This could be the game when it all started back, and the Dodgers got on the World Series Train. Time will tell, but Ohtani, Betts, Muncy, Teoscar, Pages, and Freeland all had multi-hit games. Muncy was particularly devastating. Alexis Diaz did not impress, but overall the 12-6 Beaddown was amazing! They needed this. In honor of Max Muncy’s walk-up music:
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In DC, there is a gigantic sculpture called “The Awakening”, depicting a bearded man waking up and stretching, coming out of the ground.. Last night could be the Dodgers awakening with three regulars coming out of slumber or off the IL.
Freeland is actually hitting and playing D better than he did in the minors.wgen we get Tommy and Kim back, we add speed and another switch hitter, something Doc loves, balancing up with the sluggers.
Seven caught stealing by Rushing, Impressive. Can’t say enough about our pitching, both starting and the pen.
Good Visual:
Nice golf course on the Island too.
Yamamoto
Glasnow
Snell
Ohtani
Kershaw
Sheehan
Wrobleski
Sasaki
[Gonsolin]
Ryan
Stone
Ferris
Copen
Serwin
Would be nice to get Rushing going a bit at the plate.
He’s still better than Barnes! š
Defensively yes, with the bat….maybe….
Not enough reps yet Matt. Give the kid time. Nice to see a smile on Mookie’s face. Mikolas hopes he never sees the Dodgers again.
Oh in time I am sure.
However now, not so much….hitting .186….we need a bit more…
Probably, but for now they can live with his defense. Freddie Fermin is the only Padres catcher hitting better than .204. They have no one better at AAA. Robinson is hitting .254 at OKC. Okey is purely AAA fodder. The catcher they got at the deadline, Ben Rortvedt, is just 2-9 in his first few games at OKC. He has played 63 games in the majors and hit .095. Robinson not much better at .132. So, you are stuck with the kid unless they claim someone off of waivers before September 1st. They told him to concentrate on defense and game planning. He is doing exactly what they have asked.
Offensively, absolutely. No
Question. But Barnesyās name is never mentioned without a (now former) teammate having good things to say about him and his energy in the clubhouse. Letās hope that isnāt a missing āpieceā down the stretch and in the post season run. They managed it without JT tho it took an extra season and he was even more a clubhouse asset that Barnes.
What?
If Austin Barnes is the last piece of any puzzle it’s a worthless puzzle.
The guy is totally bereft of any value.
Give him time. He’s a young rookie with a gun arm and good backstop skills. Doc already told him results are not as important as learning. He will come around. But, if anyone is interested, Barnes already got cut by the Gnats.
As a dyed-in-the-wool Dodgers fan since 1962 (age 7, now 70) my reluctant comment is letās not start counting our chickensā¦.. yet.
I am very pleasantly shocked Max is back so fast AND judging from
Last night appears to be nearly as hot as he was when he was injured!
Mookie is key. Heās a spark plug and seems to set the table. But really? This whole roster is key. Thereās hardly a weak link among them when theyāre āonā including Conforto these days. And KikĆ© is occasionally lightning in a bottle.
GO DODGERS
4:10 PM ET EARLY GAME
Cardinals (57-58)
Dodgers (66-48)
SP M. Liberatore L
6-9 3.96 ERA
SP Shohei Ohtoni R
0-0 2,40ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
RF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
2B Miguel Rojas R
LF Alex Call R
3B A. Freeland S
88Ā° Wind 7 mph Out
Justin Wrobleski 4-3 4.00 ERA will follow Ohtoni with bulk innings
“Sasaki threw a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday and is now expected to make his first minor league rehab assignment scheduled for next week. The hope is that Sasaki will return to the team in September, and despite his early season struggles, Dave Roberts is insistent on keeping Sasaki as a starting pitcher, per Doug Padilla of the Orange County Register”.
