Teoscar Hernández is back with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night but remains out of the lineup for the middle game of their series with the Chicago White Sox.
Hernández was away from the team on Monday as he traveled to the Dominican Republic to tend to a personal matter. The 31-year-old seemingly is available off the bench but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his plan was to give Hernández a night off.
Meanwhile, Bobby Miller is looking to establish some consistency in his second start since returning from a lengthy stint on the 15-day injured list. Miller had a bit of an uneven performance over 6.1 innings pitched at Coors Field last week. He was particularly frustrated with not locating his fastball well or having the usual characteristics on it.
Facing the White Sox — the worst team in baseball — presents a chance for Miller to get back into the swing of things at a necessary time.
The White Sox have a collective .218 batting average that ranks worst in baseball, as does their on-base plus slugging percentage (.621). They are 26th in home runs, 11th-worst in strikeouts, second-worst in walks and by far the worst in runs scored.
Furthermore, the White Sox have a struggling starter on the mound, compounded by one of the worst bullpens in the sport by ERA. Chris Flexen joined the White Sox during the offseason after being traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Colorado Rockies in 2023. But the results have not been much better than they were last year.
Flexen has a 5.03 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 73.1 innings this season. The seven-year veteran has walked 29 batters and allowed 73 hits, resulting in an 82 ERA+ on the year. Even with the Dodgers lineup being shorthanded, they should still enjoy an advantage against Flexen.
This is also another chance for the Dodgers to extend their 23-game winning streak when Miguel Rojas — their temporary everyday shortstop — records at least one hit hit.
The Dodgers are 23-0 this season when Rojas collects one hit in a game.
Dodgers Lineup
DH: Shohei Ohtani
C: Will Smith
1B: Freddie Freeman
CF: Andy Pages
SS: Miguel Rojas
LF: Miguel Vargas
3B: Kiké Hernández
2B: Chris Taylor
RF: Jason Heyward
White Sox Lineup
RF: Tommy Pham
LF: Andrew Benintendi
CF: Luis Robert Jr.
DH: Eloy Jimenez
1B: Gavin Sheets
SS: Paul DeJong
C: Korey Lee
2B: Nicky Lopez
3B: Lenyn Sosa
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