Games 105-107 Thread: July 26-28 @ Cheaters

Fri 7.26 5p: Stone vs. Valdez the Cheater
Sat 7.27 4p: Wrobleski vs. Blanco the Cheater
Sun 7.28 11a: TBD vs. Arrighetti the Cheater

The names may change, but the stench of the 2017 World Series remains clad in Astro orange and blue. And with Cheaters Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve helping the 2024 Astros claw back into first place in the AL West (ahead of Seattle by a game, and Texas by 2.5 games), there's little doubt that they will be up to even more illicit and morally corrupt behavior in this series.

Gavin Lux Named NL Player of the "Week"

How is it even possible that, on a roster with many All-Stars, Gavin Lux becomes the NL Player of the Week? Well, for one thing, it's a short week:

The Dodger second baseman went 5-for-9 with two home runs, two doubles and a stolen base with a .556/.556/1.444/2.000 in three games after the All-Star Break. His 13 total bases led the National League during the short week.

Talk about benefitting from small sample size. Lux has a 0.5 WAR this year and is batting .222 with a 72 OPS+, carrying an OPS of .603 (below his mediocre career OPS, .687, which is still only an 89 OPS+).

I know Lux is still recovering from his torn ACL in spring training last year. But I've been incredibly frustrated waiting for the pride of Kenosha Wisconsin to reach mediocrity, let alone the levels we would expect from a middle infielder (not only offensively, but also defensively, where he is hovering at league average this year and below league average for his career).

I watched last night's game (a 3-2 win over the Giants), where Lux went 0-for-3 with 2 Ks. Not excatly inspirational. But the Dodgers broadcasters (I think it was Orel Hershiser in particular) were talking about how Lux may finally be turning a corner at the plate.

We'll see. I'm not hopeful.

And anyway, if you want to count the ACTUAL week in baseball, wouldn't you give the NL Player of the Week trophy to Teoscar Hernandez, the Dodger who won the 2024 Home Run Derby? (Hernandez also singlehandedly lifted the Dodgers to victory last night, accounting for all three RBI.)

So, congratulations, Gavin Lux. Let's see if you can string a hot bat to longer than three games in a row. Please.

Games 101-104 Thread: July 22-25 vs. Giants

All the changes you put me through...

Mon 7.22 7p: Ryan vs. Snell
Tue 7.23 7p: Knack vs. Hicks
Wed 7.24 7p: Glasnow vs. TBD Ray
Thu 7.25 1p: Kershaw vs. TBD Webb

This is shaping up to to be quite the rivalry series. First, we open up with the major league debut of Dodgers prospect River Ryan, who has 24.1 whole innings of minor league work this year (2.22 ERA, 32 Ks vs 8 BBs), who has started all of five games this year for Oklahoma City. The Dodgers made room for Ryan by felling "Big Maple" James Paxton, who was servicable in yesterday's 9-6 victory over Boston (notching the series sweep), but still carried a 4.43 ERA and 0.4 WAR despite a decent 8-2 record.

Put frankly, the Dodgers may have appreciated the 89 IP this season from Paxton, but think they can do better than an average with Ryan.

And who knows, maybe Friedman has more tricks up his sleeve to fill out the rest of the starting rotation. Looking at the rest of the starters this series, there might be something to justify the Paxton DFA (like getting some value for him from another team): Landon Knack has a 0.8 WAR; Tyler Glasnow is 1.8 WAR (despite nearing his high-water mark for innings (120) already (109 IP this year).

And then there's the season debut of Clayton Kershaw--who knows what to expect from our workhorse at this stage of injury recovery, but he's got a 3.60 ERA over three rehab starts and ten innings in the minors this year.

So maybe Gavin Stone (1.8 WAR) continues fighting on; Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1.5 WAR) comes back; Bobby Miller (-0.9 WAR) shakes his 2024 blues; and Walker Buehler (-0.7 WAR) returns to some sort of form? And we pick up another starter? Or two?

I don't know, but this series against the Giants will definitely be telling...starting with Monday, with the Giants starting this familiar foe (Blake Snell is 0-3 on the year, but the Giants have won his last two starts (both no decisions) since returning from the IL):

"Hmm, maybe I should have signed before Spring Training?
Even so, it's still $62M."

I'll be at the game on Wednesday night, alongside my friend, a Giants fan. Let's go!

Games 98-100 Thread: July 19-21 vs. Red Sox

Happier times: the one bright spot of WS2018.
Too bad that guy is still injured this season, though.

