Dodgers Bring Playoff Pressure to Miami in Sunday Afternoon Showdown

A 90-win Dodgers squad rolls into loanDepot park against a Marlins team fighting to stay relevant at 73-76. The stakes are lopsided on paper, but Miami has the pieces to make this uncomfortable.

Los Angeles arrives in Miami as one of baseball's elite teams, and the gap in the standings — 90-58 versus 73-76 — tells most of the story before a pitch is thrown. Emmet Sheehan is expected to start for the Dodgers, while Eury Perez is set to take the mound for Miami. Both arms carry intrigue, and how each handles the opposing lineup's pressure points will define the early innings.

On the Dodgers' side, the offensive threats are real and documented. Freddie Freeman is hitting .295 on the season, providing the kind of consistent contact that wears down pitchers deep into counts. Max Muncy is the power anchor, sitting at 28 home runs and 71 RBI — numbers that demand respect from any pitching staff. In my opinion, Muncy is the most dangerous at-bat in this lineup when a game tightens up late; Perez will need to be precise or pay for any mistake left over the middle of the plate.

Miami isn't without its own weapons, and that's worth saying plainly. Otto Lopez leads the Marlins with a .310 batting average and 67 RBI — a quietly productive season that deserves more attention than it gets. Heriberto Hernandez has 24 home runs, giving Miami a legitimate power threat capable of changing a game in a single swing. The Marlins' path to a win runs directly through those two bats making noise early and keeping Sheehan from settling into a rhythm. As for a model read on this one — we don't have a validated projection to share, and I'd rather give you nothing than give you noise. What I will say is this: the Dodgers' record reflects a team that handles games like this routinely, but a .310 hitter and a 24-homer bat in a one-run game at home is never a formality. First pitch is 1:40 PM ET at loanDepot park.