Snell and Co. try to avoid a sweep against Paul Skenes – Dodgers Digest

After a disappointing 9-7 loss to open this series against the Pittsburgh Pirates (63-77), the Dodgers (78-61) followed it up with a pitiful performance where they seemingly tried their best to be shutout. They were successful if that were the intention, dropping the second game of this series by a score of 3-0. That’s been the nature of the team as of late, where if the offense scores, the pitching and defense can’t come through. If the pitching is solid, the offense decides to take the night off like last night. I’m sure it’s as infuriating for them as it is for fans, but it is quite a rough watch at times. Blake Snell will be on the mound looking to salvage this series for the Dodgers, while the Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes looks to finish the sweep of the lowly Dodgers.

3:40 P.M.

Pittsburgh

DH
Ohtani (L)
SS
Triolo

SS
Betts
2B
Gonzales

1B
Freeman (L)
RF
Reynolds (S)

RF
T. Hernández
LF
Pham

LF
Conforto (L)
DH
McCutchen

CF
Pages
1B
Yorke

2B
Kim (L)
CF
Canario

3B
Rojas
C
Davis

C
Rushing (L)
3B
Devanney

P
Snell (L)
P
Skenes (R)

Will Smith is out again with his bruised hand, so Dalton Rushing will be behind the plate. Ben Rortvedt is here, although it seems unlikely that Smith will hit the injured list. Michael Conforto is back in the lineup, and not only that, but he is also batting fifth. Conforto of the .476 OPS, 36 wRC+ and 35.5% strikeout rate since the beginning of August. Conforto of the lowest fWAR (-0.7) among all players with over 400 plate appearances, and the only such player batting below .200. Hitting fifth! I’m not sure he has any business even playing, and even at that has zero reason to be that high in the order. That is all. It’s not all his fault, and I don’t personally mean to pick on him, but it’s the reality of the situation at this point. The offense is too inconsistent, him included, and they need to figure that out. Skenes is not the guy you want to face when you’re scuffling. Hyeseong Kim will get his first start since returning from the injured list, while Alex Freeland sits.

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Here’s how Skenes and Snell have fared.

Skenes earned his ninth win of the season his last time out against the Red Sox, allowing one earned run on seven hits over six innings. The 23 year-old is the favorite to win the National League Cy Young award, and is undoubtedly one of the top three starters in baseball. He has a 2.01 ERA, a 2.46 FIP, and a 0.95 WHIP over his first 300 career innings, with 357 strikeouts, the NL Rookie of the Year award, and likely his first Cy Young with a good final month. Back in April he went 6.1 scoreless innings in Los Angeles against the Dodgers, allowing five hits, no walks, and nine strikeouts. The offense will have to really show up today to avoid the sweep.

Snell had one of his weaker starts since returning from the injured list his last time out, allowing three earned runs over 5.1 innings on four hits, three walks, and one home run with eight strikeouts. His velocity was down just over one mph across the board, which he attributed to his long week after the birth of his child. Hopefully that’s all it was and he bounces back today in Pittsburgh as the team desperately needs.

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In other news,

The Dodgers should put Smith on the injured list if there is any debating it, as the team needs him healthy, not operating at half capacity.

Shohei Ohtani will be back on the mound early next week, giving him some extra time off for the stretch run.

Alex Freeland had been really struggling at the plate recently, and Alexis Díaz was unfortunately squeezed out in a roster crunch.