The Dodgers head into AZ for a four game set, hoping Yamamoto and Sasaki can give the tired bullpen, who is now missing Evan Phillips also, some time to reset
Another series win in the books; another injury added to insult. The Dodgers finished their season series against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, taking five of the six games.
Now they travel to Arizona to start a four-game series against the Diamondbacks, but they will be without reliever Evan Phillips. Phillips was placed on the 15-day IL before Wednesday’s game with right forearm tightness. He had just recently returned from an IL stint spanning back to last season. Manager Dave Roberts and Phillips were optimistic that it will be just the minimum stint for Phillips to return, but it doesn’t help an already depleted bullpen.
Now the Dodgers turn their sights to the division rival D-backs. The Snakes sit at 19-18, fourth in the NL West, six games out of first.
Because of all of the injuries that have hit the Dodgers pitching staff, the rotation is moving up a day. Having been on a schedule of having six off days between starts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki will now have had five days off between their last starts.
Thursday evening the Dodgers will send out Yamamoto out to duel against Brandon Pfaadt, who appears to be the early ace of the Diamondbacks staff. He is 5-2 on the season with a 3.79 ERA. He had a rough outing against the Phillies in his last start however, allowing six earned runs over 4⅔ innings. Pfaadt won both his outing against the Dodgers in 2024, striking out 10 in his most recent outing against them.
However, the Arizona staff has their work cut out for them. as the Dodgers offense is still rolling. having scored 36 runs in the first six games of their road trip, including a six-run seventh inning Wednesday against the Marlins.
So does the Arizona offense, as Yamamoto has the lowest ERA in the majors, and his 24 hits are also the least amount allowed by a qualified starter this season.
Thursday and Friday’s games will be at 6:40 p.m., Saturday’s game will be at 5:40 p.m., and Sunday’s matinee will be at 1:10. no Sunday Night Baseball game this week for a change.
Thursday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Diamondbacks
- Stadium: Chase Field, Phoenix
- Start time: 6:40 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)