Fri 7.19 7p: TBD vs. Pivetta
Sat 7.20 4.15p: TBD vs. Bello
Sun 7.21 4.10p: TBD vs. Crawford

Hopefully the Dodgers rested well in that All-Star Break, because they come out of the break to face the resurgent Red Sox. The Dodgers were a pathetic 1-5 over their last six, and 3-7 over their last 10 games. The Red Sox, on the other hand, have closed the gap to 4.5 games behind the AL East-leading Orioles, and though Boston is in third place, they are playing a lot better than many forecasted earlier in the season.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers have a seven-game lead over both the Snakes and Padres, despite playing .500 ball for over a month. We're certainly on path to limp our way into crunch time. And it doesn't feel good.

Dodgers Open 2025 Season vs. Cubs in Tokyo

The Dodgers will play the Cubs in the Tokyo Dome on March 18 and 19, 2025. These games precede the league-wide Opening Day on Thursday, March 27 (Tigers @ Dodgers).

Excited for another international visit for the team, and of course a huge visit for Shohei Ohtani to Japan!

2024 All-Star Game Thread

Globe Life Field will always be a special place for Dodgers fans. So even though All-Star starer Shohei Ohtani will be one of the few Dodgers able to play in this one (with Mookie Betts and Tyler Glasnow out), we can hope to see Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez get some swings tonight.

Everybody stay healthy, please!

Globe Life Field, 2020

Teoscar Hernandez Wins 2024 Home Run Derby, Portending Drop-Off In Second Half OPS

I'm excited that Teoscar Hernandez became the first Dodger player to win the Home Run Derby.

On the other hand, as per ESPN: 23 of the 39 Home Run Derby winners went on to see a dip in OPS after the All-Star Break.

On average, OPS fell by .031 among winners, with 59% seeing an average dip of .116 and 31% a rise of .091.

Yep, that's what this beleaguered Dodgers lineup needs from Teoscar Hernandez in the second half. I can't wait.

2024 Home Run Derby Thread

I suppose I should be excited that the Dodgers' Teoscar Hernandez is one of eight participants in today's Home Run Derby.

Instead, however, I'm just struck by how stretched this team is already by injuries, and worried that another starting lineup injury would be another crushing blow for this already reeling team.

Be safe, Teo!

Games 95-97 Thread: July 12-14 @ Tigers

i have no internet (no, i am not in houston).

and, i am furious about the dodgers rolling over and playing dead in philadelphia. our starters suck. gavin lux cannot field nor hit. shohei is swinging wildly at the plate. pages and outman can't handle outfield fly balls. kiké is worthless.

so this thread, from my iphone, will have to do for now.

Games 92-94 Thread: July 9-11 @ Phillies

Where there is brotherly love, there is no kerning.

Tue 7.9 3.40p: Bobby Miller vs. Zack Wheeler
Wed 7.10 4p: Gavin Stone vs. Cristopher Sanchez
Thu 7.11 3p: Landon Knack vs. Aaron Nola

We go from one NL division leader to another! After taking two of three from the Brewers at home, the Dodgers head out to Philadelphia to face not only the best team in the NL East (Phillies are up by eight games over Atlanta; this is a half-game better than our division lead over the Padres, as of Monday morning), but the best team in all of MLB.

The Phillies also have seven All-Stars for the 2024 All-Star Game, one more than the Dodgers. For the Phililes, this includes three starters (Bryce Harper 1B, Alec Bohm 3B, Trea Turner SS). The other four Phillies All-Stars are Jeff Hoffman (P), Matt Strahm (P), Ranger Suarez (P), and Zack Wheeler (P).

The Dodgers had Shohei Ohtani (DH) elected to the starting lineup, with the other All-Stars being Freddie Freeman (1B), Will Smith (C), Tyler Glasnow (P), Mookie Betts (SS), and Teoscar Hernandez (OF).

And guess what, we see Wheeler in the three-game set! And the Phillies don't see Glasnow--who as of Tuesday has been placed on the IL with back tightness--or Mookie, for that matter (obviously). Yeah, this is gonna be grim.

I've got a family friend attending the Thursday game to represent LA. He's going to a territory among fans who throw snowballs at Santa Claus, who threw batteries at JD Drew. Hope my friend doesn't get killed.

Games 89-91 Thread: July 5-7 vs. Brewers

Fri 7.5 7p: Glasnow vs. Civale
Sat 7.6 4.15p: Paxton vs. Peralta
Sun 7.7 1p: TBD vs. Keuchel

The series against the Diamondbacks was supposed to be the easy part, except that Christian Walker pummeled us into dust. So now we host an actually good team, the Brewes, who are six games up in the NL Central (basically the same lead we have over second-place San Diego in the NL West). Get ready for a drowning.

