The Dodger (20-10) offense showed signs of life in the final two games of the series against the Cubs (18-12), scoring a total of 18 runs before following it up with a mediocre showing in the series opener against the Marlins (14-16), and a true stinker in last nights 2-1 loss.
They required Pete Fairbanks to deal with nerve irritation in the series opener leading to their walk-off win, and were shutout over six innings by Janson Junk last night. They had the bases loaded with one out in the first inning, and runners on first and third with one out in the eighth inning, and were able to score exactly zero runs in both situations. Sure the lineup didn’t have Shohei Ohtani in it as he was focused on putting up six innings of one run ball, but the offense needs to find a way to score against someone like Janson Junk. Today will be a tougher matchup on paper, up against Sandy Alcantara who has always struggled at Dodger Stadium for some reason, while Tyler Glasnow starts for the Dodgers.
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|---|---|---|---|
| 12:10 P.M. | Los Angeles | ||
| CF | Marsee (L) | DH | Ohtani (L) |
| DH | Stowers (L) | 1B | Freeman (L) |
| SS | Lopez | CF | Pages |
| 2B | Edwards (S) | RF | Tucker (L) |
| C | Hicks (L) | 3B | Muncy (L) |
| 1B | Norby | C | Rushing (L) |
| RF | Caissie (L) | SS | Kim (L) |
| 3B | Pauley (L) | LF | Call |
| LF | Ruiz | 2B | Freeland (S) |
| P | Alcantara (R) | P | Glasnow (R) |
There isn’t much to say about the offense that hasn’t already been said, but they just need to find a way to more consistently put runs on the board. They’ve had too many games lately where they’ve managed just one run or fewer against starting pitchers that they shouldn’t be dominated by, ones similar to Junk last night. Will Smith was great last night going 3-for-4, but had been in a rough stretch before that, just 2-for-23 in the week prior. Teoscar Hernández had a recent 5-for-40 stretch where he logged just one extra-base hit. He’s seen his OPS fall from .918 on April 15, to .701 after last night. Freddie Freeman had been great and even a little unlucky to start the season, but has seen his OPS drop from .877 just a week ago to .774 amidst a 4-for-24 stretch with all four hits being singles. Ohtani had seen his OPS bottom out at .794 on April 24, but after logging three hits in each of his last two starts including two doubles and a homer, that number has jumped back up to .899. When he’s on, the rest of the order generally figures it out too.
When the top of the order isn’t hitting, that requires significant contribution from the bottom of the order, which is a tough ask for a consistent amount of time. Teoscar has been scuffling, so he’ll get the day off while Alex Call hits eighth. Smith will have the day off and Dalton Rushing will start behind the plate, as with the day off tomorrow this would net both Smith and Teoscar two full days of rest. The offense will need better at-bats today against a tough pitcher in order to end this stretch of 13 games in 13 days with a positive record, as they’re 6-6 entering today.
The Marlins meanwhile stack as many left-handed bats into their lineup as they can against Glasnow, with the exceptions being old friend Esteury Ruiz in left field, Connor Norby at first base, and Otto Lopez at shortstop. Lopez who had three hits last night, now has the sixth highest batting average in baseball at .325, with one of his own teammates in front of him, Xavier Edwards at .339.
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Here’s how the two starters have fared in 2026.
Firstly, reading the article Dustin just wrote about Glasnow would be the easiest place to start, as he takes a look into how Glasnow has performed thus far, and the interesting way that he’s been doing it.
“While we’re still in April, Glasnow has never looked better at any stage of his career. He leads all Dodger starting pitchers in fWAR (1.3), K-BB% (25.8), xFIP (2.48), SIERA (2.75) and he’s averaging 6 2/3 innings per start.”
Pretty elite stuff early in the year, and it’s hard to argue with his performance. Here’s what I had to say prior to his previous start in San Francisco.
Glasnow has been dominant through his first four starts of the season, most recently allowing one run on two hits and two walks over seven innings with seven strikeouts against the Rockies, earning his second win of the season. That outing lowered his season ERA to 3.24, but his underlying numbers are among the best in the sport. His ERA is what it is due to some very poorly timed home runs that he’s allowed, something that balances out during the course of the entire year. Here’s how he ranks among 86 qualified starters in the following metrics, 2.58 FIP (18th), 2.87 xFIP (12), 2.61 xERA (8), 2.86 SIERA (9), 24.2% K-BB% (7), and seventh in WHIP at 0.84. He’s been a top ten starter by nearly every metric aside from his actual ERA, and if his improved command stays, there’s no reason this is unsustainable for him.
He followed that up by putting together one of the best starts from any pitcher in baseball this season, going eight scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and one walk with nine strikeouts. The Giants never had a chance in that game, and that’s exactly how a true ace makes the game feel. He’ll look to keep his recent performance going against a Marlins team that has patience at the plate and is now a middle of the pack offense after spending the last few years near the bottom of every list.
Alcantara is one of the more polarizing pitchers in the sport, as the former Cy Young winner pitched to a 5.36 ERA in 174.2 innings last year, making his return from Tommy John surgery in October of 2023. His stuff was there, sitting 97.7 mph on his fastball which was just below his 98.0 mark during his Cy Young season. The command however was not, and despite looking like his former self at times, he was never able to get the results that we’d been accustomed to seeing. His strikeouts haven’t fully returned, with just a 16.3% strikeout rate, and the walks are up at 7.8%, resulting in a K-BB% of 8.4%, the 74th-lowest mark among 85 qualified starting pitchers. It’s showed a bit in the results thus far, as despite his 3.05 ERA, he’s been struggling his last few times out. He dominated his first three outings, averaging over eight innings per start including a complete game shutout against the Chicago White Sox, and owned a 0.74 ERA through those three starts.
He’s posted a 6.35 ERA over his last three starts across 17.0 innings, with just nine strikeouts and additionally nine walks. He allowed seven runs on the road against the Tigers, and has been better in the run prevention department the last two times out, allowing three runs to each of the Brewers and Giants. He’ll be looking to right the ship and get back on track, but he’s always struggled at Dodger Stadium, with a career 14.46 ERA in Los Angeles over five starts and 18.2 innings pitched. While I don’t expect him to cough up eight runs today or anything, even most recently as last year he allowed seven earned runs in LA in a start where he lasted just 2.2 innings.
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In other news,
The Dodgers need to keep Ohtani fresh as he is very likely to throw his most innings in a season since he logged 166.0 in the 2022 season. He’s also the best hitter on the team, so leaving him out of the lineup can often be the difference between a 2-1 loss last night, and a possible win. The offense should be able to put up runs against the Marlins, with or without him in the lineup however.
Pretty much this. Even with their struggles, they had the ability to total three runs if they managed a sac-fly in either the first inning or the eighth with a runner on third and one out.
Meanwhile, Ohtani will have a real shot at the Cy Young award this season if he logs enough innings to keep up with his competition. The performance is elite every time he takes the mound.
A Mookie Betts update:
Mookie Betts said he felt some soreness in his oblique a couple days back when he started taking BP on the field. So they backed off. He’s been hitting in the cage the last couple days and feels he’s “turned a corner” for them to try to start that up again.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 29, 2026
Get well soon, Mookie.
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First pitch is at 12:10 PT on SNLA.