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Mookie Betts is out of the lineup for a second straight game with a bruised middle finger on his left hand, and Corey Seager is the Dodgers’ designated hitter for a second straight night as he deals with a sore quad.
Betts injured his middle finger on a swing in Sunday’s game, and though he homered later in that at-bat, eventually exited the game. He didn’t start Monday and tried to swing a bat, but experienced discomfort.
“The swelling has dissipated some, but not where we feel comfortable putting him back out there,” manager Dave Roberts said on a conference call.
Dodgers-Padres lineups
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Padres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Padres |
| LF | Pederson (L) | SS | Tatis |
| 2B | Muncy (L) | CF | Grisham (L) |
| 3B | Turner | 3B | Machado |
| CF | Bellinger (L) | DH | Pham |
| DH | Seager (L) | 1B | Cronenworth (L) |
| LF | Beaty (L) | LF | Almonte (S) |
| 1B | Rios (L) | 2B | Garcia (L) |
| SS | Hernández | C | Mejía (S) |
| C | Barnes | RF | Naylor (L) |
X-rays were negative on Betts’ middle finger, and he hasn’t had an MRI or any other tests. Roberts said they hope to have Betts start in Wednesday night’s series finale. But with the Thursday off day looming and the chance to give Betts extra rest, that seems unlikely.
Seager could start at shortstop in Wednesday’s game, Roberts said.
Joc Pederson shifts over to right field and bats leadoff again with Betts out, after homering to start off Monday’s game. He’s 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, a walk, and a hit by pitch against Padres starter Dinelson Lamet.
Backstop split
Austin Barnes starts at catcher for the Dodgers on Tuesday, continuing a trend in the early going. Barnes and Will Smith will have each started six games behind the plate, with neither catcher starting two days in a row. Smith caught two games in a row last week, but with Monday’s scheduled off day sandwiched in between.
This is a more even split than anticipated, especially since after Smith’s final call-up last season he started two-thirds of the Dodgers’ final 57 games, with Russell Martin starting 17 times and Barnes twice. But the relatively short ramp up to this season played a part in the more even distribution of playing time at catcher, for now.
“It’s a small sample of [12] games. Will will play tomorrow, so that needle will skew the other way,” Roberts said. “Gradually, Will will get a little more playing time, but they’ve both been doing their job.”
San Diego adds a live arm
The Padres made a roster move before Tuesday’s game, calling up 20-year-old right-hander Luis Patiño, who struck out 123 batters in 94⅔ innings in the minors last year, with 87 of those innings coming with Class-A Lake Elsinore. Patiño was rated the No. 15 prospect in baseball before the season by Baseball Prospectus, and No. 18 by Baseball America.
San Diego optioned right-hander David Bednar to make room for Patiño.
Game info
Time: 6:10 p.m. PT
TV: SportsNet LA