Also, interesting to see Dallas Keuchel back from the dead in Sunday's matchup. To the Brewers' credit, at least they have named a starter for that game.

Games 86-88 Thread: July 2-4 vs. Diamondbacks

Tues 7.2 7p: Miller vs. Nelson
Wed 7.3 7p: Stone vs. Montgomery
Thu 7.4 6p: Knack vs. Gallen

In Wednesday's matchup, the Dodgers face Jordan Montgomery, one of the 2023 Texas Rangers' playoff heroes (3-1 over six starts with a 2.90 ERA), who then went to free agency looking for a long-term deal. That deal didn't happen, and Montgomery ended up settling for a one-year, $25M deal with the Diamondbacks in late March. Right after signing the contract, Montgomery left agent Scott Boras for Wasserman Sports Entertainment.

And, similar to his fellow Boras-represented pitcher Blake Snell, the truncated spring training workout period did not do Montgomery any favors. He is 6-5 this year with a 6.03 ERA, which gives him a -1.2 WAR for the season. (Snell, who signed a one-year deal with the Giants, has a -1.1 WAR, a 9.51 ERA, and is on the injured list.)

Montgomery has been frustrated enough to beat up a pitchcom machine in the dugout, earlier this year. MLB.com reported on his mounting frustration in early June 2024. Will Montgomery just be a powder keg waiting to erupt on Wednesday? Will this be grounds for July 3 fireworks?!

Anyway, these Snakes were pesky as hell last year, but at beginning of play on Tuesday, they are 10.5 games behind the Dodgers and two games below .500. We did just drop our series to the sub-.500 Giants last weekend, though, so I'm not feeling especially good about this one.

UPDATE: After all that Montgomery research, the Snakes have scratched his Wednesday start.

Another reason to hate the Diamondbacks.

Post-Game 84 Thread: Dodgers Win By Touchdown in Extra Time

DODGERS 14, GIANTS 7 (11)

The Dodgers typically don't perform very well on nationally-televised games, and this afternoon's matchup with the Giants seemed to be more of the same. In a seesaw affair, the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead, then went down 5-2, before clawing back to tie the game at 6-6 and go to extra innings.

In extras, the Dodgers went up 7-6 in the tenth, only to see that lead evaporate and the Giants have bases loaded with one out on the bottom of the tenth. However, Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson settled down and struck out Patrick Bailey and then induced a pop foulout on Matt Chapman (who started the game 3-for-3, so this was no small feat), to end the threat.

To be clear, with one out in the bottom of the tenth, the Giants had a 82.9% chance to win the game. And they couldn't seal the deal.

In the top of the 11th, facing a second inning from Giants reliever Sean Hjelle (whom Giants manager Bob Melvin had to leave in the game, against his judgment, given the Giants' injury-plagued rotation and bullpen), the Dodgers opened up a seven-run can of whupass that buried the Giants:

Seven runs from the Dodgers in the top of the eleventh inning put this game away. The Dodgers earn a split from the first two of this series--meaningful, since the red-hot Padres trounced the Red Sox on Friday and Saturday, and are now five games over .500 (and 7.5 games behind the Dodgers).

Also meaningful:

• Will Smith (3-for-6, 3 RBI) looks like he might have emerged from his recent slump;
• the Dodgers' bottom of the order largely contributed to the victory today (which is aberrant, given they are in the bottom third batting in the majors this year), save the black hole batting ninth that is Cavan Biggio (0-for-2 with lame fielding) plus Kiké Hernandez (0-for-4 with a fielding error)--please get well soon Max Muncy!;
• and Shohei Ohtani hit his NL-leading 26th home run in the third inning.

The Dodgers go for the series victory tomorrow. LFG!

Games 83-85 Thread: June 28-30 @ Giants

Fri 6.28 7.15p: Knack vs. Webb
Sat 6.29 4.15p: Glasnow vs. TBD
Sun 630 1p: Paxton vs. TBD

Lots of injuries on the rosters of these two rivals. While we try to push through losses to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Mookie Betts, Walker Buehler, and Max Muncy (not to mention Clayton Kershaw, Michael Grove, and Joe Kelly), the Giants are suffering through injuries to Jung Hoo Lee, Blake Snell, Keaton Winn, Mike Yastrzemski, and Kyle Harrison.

San Francisco might get Lamonte Wade Jr. back for this weekend series, though. I haven't heard of any returning Dodgers scheduled for this weekend (though I expect we'll have Will "Slappy" Smith back in the lineup, sitting recently due to a slump at the plate).

Which means we'll probably see more Cavan Biggio, Chris Taylor, and Austin Barnes this weekend, I reckon.

