Health of Shohei Ohtani a concern as Dodgers, Cardinals wrap up series

When Tarik Skubal takes the mound for his sixth start with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the health of Shohei Ohtani will be front and center Thursday night in advance of the series finale against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.

The Dodgers will try to avoid a three-game sweep and might have to do it without Ohtani, who appeared to be dealing with right-arm discomfort during Wednesday's 8-6 loss in 10 innings. Ohtani struck out in each of his final four trips to the plate for his first four-strikeout game of the season.

"You can see the swing wasn't the swing that we're used to seeing," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "So he's not close to optimal. What is going to get him close to being able to perform at the level that you know he expects? That's kind of the question. And time off obviously seems logical, so I'm not blind to that."

Arm and knee discomfort have prevented Ohtani from pitching since early July. The arm ailment, at least, could take him off the field entirely, although Roberts said he does not expect a stint on the injured list for his star.

The manager told reporters he will consult with the Dodgers' head athletic trainer and with Ohtani to address the superstar's physical issues.

Meanwhile, Skubal (8-7, 2.84 ERA) has pitched well in a Dodgers uniform, but the club is just 3-2 in his starts. The two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner was acquired at the trade deadline last month from the Detroit Tigers.

In four career starts against St. Louis, Skubal is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA.

The Dodgers (82-57) saw Freddie Freeman end his career-long 47-game home run drought on Wednesday, while Mookie Betts also homered. But the Dodgers were just 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

"I know that everyone doesn't want to hear it, and the fans don't want to hear it, but 18 opportunities, at least, I guess you got to try to find a positive," Freeman said. "But that was a tough loss."

The Cardinals will seek a series sweep with left-hander Quinn Mathews (1-2, 5.03 ERA) on the mound. He will make his fifth career start following his major league debut on Aug. 1.

Mathews earned his first career win Friday when he allowed one run on five hits over 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts in a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was his first home start.

"It took me four games to get (to a home start), so it was definitely special to finally get to throw in front of the home fans and put together a quality outing," Mathews said, according to MLB.com.

After scoring 13 runs in the series opener Tuesday, the Cardinals' most ever in a game at Dodger Stadium, they failed to deliver a hit over the first five innings against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, then chased down two separate three-run deficits.

Thomas Saggese again tormented the Dodgers with a two-run home run and a go-ahead RBI infield single in the 10th inning. He hit two home runs in the 13-8 win on Tuesday.

St. Louis is back to .500 at 70-70 and 3 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot in the National League.

"Coming to places like (Los Angeles), Philly, Chicago, you want to be able to check those (positives) off," manager Oliver Marmol told Cardinals TV. "And the one thing you want to make sure your club does is to go into those types of spots fearless. We've done that."

--Field Level Media