The Dodgers have this division locked up. The Diamondbacks are just trying to keep their heads above water heading into the deadline.
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ARILAD
ARILAD
OverUnder
Best BetDodgers
The Dodgers are the far better team right now, sitting 14 games clear of Arizona and rolling with a 4-1 mark over their last 5. Sheehan is shaky, but LA's lineup and bullpen depth have been enough to cover for an inconsistent 5th starter all year. Arizona still hasn't even named a pitcher for this one, which says plenty about where their rotation stands.
Diamondbacks
+Buyers at the deadline, still chasing a wild-card spot
+Blew out Padres 8-0 just last week
−Rotation gutted — Burnes, Nelson, Walston all hurt
−Lost 3 of last 5, including a 4-10 blowout
Dodgers
+61-33, running away with the NL West
+Won 4 of last 5, offense clicking
−Sheehan's ERA near 5.00, inconsistent outings
−Rotation banged up — Snell, Glasnow, Knack, Miller all out
Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.91) takes the ball for LA looking to build on the best version of himself the Dodgers have seen in months, while Arizona still hasn't named a starter for Sunday's series finale at Dodger Stadium.
Sheehan's last time out against the Padres was a mixed bag — he struck out 5 over 4.1 innings and kept the damage to 1 earned run, but 3 walks and a climbing pitch count got him pulled before he could finish 5. That's been the story of his season: flashes of the stuff that made him a rotation piece, undercut by long at-bats and command lapses that chew through his pitch count. With Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Landon Knack and Bobby Miller all still working back from injury, the Dodgers don't have much choice but to keep running him out there and hope the last outing was a turning point, not a blip.
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Arizona, meanwhile, is dealing with a rotation that's been gutted all year. Corbin Burnes and Ryne Nelson are both on the 60-day IL, Michael Soroka is only just now beginning bullpen work, and Blake Walston has barely gotten his rehab off the ground. GM Mike Hazen has signaled the D-backs want to buy at the deadline and add arms rather than punt on the season, but until that help arrives, they're piecing starts together on a short week.
The Diamondbacks showed some life with an 8-0 blowout of the Padres last week, but it's been mostly rough sledding since — a 4-10 loss to close that series and a 1-4 setback sandwiched in between. Jordan Lawlar's hamstring has him shelved through the All-Star break, which doesn't help a lineup that needs every bit of thump it can get against a Dodgers pitching staff that, injuries aside, is still deep enough to grind out wins.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Jul 11?@ Dodgers—
Jul 10?@ Dodgers—
Los Angeles Dodgers
Jul 11?vs Diamondbacks—
Jul 10?vs Diamondbacks—
Recent form.
The Dodgers, for their part, keep finding ways to win even when the rotation isn't cooperating. They've taken 4 of their last 5 and sit at 61-33, a full 14 games clear of the D-backs and Padres who are jammed together fighting for a wild-card spot. That gap is the whole story of this series — LA isn't playing desperate baseball right now, and Arizona can't afford not to.
Arizona Diamondbacks
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Los Angeles Dodgers
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
None of that guarantees a laugher. Arizona has been competitive enough this year to keep games close even when they're overmatched on paper, and Dodger Stadium hasn't been an automatic party for LA's own beat-up staff. But with the Diamondbacks still searching for a name to pencil in and the Dodgers riding a hot week, the pressure sits squarely on Arizona to steal one before this series wraps.
