having their five-game winning streak snapped and now look to avoid losing a series to the Baltimore Orioles.
This week’s series is rematch of the 1966 World Series, which saw the Orioles sweep the Dodgers. Their visit to Dodger Stadium is Baltimore’s first since 2016.
Even with their loss on Tuesday night, the Dodgers enter play tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in baseball at 78-54. The Orioles 1.5 games back of both teams with a 77-56 record.
Walker Buehler takes the mound as he tries to find any sort of rhythm for the Dodgers this season and live up to the confidence expressed after his last outing.
“I’m so tired of saying that I feel closer. But I kind of explained to people I felt like a bad version of myself in ’21 and I think that’s as close as I’ve felt to kind of me of old as I’ve I felt this year,” Buehler said after throwing four innings against the Seattle Mariners.
“I didn’t throw the ball well, and our team really helped me out and got us back into the game. And I don’t want to sound too optimistic about it, kind of because of the results. But you know, I came out of that one feeling pretty good about where I’m at and what we’ve done this week in terms of the delivery.
“And now it’s, I’ve been saying this, ‘I got to perform, and I got to perform,’ but I feel like I can actually perform now. And I’m going to have five, six days to throw and feel the same thing that I’ve been feeling the past three or four days. I feel better about it.
“And I think also this is the power of being on a team like this, right? I can throw the ball not great, we get their guy out of there quickly, and kind of chip away at it and then explode. And we got guys off the bench that are veteran players and really prepared, and J-Hey hits a big homer and wins us the game.
“So, yeah, it sucks, it’s hard to say keep sticking with me, but I feel a lot better about it. And obviously it’s nice not to lose every game that I start.”
The Dodgers appear to be at somewhat of a pitching disadvantage with Corbin Burnes starting for the Orioles. He enters 12-6 with a 3.28 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 26 starts this season.
Burnes faces a Dodgers lineup that does not include Freddie Freeman for the second consecutive game. Freeman is just 3-for-23 since sustaining a hairline fracture in his right middle finger on Aug. 17.
Manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ loss on Tuesday that Freeman was not available off the bench.
Dodgers lineup
DH: Shohei Ohtani
RF: Mookie Betts
2B: Gavin Lux
LF: Teoscar Hernández
3B: Max Muncy
C: Will Smith
SS: Tommy Edman
CF: Kevin Kiermaier
1B: Kiké Hernández
Orioles lineup
LF: Colton Cowser
DH: Adley Rutschman
SS: Gunnar Henderson
RF: Anthony Santander
1B: Ryan O’Hearn
CF: Cedric Mullins
3B: Ramón Urías
2B: Jackson Holliday
C: James McCann
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