Lance Lynn’s home runs problems continue in Dodgers’ blowout loss to Marlins

Lance Lynn’s home run problems still aren’t solved. And the Dodgers pitching problems sure don’t seem to be either.

A day after Clayton Kershaw appeared impacted by shoulder troubles, and hours after Julio Urías was placed on administrative leave following his Sunday night arrest for suspicion of felony domestic violence, the Dodgers watched another potential October option in Lynn struggle mightily in a 11-4 loss to the Miami Marlins.

In his third-straight troublesome outing, Lynn came unglued in the bottom of the fifth.

He gave up three home runs in the inning, raising his already MLB-high season total to 40.

He was charged with two more runs after departing with two outs, pushing his season ERA back over 6.00.

And he looked little like a pitcher the Dodgers could trust in the postseason, highlighting another question mark on their increasingly makeshift pitching staff.

When Lynn was acquired at the trade deadline, he was expected to simply be an innings-eater. The Dodgers hoped for more, of course, expecting his sky-high home run rate to normalize and competitive nature to blossom in a playoff race. But as far as October was concerned, Lynn seemed likely to be a non-factor, even after a promising 1.44 ERA through his first four starts with the team.

By Wednesday, however, circumstances had changed.

Urías’ arrest has made him seemingly doubtful to pitch again this season. Kershaw’s stuff has looked diminished by his lingering shoulder injury.

And suddenly, during his pregame media scrum hours before first pitch, manager Dave Roberts was contemplating Lynn’s potential role on the playoff roster, leaving open the possibility for the veteran to either start games or pitch bulk innings out of the bullpen.

Based on the performance that followed, the better answer might be neither.

After four scoreless innings to start the game, Lynn was battered by a Marlins offense that entered the night ranked 25th in the majors in scoring and was without one of its best bats, Jorge Soler, who went on the injured list pregame.

No. 9 hitter Joey Wendle started the onslaught with a two-run homer, turning around an elevated fastball on a line drive to right. After a couple walks, Jazz Chisholm Jr. broke the inning open with a three-run moonshot to left. Two batters later, Jesús Sánchez added a solo blast for good measure.

Lynn is now averaging 2.5 home runs per nine innings with the Dodgers, an unthinkable increase from his 2.1 mark with the White Sox.

And since that strong four-game introduction, he has quickly backslid in three outings since, finishing Thursday with a 10.80 ERA over that span.