The Dodgers dropped two of three games against the Cincinnati Reds, dropped two of three games against the Philadelphia Phillies and dropped out of first place in the National League West standings.
It was a rough week for the Dodgers.
They went 2-4 in six games on the road. Their pitchers are also dropping like flies. Noah Syndergaard was the latest Dodgers pitcher to land on the injured list, depleting an already thin Dodgers rotation.
He joined Julio Urias and Dustin May on the injured list. It’s only a matter of time before Clayton Kershaw heads to the injured list. That leaves the Dodgers using bullpen games, relief pitchers and minor leaguers to fill the gaps.
One of those minor leaguers has been a pleasant surprise.
Bobby Miller is doing things as a starter Dodger fans haven’t seen since the days of Kenta Maeda and Fernando Valenzuela.
Miller pitched six shutout innings against the Phillies on Saturday, improved to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.78. The Dodgers shut out the Phillies 9-0. Fellow rookie Andre Jackson pitched three shutout innings to complete the shutout and earn a save.
Miller joined Maeda in 2016 as the only Dodger starters since at least 1901 to pitch five or more innings and allow one run or zero runs in each of his first four appearances.
Miller is reminding Dodger fans of Valenzuela, who won his first eight starts and pitched five shutouts in 1981.
“When you play for this club, we’re not about development — we’ve got to win,” Roberts told the Associated Press. “It doesn’t matter the age, the service time — if you’re going out there and performing, then you earn those opportunities.”
Roberts and the Dodgers don’t have much of a choice right now. Miller is definitely making the most of his opportunities. But he wouldn’t have those opportunities if May, Urias and Syndergaard were healthy.
The Dodgers are basically down to three reliable starters: Miller, Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin.
Reliever Victor Gonzalez started the game against the Phillies on Friday. He lasted two-thirds of an inning before giving way to Michael Grove.
The Dodgers kept it close, but the Phillies won the game in the ninth inning on a walk-off home run by Kyle Schwarber, a .177 hitter by the end of the weekend. Caleb Ferguson gave up the game-winning home run to Schwarber and the Phillies won 5-4.
The Dodgers used eight pitchers in the game against the Phillies on Sunday. That strategy didn’t work either with the Dodgers losing 7-3. This time Ferguson started and gave up a run on three hits in his one inning of work.
The Reds won their two games in walk-off fashion against the Dodgers. The Reds scored three runs in the ninth inning to win 9-8 on Tuesday. Matt McClain drove in the winning run with an RBI single off — guess who – Ferguson.
Will Benson hit a walk-off home run for the Reds against the Dodgers on Wednesday. The Reds won that game, 8-6, after the Dodgers blew a four-run lead.
The Dodgers are definitely going through a rough patch and are now 3.5 games behind those annoying Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West standings.
Dodgers starting pitcher power rankings:
- Bobby Miller
- Clayton Kershaw
- Tony Gonsolin
- Victor Gonzalez
- Noah Syndergaard
The Dodgers (37-29) start a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Gonsolin is scheduled to start the first game. Maybe the Dodgers can start the homestand on a winning note. The San Francisco Giants come to LA to start a three-game weekend series on Friday. The Friday night game is Pride Night at Dodger Stadium.
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