There are instances in which one could rather easily find plausible arguments to spin whichever narrative they’re most interested and/or believe in. The Dodgers’ series with the Red Sox presents such a case, and it simply depends on what you’ll look to focus on.
If we go by recent performance, Boston has struggled after the All-Star break, dropping four of six against the Chicago Cubs and, most recently, the Philadelphia Phillies. It very nearly could’ve been five of six, but similar to the Dodgers, the Red Sox are also coming off a nail-biting win, beating Philly 9-8 in extras.
The flip side is that Boston’s home-away splits are quite stark, playing like a playoff team at Fenway Park (.615 winning percentage) and six games under .500 on the road. That massive winning streak that propelled this team back into contending status right before the break came with its last seven wins at home.
However you opt to look at this, given the Dodgers’ poor record in July (7-11), the defending champs can hardly take any opponent lightly. Looking ahead to Friday’s game, the Dodgers might be without Mookie Betts, who, according to Dave Roberts, is dealing with some personal things. Roberts didn’t elaborate on the issue on Wednesday.
Without Betts, we’re likely to see Shohei Ohtani back in the leadoff spot, and that presents him with the most opportunities to potentially set a new Dodgers record. Ohtani has gone deep in each of his last five games, tying fellow current Dodger Max Muncy as one of the seven players to ever accomplish the feat for this franchise. The reigning NL MVP will attempt to set that record against Brayan Bello, a pitcher he is four for eight against in his career. Only Teoscar Hernández (12 at-bats) has more experience against the Red Sox starter.
Friday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Red Sox
- Ballpark: Fenway Park, Boston
- Start time: 4:10 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)