The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off a brutal Freeway Series, which featured the Los Angeles Angels completing a six-game season sweep over the defending champions.
The Dodgers are the most vulnerable they’ve been all season, losing what was a nine-game lead in the NL West just over a month ago. LA will face the first-place San Diego Padres — who earned their lead in the division Wednesday — six times in the next 10 days.
MLB’s most-used bullpen in baseball will face the league’s best bullpen in the sport. The Dodgers bullpen is once again short-handed as right-hander Brock Stewart landed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation on Tuesday.
Manager Dave Roberts provided the latest update on Stewart, who was the Dodgers’ most notable addition at the trade deadline.
“Pretty benign, wear and tear,” Roberts said of Stewart’s injury following testing. “It’s gonna be a few weeks until he returns.”
Roberts called this the “best-case scenario” and added, “there’s no structural damage … it’s just good that Brock flagged it early.”
Stewart made just four appearances for LA before being sidelined with the shoulder injury. The reliever received a cortisone injection for the inflammation, and is not expected to pick up a baseball for at least a week.
In his four appearances for LA, Stewart gave up two runs and six hits across 3.2 innings resulting in a 4.91 ERA.
The Dodgers are missing Stewart, Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech, and Kirby Yates in the bullpen. The return of all four relievers will certainly provide some relief to an ailing bullpen, but the Dodgers have already lost control of the division.