āObviously, he is a starter; we see him as that,ā manager Dave Roberts said. āYou just donāt know whatās gonna happen with starting pitchingā¦ But right now, we see him as a starter.ā
if nothing else, last night made lots of fans happy. not to mention the players! havenāt seen that many smiles in the dugout in weeks! ā¦. i loved the way Dave Roberts managed the bullpen last night! he wasnāt taking his foot off the throat of the cardinals. especially in the ninth with Diaz. Banda didnāt seem all that happy to come in to finish it, but he gets paid very well for just that. ā¦ if youāre a dodger fan, heck a fan of any team, how can you not love Vesia? ā¦. poor freddie! 17 hit parade and he didnāt get a single hit! oh well ,2rbi should satisfy him a little! ā¦. Dalton. Rushing is way better t defensively than barnes! offensively? it wonāt be close in the near future! ā¦ā¦.Mookie was Mookie last night! the dodgers were the dodgers last night! for one night, all was well in dodger world!
I love Vesia but I am a bit concerned he is overused. Not for the team of course – when he comes in he’s ALMOST a certainty to slam the door in the other team’s faces.
My concern is actually for him. If he continues to perform like he has he’s in for a BIG payday after 2026. His $3.55M club option for 2026 is a no brainer. If he stays healthy he is in line for premium closer money like multi years in the $10 million to as much as $20 million per season!! Sets him up for the rest of his life.
Well, they have reverted to form? I hope not.
and for all of those who think that the bullpen is fine, I offer today as exhibit A. Brock Stewart? In three games in LA he has pitched 2 2/3 innings and given up 6 hits and 2 runs in high leverage situations.
They don’t currently have a closer. Treinen can’t find home plate yet. Tanner Scott has been a blowtorch. Yates has been worse.
They’ll be fine. Stewart will come around after moving across country to a new team that doesn’t resemble the one he left back in 2019.
Graterol and Kopech are both due back. Vesia might graduate to closer if literally EVERYTHING went to hell. Not to worry, at least not about closers.
I am SO glad Friedman/Gomes aren’t idiots like Preller who gives away the Padres prospects EVERY year and EVERY year they do not make it to the “big dance”
It was an incredible one-game winning streak.
As Mark Timmons would say…
BANG!
And this was a frustrating loss, starting with Rojas losing the pop-up in the sun. Proof that it can happen to anybody, I guess.
Shohei should have had a clean inning in the first. He was nails with 8 Ks in 4 innings–and a 2-run HR. The Full Ohtani… but only for four innings.
And I wish Roberts had kept him on the mound for at least one more inning. It would help him build for the stretch run.
The Padres gained ground tonight. Their lineup is much improved and Mason Miller closed out tonight’s win with a fastball clocked at 103.
Mark –
Thanks for the early morning laugh! That is all one can do after a loss like yesterday….
James Tibbs III was 4-4 at Tulsa tonight with 2 HR. Yikes!
Tibbs is another reason why AF shouldn’t be afraid to put DePaula in the right deal…. A lot of promising outfielders in the system.
I would hoard every one of them.
The Dodgers can afford to sign free agents, but Prospect capital is limited. Hoard it!
DePaula could be Yordon Alvarez… or a flame out. I think out of all the outfielders we have, one or two may be star quality, but which ones?
Hope, Tibbs, DePaula, Ko, Quintero, and Sirota are ones I would keep. Maybe one or two pan out. Sirota was making huge strides until he was injured. He may play in the AFL this Fall.
George is a 4th or 5th OF… at best!
BTW, Jose Ramos is going crazy at OKC. (.308/1.33) – Maybe he will be a 5th OF? But, I doubt it!
Sounds like you prefer prospects to parades….
But at least you would deal Kendall George, yes?
But what could you get for George?
We’ll see how this all plays out, but wouldn’t it be great to have Mason Miller instead of Brock Stewart? This particular Miller, I think, is the rare talent that justifies the blockbuster.
