Dodgers Set Rotation for Cardinals Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers open a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, with the team announcing its starting pitchers for the set. Coming off a series win against the Detroit Tigers, the Dodgers (82-55) hold a 9.5-game lead in the National League West over the Arizona Diamondbacks, but sit as the No. 3 seed in the NL behind the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves, according to Sports Illustrated.

For the opener, the Dodgers will start left-hander Eric Lauer, who returned to the rotation after a stint in the bullpen. Lauer has a 3.78 ERA across 69 innings this season and last pitched on Aug. 26, throwing two innings in relief. The Cardinals counter with right-hander Michael McGreevy, who has a 3.86 ERA over 142.1 innings this season. McGreevy faced the Dodgers on May 2, pitching six shutout innings in a 3-2 Cardinals win, as reported by Sports Illustrated.

Wednesday's game features Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers. Yamamoto posted a 1.95 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 32.1 innings in five August starts, and overall is 12-8 with a 2.56 ERA and 153 strikeouts across 158 innings this season. The Cardinals have not yet announced their starter for Wednesday, per Sports Illustrated. In the same rotation spot last week, the team used a bullpen game started by right-hander Gordon Graceffo, who pitched three perfect innings against the Baltimore Orioles.

The series finale on Thursday will see Tarik Skubal start for the Dodgers, with Quinn Mathews scheduled for the Cardinals. Skubal has a 3.00 ERA and 37 strikeouts over 30 innings since joining the Dodgers, and overall owns a 2.84 ERA with 153 strikeouts across 126.2 innings this season. Mathews is making his fifth career start, holding a 5.03 ERA over 19.2 innings with 20 strikeouts and eight walks, as detailed by Sports Illustrated.

All three games are scheduled for 7:10 m. PT/10:10 m. ET, with broadcasts on SportsNet LA and the MLB app.

Kyle Tucker in the Spotlight

Ahead of the opener, the Dodgers revealed that Kyle Tucker will bat sixth. Tucker, who signed a four-year, $240 million contract this offseason, has struggled this season, hitting .228 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs, posting an OPS of .683, according to Heavy. Tucker discussed his approach at the plate, saying, "Just feel a good swing, try and find something that I can repeat with good ball flight, whether it's hit the other way or pulled. Just try to do something like that and carry it over to the game."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts voiced support for Tucker, emphasizing the team's collective mindset: "We're in a fight. And I think that he understands that there's no other alternative but to keep going forward. We just got to get through this together. … He's not on an island, we're here to support him, I'm here to support him and anything that we can do to unlock him we're gonna do."

Cardinals Look to Reverse Slide

The Cardinals (68-70) enter the series having lost three straight series, going 3-7 over their last 10 games, and sit five games back of the Diamondbacks for the final NL wild-card spot, according to Sports Illustrated. The teams met earlier this season, with St. Louis taking two of three games from May 1-3.

Rosters expand on Tuesday, which will allow the Dodgers to add All-Star catcher Will Smith to the active roster, as reported by Sports Illustrated.