The Los Angeles Dodgers may have a commanding seven-game lead in the National League West, but the defending World Series champions have had a rough go of it the last few days.
It didn't get any better on Monday after Yoshinobu Yamamoto recorded just two outs in the Dodgers' game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Yamamoto threw 41 pitches, giving up five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks in the worst start of his Major League career so far.
The big blow against Yamamoto came off the bat of Andrew Vaughn, who swatted a three-run home run to highlight the five-run first inning for the Brewers.
It was a rough outing tor Yamamoto, but those types of games happen. Overall, the 2025 MLB All-Star has a 2.51 ERA with a 1.014 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Dodgers' current rut is a little more concerning. The Houston Astros swept them over the weekend, not just winning all three games in LA, but outscoring the Dodgers 29-6 in the process. Making matters worse, they are dealing with a torrent of injuries.
The team officially lost the struggling Kiké Hernandez to the injured list on Monday with inflammation in his left elbow. Manager Dave Roberts said he is expected back “shortly after the All-Star break,” per Sonja Chen of MLB.com and the Dodgers called up James Outman to take his place.
Meanwhile, Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez remain out of the lineup with foot injuries, though they are on the active roster. That left the Dodgers with one player off the bench on Sunday.
“Today, when we have one player available and that’s the catcher, that’s not a good feeling,” Roberts said before that game, per DodgerBlue.com. “So I don’t know how much will change tomorrow as far as availability. So yeah, there is talk about one of those guys potentially going on the IL.”