And that makes me the stick figure in the middle of the above picture.

Post-Game 82 Thread: Raise A Glass (of, for) Stone

DODGERS 4, WHITE SOX 0

Dodgers earn the series sweep on the back of Gavin Stone: 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 Ks.

That was the Dodgers' first complete game shutout since Walker Buehler did it against the Diamondbacks on April 25, 2022.

Also:

Stone's shutout was the first by a Dodgers rookie since Hyun Jin Ryu threw one against the Angels on May 28, 2013. It was the Dodgers' first shutout since Walker Buehler's against the D-backs on April 25, 2022.

Shohei Ohtani's heroics earlier in the game, in which his leadoff home run set the franchise record for games with a consecutive RBI (10), were almost overshadowed by Stone's incredible pitching performance. But Ohtani's exploits were also overshadowed by the Dodgers' batboy, who made an incredible barehand save:

Hilarious, looking at interpreter Will Ireton in the background of that shot, as he is totally agape.

Also, note that Austin Barnes (in the on-deck circle) was still very late on his swing. Just like his ABs.

Games 80-82 Thread: June 24-26 @ White Sox

Garrett Crochet and family

Mon 6.24: TBD vs. Crochet
Tue 6.25: TBD vs. Flexen
Wed 6.26: TBD vs. Fedde
All games 5p

With the White Sox comfortably positioned as the worst team in the majors all season long (the White Sox start Monday 30 games out of first place in the AL Central), there has been a lot of talk about Garrett Crochet (6-6 in 16 starts with a 3.25 ERA, 124 Ks and a 0.95 WHIP) as being prime trade bait. I'm not here to spin that yarn, but I am thinking that these three games at old Comiskey Park might be the perfect place for Chicago to start Flexen their power with a series win over the Dodgers (who haven't even named starting pitchers as of Monday morning).

Ready? Fedde? Go.

MLB Screws The Dodgers Out Of Weekend Game Revenue

SoSG reader karen has been complaining about this for weeks now, and I share her annoyance that the Dodgers don't have a game today (Sunday), a highly uncommon scheduling quirk.

What's worse, though, is that I realize now that the Dodgers may be the only MLB team cheated out of a Sunday home game. The Yankees play every Sunday in 2024. And the Giants. And the Braves.

I didn't research all the other teams, but what the hell, MLB? Why stick it to the Dodgers to have them idle on a Sunday?

Games 78-79 Thread: June 21-22 vs. Angels

Fri 6.21 7p: Knack vs. Sandoval
Sat 6.22 7p: Glasnow vs. TBD

As SoSG regular karen points out, this upcoming "weekend" series makes no sense. A by-product of the horrible "balanced" schedule (in its second year), the Dodgers now face their crosstown rivals for only four games a season--which, in addition to sharply reducing the number of games against divisional rivals, allows the Dodgers to smush in games against the other 10 AL teams we wouldn't have seen that year (as the interleague divisional play rotated).

I hate this. And I'm not even a fan of having to play the Angels.

I mean, it's great that the Dodgers play the teams like YankMes in every season. But not playing the Giants in the last two months of the season makes no sense--and nor does the Sunday off-day that we'll have this weekend.

(If the Dodgers played 13 games against the NL West; plus 6 games against the rest of the NL; plus 6 games against the Angels; plus 3 games against each of the rest of the AL teams: --> I think that comes out to 160 games. That leaves two more games we could play against the Giants. And then we can put the last three weeks of the season roped off only for inter-divisional play.

The east coast teams might be more vulnerable to September weather issues, but that's their problem. This also avoids the stupid two-game stints littered across the schedule.

Honestly, this isn't so difficult.)

One's only remedy is to take matters into one's own hands, start the bender early Friday morning, and then watch Friday's game drunk and Saturday's game hungover, so one sleeps through Sunday altogether. I might have to give this a try.

Games 74-77 Thread: June 17-20 @ Rockies

Mon 6.17 5.40p: Paxton vs. Quantrill
Tue 6.18 5.40p: Buehler vs. Gomber
Wed 6.19 5.40p: Miller vs. Feltner
Thu 6.20 12p: TBD vs. Blach

Not much great things to say after losing a weekend series against the Royals that we actually won. We took two out of three games, but lost two key pieces of our lineup (Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Mookie Betts). So now we play four in Denver and really, I am not emotionally ready for this series. Neither are the Dodgers.

Post-Game 73 Thread: Screw The Royals

MLB.com: Betts facing lengthy absence after HBP fractures left hand

I'm without words right now. Except that I'm really angry at Dan Altavilla.

Hoping Mookie is okay.