Brett Anderson leaves early with blister in another Dodgers loss

What started as such a promising road trip has turned into a horror show for the Dodgers, who dropped their third straight game in spectacular fashion on Saturday, 11-1 to the Reds at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

Brett Anderson’s second start back from the disabled list was a lot like his first, in that he gave up several runs and left with an injury.

On Saturday, Anderson was behind 4-0 four batters into the game, with three singles providing the first run and a home run by Adam Duvall driving in the other three.

The injury on this night for Anderson was a blister to his left index finger, causing him to exit after just one batter in the fourth inning. This came six days after leaving his Sunday start after one inning with a mild left wrist sprain, after allowing five runs.

Tonight, Anderson allowed six runs while recording nine outs, watching his ERA decrease from 45.00 to 24.75.

It is unknown how long, if at all, the blister will keep Anderson sidelined, but the pregame announcement by manager Dave Roberts that Anderson would start Thursday against the Giants — with Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill starting the first two games of the series, following Scott Kazmir closing out the series in Cincinnati on Monday — appears at the very least questionable at this point.

The Dodgers on offense were as disappointing as they were on the mound, held without a hit until the seventh inning by Brandon Finnegan, who entered Saturday with a 4.54 ERA, 5.81 FIP and 26 home runs allowed in 21 starts.

That lone hit came off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games, hitting .412 (21-for-51) during the streak.

The Dodgers had to wait even longer on Saturday for their demise to become official, with an 80-minute rain delay in the middle of the seventh inning.

The one small piece of silver lining for the Dodgers is that they remain a half-game behind the Giants in the National League West, after San Francisco lost to the Mets on Saturday afternoon, 9-5.

What a way to make a living.

Up next

The Dodgers need some length out of their starter after 6⅔ total innings in the first two games of this series, and just 4.41 innings per game in August. Sunday’s start goes to Julio Urias, who has averaged 4.53 innings in his 10 major league starts. Anthony DeSclafani gets the start for Cincinnati in the 10:10 a.m. PT start.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Adam Duvall (28), Jose Peraza (2), Scott Schebler (4)

WP - Brandon Finnegan (8-9): 7 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts

LP - Brett Anderson (0-2): 3+ IP, 9 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout