There might be “Welcome back” banners all around when the Los Angeles Dodgers play host to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
The Giants will send left-hander Robbie Ray to the mound for his first start in a San Francisco uniform and his first outing in a major league game since March 31 of last season. Ray makes his return after recovering from Tommy John surgery and a procedure to fix a forearm flexor tendon tear.
The Dodgers will counter with right-hander Tyler Glasnow (8-5, 3.47 ERA), who missed nearly three weeks while on the injured list with lower back tightness.
Predictably, Ray will be handled with care Wednesday, although manager Bob Melvin declined to be specific about his pitcher’s restrictions.
“There will be somewhat of a limit (but) he doesn’t really want to talk about that,” Melvin said. “And if you know Robbie, he’s all about just going out there as hard as he can for as long as he can. But we’ll have some restrictions. … It won’t be 110 pitches, put it that way.”
Ray has plenty of familiarity with the Dodgers but hasn’t faced them since 2020. Ray is 8-6 lifetime against Los Angeles with a 3.39 ERA in 21 starts.
San Francisco will look to see if rookie Tyler Fitzgerald can continue his recent run of success. On Tuesday, Fitzgerald hit a home run in his fifth consecutive game to become the first Giants player to pull off that feat since Barry Bonds went deep in seven consecutive games during the 2004 season.
“It’s cool and all, but I’m just trying to keep my head down, keep working and not really think about everything that is kind of going on,” Fitzgerald said.
Despite Fitzgerald’s contributions, the Giants are just 1-4 since the All-Star break.
Glasnow last took the mound for the Dodgers on July 5 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He gave up five runs in six innings on just three hits with two walks. He also had seven strikeouts.
At 109 innings this season, Glasnow is just 11 away from his career high for a season set last year with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Glasnow has never lost a decision to the Giants, going 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA in five appearances (four starts).
The Dodgers still have a dynamic top of the order, even with Mookie Betts out for an extended time with a broken hand. Shohei Ohtani drove in three runs out of the leadoff spot in Tuesday’s 5-2 victory over the Giants that gave the Dodgers five consecutive wins since the All-Star break.
The bottom of the order has been an issue, but Gavin Lux is starting to change that. Lux, the reigning National League Player of the Week, was at it again Tuesday with a two-run double in the first inning. He finished with two hits and some solid defense at second base.
“I think confidence is everything,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about Lux. “You can just see it in his at-bats. … It just looks like he’s confident up there and the defense is consistent. We hit him in the five hole and he was certainly unfazed.”
The Dodgers are now 8-3 against the Giants this season with the season series set to end Thursday.
–Field Level Media
