The Los Angeles Dodgers often tout their roster depth, and the pitching portion of it is on display in a brief two-game series against the Los Angeles Angels this week.
Left-hander Tyler Anderson will take the mound for the Dodgers on Wednesday after right-hander Tony Gonsolin was dominant again in the series opener.
For a franchise that boasts some of the best arms in the game, opening the season with Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urias on the starting staff, it is Anderson and Gonsolin who have led the way.
Anderson (7-0, 3.07 ERA) will get a chance to follow Gonsolin’s dominating 6 1/3 innings against the Angels on Tuesday. Anderson will try to rebound from a tough outing Thursday against the Chicago White Sox when he gave up four runs over just three innings of a no-decision.
He entered that one after three consecutive scoreless outings. As the Dodgers deal with some offensive inconsistencies, a dominating Anderson outing would be appreciated considering his history against the Angels: 0-3 with a 13.83 ERA in four starts.
“I just think there’s a lack of consistency,” the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman said of the offense, according to the Orange County Register. “It is also encouraging that we are leading the league in runs scored even with a lot of guys underperforming the (statistics on the) back of their baseball cards.”
Both teams had just three hits Tuesday, but the Dodgers got the best of a 2-0 decision with a bases-loaded walk from Justin Turner and a home run from Mookie Betts.
Angels rookie left-hander Reid Detmers (2-2, 3.83) will try to expose that shaky offense. He faced the Dodgers once last season, giving up five runs on seven hits over five innings, while taking the loss.
Since his no-hitter May 10 against the Tampa Bay Rays, Detmers is 0-1 with a 3.93 ERA over his last four outings. His last two were scoreless over 4 1/3 innings each against the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
The Angels also are scuffling on offense under interim manager Phil Nevin, who is now 2-5 since taking over for fired Joe Maddon. The Angels have just one run over their last two games and have been held scoreless over their last 17 innings.
The Angels had just one hit through eight innings Tuesday before loading the bases with one out against Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel. But Jared Walsh and Max Stassi struck out to end the game.
“I love the effort, I love how they’re going about things,” Nevin said. “You come in here and split a series with the Dodgers, which we have a chance to do tomorrow, we come out of here with our heads high.”
The Angels could be without third baseman Anthony Rendon on Wednesday. He left Tuesday’s game in the fifth inning after he aggravated a right wrist injury that had him on the injured list earlier this month.
“It just flared up on him and it will be a day-to-day thing with him,” Nevin said. “We knew that coming in, and today just wasn’t a good day for him. He felt fine before the game, but once in a while it will grab him a little bit so I got him out of there.”
–Field Level Media