Not a rental. A top arm with several years of control.
Padres fans are right to be excited that Preller pounced. The Dodgers lost Miller–with several years of team control–to their true rival. These Dodgers need a lockdown closer more than a backup DH….
Report today from Casey Porter that Dodgers are bringing up… Justin Dean?
Well, OK. Good for him. (As Ryan Ward is passed over again. )
Not sure about the need, but perhaps this means a longer IL stint for Edman. (Is Teo ailing?)
Dean can play CF. Guess we’ll see if his on-base and base-running skills play in the majors.
Kendall George has minor value. The Padres traded the #3 or #4 Rated Prospect in all of MLB for Miller. The Dodgers prospects started at #19 and #20. Would the A’s have accepted Rushing, DePaula and Hope instead? I don’t know, but I doubt it.
Alright almost time to go to the whip….
We start the season with a hot streak we end the season with a hot streak….
Dustin May not a good outing.
Look I know we aint playing well. But when we get to the playoffs (yes we are gonna be in the playoffs)…….
We can throw out Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Ohtani.
No one we face will want to see that. On top on that we take our 13 best arms (Kersh, Sheehan, Kopech…)
Everyone stick with these guys. No one thought we’d win with no starters last year and WE DID.
We do the same in 25. Now is the time to go!
Can’t wait to see Kersh in relief.
Dustin May is the proverbial “Head Case”. Boston is a tough place to play if you don’t perform. He is suited for a small market team with less attention. One of AF’s better trades.
One of his better Non-Signings was also Walker Buehler, who is even worse than May.
Justin Dean is allegedly being called up. I would guess Ruiz is the odd man out.
Not gonna lie. Iāve never heard of Dean.
Now you have:
https://www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/news/dodgers-bringing-up-speedy-outfielder-from-triple-a-source
But why?
Just a guess:
1. As good a base stealer as Ruiz
2. Better in CF than Ruiz
3. Ruiz is not hitting, so why not?
He’s also a very outgoing, gregarious teammate who is loved by his team. This is an older clip:
Um he tried to sign Buehler but he didn’t want to come back to the Dodgers. Lucky them.
There is no evidence that the Dodgers made a formal contract offer to Walker Buehler after the 2024 season.
No qualifying offer was extended: The Dodgers chose not to issue Buehler a qualifying offer (which would have been a one-year, $21.05āÆmillion deal). A source explained they didnāt want to āforce the issueā and limit his market opportunities
Talks were reportedly exploratory only: Early in the offseason, there were reports that the Dodgers were ātalking to him about a possible return,ā indicating preliminary interestābut nothing formal materialized .
Sonja Chen reported that 4 hours ago. Ruiz was optioned to AAA today. They will have to clear a spot on the 40-man for Dean. He is not in the starting lineup at OKC tonight.
Itās been somewhat of a rough stretch recently, but weāre still in first place. The offense has been showing signs of life and our rotation is finally getting healthy at the appropriate time for a deep playoff run. A potential playoff rotation of Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow alone should make the Dodgers heavy favorites in any given playoff series. Tanner Scott appears to be on the mend. We should be getting our CL back soon, but Roberts needs to do a better job at monitoring Scottās workload. I donāt care how talented you are, overuse is bound to take a toll.
Not worried about the offense. As Ohtani continues to get stretched out, Glasnow and Snell come into their own, we will not need a lot of runs to win games. Ironically, this is why I predict the Dodgers offense is going to start putting up crooked numbers on the score board with more frequency. The pressure to perform should be less with starting pitching of that caliber.
Barring any unforeseen injuries, our best baseball is yet to come. Our players are getting healthy at the right time.
BTW, Dean is a 5th or 6th outfielder… at best!
Dodgers are 10-17 since Independence Day but hey, all is well.
