The National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers still are trying to find their way as they continue their home series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night after one key piece of the roster returned, while another stepped away for some downtime.
The Dodgers hope the return of Max Muncy will resolve some of their offensive issues that surfaced immediately after he went on the injured list on July 3.
Without their slugging third baseman, Los Angeles went 10-16 while absorbing a season-long seven-game losing streak. In the eight games before he was injured, Muncy was batting .345 with four home runs and eight RBI.
Muncy was back for the first time in a month Monday after returning from a bone bruise in his left knee and went 0-for-3 with a walk in a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals, as the Dodgers had just three hits.
“I feel like I’m in a great spot,” Muncy said upon his return. “In the box, things feel good. The first couple games on rehab assignment, there was a little thing in my swing that we were able to identify with the data, made the quick adjustment. After that, the next six, seven at-bats went really well. That to me told me that I was in a good spot.”
As Muncy returns, teammate Tommy Edman went on the 10-day injured list with recurring ankle discomfort. It is the second time this season that Edman’s left ankle has cost him playing time. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the club will take its time with the recovery this time.
Los Angeles will send right-hander Emmet Sheehan (2-2, 3.60 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday for his first career outing against the Cardinals. He has made six appearances (four starts) in his return from Tommy John surgery.
St. Louis will counter with right-hander Miles Mikolas (6-8, 4.83), who went 2-3 with a 5.06 ERA in five July starts. Mikolas is 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA in nine appearances (six starts) against the Dodgers.
Mikolas received the ideal blueprint on how to handle the Dodgers’ offense when Sonny Gray held Los Angeles to one hit over seven innings Monday. Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera hit home runs while Yohel Pozo had a go-ahead single in the ninth.
Winn, who led the Cardinals with 26 hits in July, hit his eighth home run of the season.
“He’s an electric player, and he can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “This is a guy who can hit for power and beat you, use the whole field and beat you, and beat you on the bases. And he can definitely beat you defensively.”
The Cardinals are 2-2 to start their six-game Southern California road trip. The results have come after St. Louis traded veteran relievers Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz, while third baseman Nolan Arenado (shoulder) went on the 10-day injured list Friday.
After he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Nolan Gorman was 3-for-11 (.273) with two RBIs in three games. He did not play Monday.
–Field Level Media
