Freddie Freeman's knee has kept him day-to-day and out of the lineup in recent games, and the Dodgers are also without Roki Sasaki, Edwin Diaz and a handful of arms on the shelf — but none of it has slowed this team down. Miami's own injury list is thinner on star power but deep in bullpen arms, with Anthony Bender among those shut down recently.
loanDepot park's roof will be doing work Friday — thunderstorms and 82-degree heat are in the forecast, so this one's staying indoors. That neutralizes any weather edge and puts the focus squarely on the arms and the bats already in front of everybody.
Los Angeles has outscored its last five opponents by a combined margin that would make any pitcher nervous, and it's done it without needing Ohtani's bat in the middle of the order the last couple games. Miami's lone win in its last five came in blowout fashion over the Cubs, which says a team capable of scoring in bunches is still in there — it just hasn't shown up against good pitching.
The gap here isn't really about who's hurt — it's about which team is playing whole and which is playing shorthanded against a first-place club that hasn't lost in a week. Friday's opener sets the tone for a series that could get away from Miami fast if Gusto can't find an answer for a lineup this hot.