After dropping a series against the top team in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers face further uncertainty in advance of a three-game set against the host Miami Marlins.
Left-hander Clayton Kershaw was the starter in the lost 6–3 in the series opener on Tuesday, September 5, but fellow left-hander Julio Urias, who was scheduled to pitch in Thursday’s series finale, was arrested Sunday on felony domestic violence charges.
The situation adds further questions for a rotation that has dealt with absences all season. Urias did not travel to Miami with the team Monday, leaving Los Angeles down to four set starters – Kershaw, Lance Lynn, Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan – for the time being.
Kershaw (12–4, 2.48 ERA) had a six-week absence earlier this season with shoulder discomfort, making four short but effective starts for the Dodgers (84–52) since his return, posting a 2.12 ERA over his last 17 innings.
Kershaw did not pitch in the Dodgers’ most recent series when they lost three of four games at home against the Atlanta Braves. Without his elite pitch mix last Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he still managed to give up just one run in five innings while picking up the win.
“This guy is one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever seen,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Kershaw. “What I saw was will, compete, and just tenacity. He wasn’t going to be denied.
Dodgers Lose 11–4 to Marlins in Opener
The Miami Marlins hit three home runs in a nine-run fifth inning to rally past the Los Angeles Dodgers 11–4 Wednesday and bolster their playoff chances with three weeks remaining in the regular season.Joey Wendle, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jesus Sanchez all hit home runs in the fifth inning to account for six of the Marlins’ nine runs. Miami had seven hits in the decisive inning after just one hit, on a bunt single, in the first four innings.
Five Miami pitchers held down the Dodgers’ offense, with right-hander Edward Cabrera (6-6) picking up four of those innings without allowing a run. The Marlins (72–67) opened the day a half game out of the final wild-card spot in the National League.
Jason Heyward and James Outman hit home runs for the Dodgers (84–54), who have lost five of their last six games.
Dodgers right-hander Lance Lynn (10–11) was roughed up for eight runs on seven hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. His three home runs allowed boosted his major league-leading total to 40. Lynn has given up 15 runs over his last two starts, both losses.
The Dodgers took a 1–0 lead in the fourth inning when Heyward hit his 14th home run.
Wendle, the Marlins’ No. 9 hitter, hit a two-run home run as the second batter of the fifth, his second on the season. Chisholm’s three-run blast was his second home run in two games against the Dodgers and 16th of the season.
Sanchez’s 12th of the year put Miami up 6–1, with Wendle driving in another run on a single and Luis Arraez adding a two-run double.
Wendle drove in his fourth run of the game on a double in the seventh inning for a 10–1 lead and scored on a Yuli Gurriel double for an 11–1 advantage.
Outman’s home run was his 18th for the Dodgers and came in a three-run ninth inning.
The nine-run fourth was the most the Marlins have scored in an inning since they had a club-record 11 in an August 2021 game against the Chicago Cubs.
They were the most the Dodgers have given up in an inning since allowing nine in April 2017 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
