Shohei Ohtani is taking a day off from hitting to focus on his start, and the Dodgers will be without him as their designated hitter for the fourth time this season when they face Robbie Ray. The left-hander is set to see Los Angeles for the first time this year, a matchup that carries some recent history and a little more weight because the Dodgers have already played two straight games without much punch at the plate.
Robbie Ray missed the earlier series at Oracle Park, but the Dodgers know what he looked like the last time they saw him. In September of last year, he allowed a combined 10 runs in back-to-back losses against Los Angeles, and those were his last two starts of the season. That gives this outing a sharper edge for a Giants team searching for bright spots in what has been a melancholic season, even if Ray has been one of the few.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, has not been at full strength in the DH spot when Ohtani sits. Dalton Rushing filled in in the other three games, and he has gone 5 for 15 this season against left-handers. The Dodgers scored one run in each of their two most recent games without Ohtani hitting, which is part of the reason the absence matters on a day when the offense could have used a cleaner start.
The lineup also points to a small but telling adjustment in the infield, with Miguel Rojas likely to start over Hyesog Kim. It is the kind of move that can matter more when the margin is thin and the opposing pitcher is familiar enough to remember the damage he took a year ago. The Dodgers played the Giants in a series in which the bottom of the Giants' rotation held them in check over the first two games, and now they turn to a different arm with a different set of questions.
For Ray, this is a chance to show that September is not the whole story. For the Dodgers, it is another test of whether a lineup without Ohtani at DH can do enough against a left-hander who has already seen them at their most vulnerable.