Still 3 games up on Mets for last wildcard spot
The 2017 Houston Astros: Despite winning the World Series, they slumped to 11ā17 in August (.393)
The 2006 Cardinals ended the season with the poorest overall record (.516) of any World Series winner’ Their monthly performance revealed significant volatility:
March: A strong start at 3ā1, .750 win percentage
April: A steep drop-off to 11ā16, .407 win percentageāwhich stands out as their worst month
June: Continued downturn, going 9ā16
They also endured an eight-game losing streak in June
July: Rebounded with 15ā11, but ended with a four-game skid that spilled into August
August: Mixed results overall, finishing 13ā15
I donāt think we have to worry about the wildcard spot. We got our starting rotation back and Max is back as well. I expect a good August and a better September. Tommy and Kim will be back healthy at some point. Our schedule is favorable. If we play well against the Podres we will be good.
Agree, it was tight last year if you all remember.
We will take care of business.
I hate to say this but go Red Sawks this weekend…yuck….
Scherzer against Kershaw tonight. Should be classic. Kersh for the win!
I don’t expect much from Scherzer
6 HRs in last 4 games
Old Friend Walker Buehler can help us out.
And of course SD will miss Crochet…..
https://www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/news/dodgers-castoff-outfielder-breaks-silence-after-shockingly-being-traded-at-deadline?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=pushly_notifications&utm_campaign=67246126&page_source=pushly_notifications
10:10 PM ET
Blue Jays (68-48)
Dodgers (66-49)
SP Max Scherzer R
2-1 4.39 ERA
SP Clayton Kershaw L
5-2 3.29 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
RF T. Hernandez R
LF M. Conforto L
CF Andy Pages R
2B A. Freeland S
76Ā° Wind 8 mph Out
08/08/25 Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of CF Justin Dean from Oklahoma City Comets.
08/08/25 Los Angeles Dodgers designated 1B Luken Baker for assignment.
08/07/25 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned LF Esteury Ruiz to Oklahoma City Comets.
Alex Wood has announced his retirement.
When did this blog restart?
What planet have I been on?
I am just not posting much.
Which planet?
Uranus?
š
Kershaw refuses to be ignored. Making a case for remaining in the Dodgers playoff rotation š
I am no longer worried about LADT ending, which would definitely reduce my quality of life. I have deduced that we are to Mark as enchiladas are to me. At 6ā4ā/270lbs., I know I need to stay away from enchiladasā¦ā¦.but just CANāT!!! They are like the boomerang that just keeps coming back and landing on my plate. Sorry Mark, but you are addicted to us. Tough break for you, excellent for us.
Clayton wasnāt at his best last night, but for six solid innings, Clayton was all the Dodgers needed! After the game, I watched the interview with Clayton, and Iām more and more impressed with a human being that he is! Having a microphone shoved up your nose, and some of the questions arenāt really all that intelligent some are, but a lot arenāt. But he always responds in a kind and courteous way probably never see another one like Clayton Kershaw!ā¦. I read earlier three Dodgers, who probably wonāt make the postseason Freeland and Casparius or two of the three. Not in my world can I see Ben being left off and Alex Diaz on the roster! As far as Freeland, the way heās playing, I have to believe heās more valuable than Rojas. Miguel has had some big hits this season, but Iāll take Freeland and his ability to play anywhere along with his bat, speed, and hustle. Not saying Miguel doesnāt hustle not at all. But having a a switch hitter speaks volume!ā¦. Well, Mookie might not be all the way back, but he sure looks mighty good right now! Pages is the one that is starting to concern me. ā¦ Letās watch Blake Snell carve up the jays tonight! The rotation is starting to be what we thought it would be! ā¦ lots of media really want the padres to pass LA in the standings. well tough sh*t! it aināt gonna happen! Now we need the bullpen to get healthy! Itās all good!!
Damn John, itās too early for enchiladas . Itās 7:45 on the West Coast my friend.
My bad, I forgotā¦ā¦but ā¦..no youāre right, sorry