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    • Knack and Co. try to beat the mighty Marlins – Dodgers Digest
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    Knack and Co. try to beat the mighty Marlins – Dodgers Digest

    Vaseline Posted on

    Knack and Co. try to beat the mighty Marlins – Dodgers Digest

    The Dodgers (89-62) lost the first game of their three-game series to the Marlins (56-95) last night by a score of 9-11, thanks to a disastrous pitching performance. The team was coming off a huge series split with the Atlanta Braves (81-70) in which they won the last two games by significant margins. The pitching problems started again by Bobby Millerwho is probably done for the season after that exit. Hopefully he figures it out and gets it right for 2025. Because of Miller’s exit, Michael Bosje was asked to pitch multiple innings, a situation he has struggled in this year, and to no one’s surprise, he struggled in that spot. They were lucky to lose to the Padres, but had no excuse to allow 11 runs to the Marlins (who traded their entire roster at the deadline). Tonight, the left-hander Ryan Weers will make his first start in the majors since June 7 after missing more than three months with a left index finger injury. Landon Knack will be on the mound for the Dodgers in hopes of getting the ship back on course.

    Image Image
    3:40 pm Miami
    DH Ohtani (L) SS Edward (S)
    2B bets 3B Norby
    RF T. Hernández LF Sanchez (left)
    1B Freeman (left) 1B Hamburger
    SS Edman (S) DH Bride
    C Blacksmith CF Stowers (L)
    CF Pages 2B Lopez
    3B K. Hernández RF Bunny (L)
    LF Tailor C Strengths
    P Knack (R) P Weather forecast (L)

    The Marlins are playing with the same lineup as yesterday: 11 runs on 15 hits and four walks, with only seven strikeouts. Jesus Sanchez was 5-5 yesterday with two doubles, raising his season OPS from .715 to .734, and his 96 wRC+ to 101. All of the Marlins’ starters reached base last night, and outside of the rookie Griffin ConineThey all had at least one hit. Hopefully the Dodgers can pitch better today. That was only the third time this season that the Marlins have scored 11 or more runs, and the sixth time they have scored 10 or more. The Dodgers have scored 11 or more runs 10 times, and in double figures 16 times.

    This Miami lineup has so much inexperience in its entirety, it’s pretty astonishing. Here’s how their career totals compare Freddie Freeman‘s career so far.

    Crazy.

    For the Dodgers, there are a few iterations of how the lineup can be constructed against lefties. This one is a little different because Miguel Rojas I get the day off, but there are still some interesting decisions to be made. Max Muncy And Gavin Lux are out of the lineup today, probably to rest the former, and a necessary move for the latter. Generally they would go with Kiké Hernández on third base with Chris Taylor on second base or the other way around, but today they decide to go with Mookie Betts at second base, back to the infield for the first time since returning from the injured list on August 12. Chris Taylor will be in left field in place of Theoscar Hernándezwhich will shift to the right.

    I’m really curious why they’re trying this because Taylor has been really bad this season and they could just start him at second base and leave everything else the same. Maybe they want to give Mookie some reps at second base if he needs to – I mean Andy Pages crushes it and needs a spot (RF?), Lux loses his ability to field or hit or both, Taylor might need some outfield reps since he could end up primarily in left field in the postseason, etc. They’re probably evaluating a few options here. Also, Tommy Edman will play shortstop instead of center field, as Rojas needs a day off. Pages will play center field.

    ——

    Here you can see how Knack and Weathers compare to each other.

    Weathers had pitched brilliantly in his first full season with the Marlins after being acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres last year. He seemed to be breaking out this year, looking much better than his first few seasons in the majors. He had a 5.88 ERA and 5.64 FIP over the first 156.0 innings of his career with San Diego and Miami from 2021-2023, but he’s still only 24 years old. It made sense for the Padres to move him back then, and it made sense for the Marlins to give him a real shot. He threw 78 pitches in his most recent rehab start, so he’s nearly fully rebuilt. He held the Dodgers in check with a hot start in early May, pitching six innings and allowing just three earned runs.

    He has reduced his usage of his four-seam fastball to 40.4% of the time, down from over 50% the first three years of his career. He has mixed in a true sinker for the first time in his career, throwing it just over 12% of the time for a different look after throwing just 11 sinkers last season. He throws a solid mid-80s changeup against right-handed batters that has resulted in just a .243 xwOBA, which allows a .193 batting average on that pitch. The star of his rotation is his low-80s sweeper that he throws to both left- and right-handed batters with devastating results, holding opponents to just .119 against it with an astonishing 55.3% whiff rate.

    Knack was having a great season until his final outing, where he was crushed by the Braves. It was easily his worst outing of the year, where he allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks in two innings. He was coming off a great outing against the Guardians, where he allowed just two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts, but it’s no surprise that the results were in line with what the fringe stats have been showing for a while now. If he can get a few strong starts to close out the season, he could be in the mix for a postseason role as a final starter or as a long reliever, so this start is a big one for him.

    There’s not much to say outside of Knack. Miller left the game yesterday after two innings and gave up four earned runs, which is absolutely bad. I understand that when your starter pitches two innings, you have to pitch more guys, the bullpen has to cover more innings, etc. However, they still gave up seven runs in seven innings to the 2024 Miami Marlins. That’s just not going to happen.

    ——

    With the injuries in the rotation, it makes sense to try to address this before the postseason. They need both his glove and, funnily enough, his bat to get where they want to be in October.

    Clayton Kershaw is determined to pitch again this season and in the playoffs.

    Zach Logue last pitched on September 12 and looks set to serve a long-term substitute role for the time being.

    If the Dodgers make it to the NLCS or World Series, maybe they’ll add a few pitchers to their roster. Who knows.

    ——

    The first pitch is at 3:40 PT on SNLA.

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