Dodgers Lineup vs Cardinals: Shohei Ohtani Out Amid Injury Concerns

The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to salvage their series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.

The Dodgers dropped Tuesday's series opener after allowing 13 runs. Then, they blew a 5-2 lead on Wednesday and ended up losing, 8-6, in 10 innings.

The Dodgers are 26-27 since July 1 and are currently the No. 3 seed in the National League, meaning they would have to play in the wild-card round.

"We've been through everything, we've seen everything," first baseman Freddie Freeman said after Wednesday's game. "We've had our backs against the wall and had to win games when we've needed to. It's a very resilient group, and you're starting to see some life out of the offense, so I think good things are ahead."

“You do have to take a step back,” he added. “We are 25-plus games over .500, we are back-to-back World Series champions, we are a great team. Great teams go through it, and we’ll be all right.

Dodgers vs Cardinals Pitching Matchup on Thursday

Left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal is taking the mound for the Dodgers in his first start since last week's emotional return to Detroit.

Across five starts with the Dodgers this year, Skubal owns a 3.00 ERA with 37 strikeouts over 30 innings.

Dave Roberts believes Skubal's return to Detroit was the last box he needed to check, and the manager expects the reigning two-time Cy Young award winner to take off in the final month of the season.

“There was a lot of heavy heart, emotions. So I think this was the last box he had to check," Roberts said. "I think he’s got four or five starts with us. So now we can push forward and all feel good about it.”

Opposite Skubal will be Cardinals left-hander Quinn Mathews, who made his MLB debut on Aug. 1 and has just four career starts under his belt.

Mathews is 1-2 with a 5.03 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 19.2 innings at the major league level. He also made 21 starts in Triple-A this year, accruing a 3.27 ERA with 120 strikeouts across 99 innings of work.

Dodgers Starting Lineup

Tommy Edman, CF
Mookie Betts, SS
Teoscar Hernández, LF
Freddie Freeman, 1B
Will Smith, C
Miguel Rojas, 2B
Kyle Tucker, RF
Alex Call, DH
Kiké Hernández, 3B

Ohtani, who had four strikeouts on Wednesday night and was seen wincing and shaking out his arm, is out of the lineup.

Manager Dave Roberts hinted at Ohtani getting at least a day off — and potentially more — as his offense has taken a dip as of late amid his attempted return to pitching.

"I've seen it over the last couple weeks, where he hasn't been who he is," Roberts said. “Obviously, there’s some compensation. So, I’m going to talk to him."

"I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup. If he's upright, he should play. I respect that," Roberts added. "But if he's feeling the way that visibly looks, then really not helping anyone. So that's the conversation I'll have with him."

How to Watch Dodgers vs Cardinals on Thursday

First pitch for Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday, Sept. 3 is 7:10 p.m. PT/10:10 p.m. ET.

The game will be broadcast on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app.

The game will be broadcast on the radio on AM570 (in English) and KTNQ 1020 AM (in Spanish).

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