The Los Angeles Dodgers were absolutely clobbered on Sunday by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Much of the damage by the D'backs was felt by Los Angeles starter Justin Wrobleski, who had a disastrous outing versus a divisional rival.
Wrobleski had just been called up by the Dodgers with the rosters expanding this September. However, he did not help his chances of sticking around in the big leagues at least for this month after getting shelled by the Diamondbacks. The 24-year-old Wrobleski got lit up by Arizona for 10 runs on 10 hits. Wrobleski allowed two home runs and issued a pair of walks while striking out two hitters through 99 pitches and 5.1 innings of work on the mound.
Wrobleski shared his thoughts on his performance, saying that such a horrendous outing was part of the learning process in the big leagues.
“It’s part of being a starting pitcher,” Wrobleski said after a brutal performance on the mound versus the Diamondbacks, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).
“It’s part of pitching in this league. It’s a hard league to pitch in obviously. Just kind of keep grinding.”
Wrobleski pitched a scoreless first inning but the wheels fell off for him in the second inning, where the Diamondbacks scored eight runs off of him.
The trouble started for Wrobleski when Randal Grichuk had a double in the second frame. After striking out Jake McCarthy, Wrobleski allowed a single to Eugenio Suarez that had Grichuk scoring the first run of the contest. Kevin Newman's single right after had Suarez moving to third base before Jose Herrera's hit drove both Suarez and Newman home. Geraldo Perdomo followed that up with a double to drive Herrera and Newman home.
Wrobleski then walked Corbin Carroll before retiring Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a lineout. Josh Bell sparked the Diamondbacks' offense anew with a single that had Perdomo and Carroll crossing home plate. Grichuk added more to the Diamondbacks' explosion in the same inning with a three-run home run that went 427 deep.
With Clayton Kershaw on the injured list, the Dodgers needed Wrobleski to pitch against the Diamondbacks in order to give Los Angeles' rotation some more time to rest. Before his start opposite Arizona, Wrobleski's most recent start was in a road game against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 16 when he surrendered four earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks. However, the Dodgers scored enough runs to bag a 7-6 victory.
In six starts in the 2024 MLB regular season, Wrobleski has a 1-2 record, 6.82 ERA, and 1.38 WHIP across 30.1 innings.
Dodgers hope to win series vs. Diamondbacks amid NL West race
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Despite the forgettable result on Sunday, the Dodgers can still win the four-game series this Monday. The Dodgers won the first two games of the set by a combined score of 18-15. In the finale, the Dodgers are expected to give the ball to Jack Flaherty, who is 10-6 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 2024. He has one start this season versus the Diamondbacks, which was back on April 19 at Chase Field in Phoenix. In that contest, he surrendered just two earned runs on five hits with nine strikeouts in 6.0 innings of an 8-3 victory.
The Dodgers, who dropped to 82-55, are now just ahead by five games over the Diamondbacks (77-60) in the National League West division standings.
After the Arizona series, the Dodgers will take on the Los Angeles Angels in a two-game set at Angel Stadium.
