After earning a series split with the Seattle Mariners, the Los Angeles Dodgers have dropped consecutive games to the San Diego Padres and now are in danger of losing their first series of the season.
With the likes of Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux and Zach McKinstry on the 10-day injured list, and Chris Taylor limited by lower back stiffness, the Dodgers have struggled to produce much offensively. Their 23 hits over the past six games are the fewest in franchise history since the 1909 Brooklyn Superbas.
The drop off in production has placed more of a strain on pitching, and Saturday that begins with Trevor Bauer. Like Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw before him, Bauer is making a second consecutive start against the Padres.
Bauer allowed just three hits and one run — on a solo homer — and struck out seven over six innings at Petco Park last week. He continues to struggle against Manny Machado, who went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles off Bauer.
“I kept him in the park, so going in the right direction,” Bauer said after the Dodgers’ loss. He did not factor into the decision.
Machado is a career 12-for-19 with two doubles, four home runs, six RBI and four walks against the right-hander. Machado has enjoyed overall success against the Dodgers this season, hitting safely in all five head-to-head meetings thus far.
Blake Snell again starts opposite Bauer, as he looks to log more than five innings in an outing for the first time this season. Snell struck out seven and allowed two runs on five hits when he last faced the Dodgers. Both of those came on Taylor’s home run.
Snell has allowed at least two runs in each of his past three starts and recorded a minimum of seven strikeouts in all but one outing this year.
The Dodgers are without Chris Taylor for a third consecutive game due to lower back stiffness, but he has continued to progress and could be in the lineup Sunday.
L.A. also won’t have Corey Knebel for the foreseeable future as he was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right lat issue. Dennis Santana landed on the COVID-related IL, and with that the Dodgers recalled Matt Beaty and Garrett Cleavinger.
DJ Peters, who pinch-hit and made his MLB debut in Friday’s loss, now starts for the first time.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
C: Will Smith
LF: AJ Pollock
1B: Max Muncy
2B: Sheldon Neuse
CF: DJ Peters
P: Trevor Bauer
Padres lineup
SS: Fernando Tatis Jr.
CF: Trent Grisham
3B: Manny Machado
1B: Eric Hosmer
RF: Wil Myers
2B: Jake Cronenworth
LF: Jurickson Profar
C: Victor Caratini
P: Blake Snell
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