Eric Lauer works into seventh in victory

Even though they have Thursday off, the Dodgers didn’t get aggressive in removing Lauer today; he was allowed to give up five straight hits and three runs with two outs in the fourth inning. The Dodgers offense almost left him off the hook by scoring five times to close within one run in the eighth, but it went as his first loss for the team; he’s now 5-1 with a 3.72 ERA in 55 2/3 innings since being sent off by the Blue Jays. Lauer should start again Tuesday against the Royals, but that might be his last turn for a while with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow on the way back.

Lauer was originally slated to move to a bulk relief role, but the team decided to send Emmet Sheehan down to Triple-A and keep Lauer in the rotation. Of course, Blake Snell (elbow) is also close to returning, and Tyler Glasnow (back) is beginning a rehab assignment, which means Lauer may be moving to the bullpen shortly. For now, he’ll start Wednesday against the Cubs.

Lauer averaged 92.1 mph with his fastball tonight, matching his season high. and allowed only three hard-hit balls. He’s now 5-0 with a 2.96 ERA in nine outings for the Dodgers after going 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA with the Blue Jays, and the Angels are already preparing to make him a three-year, $39 million offer in November. First, though, he’ll face the Cubs on Tuesday.

The runs scored on homers from Alec Bohm and Bryan De La Cruz. Lauer had five runs to play with, so he won for the fifth time this season tonight. He’s 4-0 with a 3.35 ERA for the Dodgers after going 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA for the Blue Jays. He’ll likely face the Mariners next week.

He’ll be followed by Emmet Sheehan on Saturday and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Sunday. The Dodgers have not announced when Shohei Ohtani will return to the rotation. That makes it likely that it’ll be Justin Wrobleski and Eric Lauer in some order for the first two games against the Phillies in Philadelphia to open next week.

Lauer left with a three-run lead that held up until the ninth, when Tanner Scott had a rare off night. It’s the third time in four outings that Scott has allowed three runs in exactly six innings. He pitched no-hit ball for six innings in the other game during the span. Lauer isn’t slated to make another start before the break, but he could factor into Sunday’s game behind Emmet Sheehan.

It was a surprise that the Dodgers felt the need to add Lauer last month after a miserable start to his season in Toronto, but he’s more than justified their faith in going 3-0 with a 3.88 ERA in six outings. He’s given up six homers and nine walks in 34 1/3 innings for the Dodgers. He allowed 11 homers and 16 walks while amassing a 6.69 ERA in 36 1/3 innings before the Jays cut him. Lauer figures to start again Sunday versus the Padres.

Lauer gave up no hits, walked three and struck out two. He entered in the second inning as the bulk reliever after Will Klein pitched the first inning. Lauer was excellent, keeping the Twins off the scoreboard and out of the hit column for six innings. He has a 4.87 ERA. Lauer isn’t scheduled to pitch again until next week.

Will Klein gets the ball as an opener for Los Angeles before turning things over to Lauer for a bulk outing. The 31-year-old lefty has delivered a respectable 3.22 ERA and 14/5 K/BB ratio across 22 1/3 innings since being acquired from the Blue Jays last month.

Everyone would rather see River Ryan making these starts for the Dodgers, but the team is now to 4-0 in Lauer’s outings, even though Lauer has just one win during the span. He’s posted a 3.22 ERA and a 14/5 K/BB in 22 1/3 innings since being acquired from the Blue Jays. Most likely, he’ll stay in the rotation and face the Twins next Monday.