Welcome to the New & (Hopefully) Improved LA Dodger Talk
We flipped the website to a new platform yesterday, and this is the first post. It currently feels like a foreign object to me. I will have to get used to it, and so will you. As I said... There will be glitches and changes. Be Patient!
Welcome back. We had one casualty in the transfer to the new LADT: Bear lost a great post on Austin Barnes. We are still looking.... Hopefully, he can recreate it. Sorry, Bear, but I can't get it back... so far. It was a great game last night, but I have to go. We have a tee time at 8:30, and my son, daughter, two sons-in-law, and I are golfing today. Tomorrow is our 29th Anniversary, so the whole family is taking us to dinner.
I had planned to do the Minor League Recap, but there's no time for a full one. I have OKC and Tulsa. Great Lakes was postponed. Mike Sirota's hitting streak ended, but he had 2 RBI.
Oklahoma City Comets
Rainiers 5, Comets 4
Oklahoma City collected 11 hits but stranded eight runners and committed two errors in a one-run loss to Tacoma.
Hyeseong Kim led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. Ryan Fitzgerald also homered and finished 2-for-4, while Alek Thomas went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored.
Kiké Hernández continued his rehabilitation assignment and went 1-for-3 with a double. James Tibbs III reached base three times, finishing 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
The Comets took an early 2-1 lead, but Tacoma scored twice in the fourth inning to move ahead. Oklahoma City responded with two runs in the seventh, only to have the Rainiers answer with two of their own in the bottom half.
Christian Romero allowed three runs on five hits over five innings, striking out five without issuing a walk. Ryder Ryan took the loss after surrendering two runs—one earned—in two innings. Chayce McDermott struck out all three batters he faced in a perfect eighth inning.
Tulsa Drillers
Drillers 6, RoughRiders 4
Josue De Paula delivered the decisive blow, launching a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to lift Tulsa past Frisco.
The Drillers scored three times in the opening inning. Mike Sirota drove in Kendall George with a fielder’s choice, Kyle Nevin singled home Sirota, and Frank Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded walk.
Sirota added a sacrifice fly in the fifth, giving him two RBIs despite going 0-for-4. Frisco eventually tied the game at 4-4 on Max Wagner’s eighth-inning home run, setting the stage for De Paula.
After Jose Izarra was hit by a pitch in the ninth, De Paula blasted his 16th home run of the season, finishing 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Nevin led Tulsa with three hits, while Kendall George reached twice and scored two runs. Zyhir Hope went 1-for-4 with a double and a walk.
Payton Martin started and allowed three runs over 4⅓ innings, striking out six. Christian Suarez earned the victory despite being charged with a blown save. Kelvin Ramirez recorded five scoreless outs, and Antonio Knowles secured the final out for his third save.
Great Lakes Loons
The Great Lakes game was postponed.
Discussion (65)
Disagree, not disagreeable
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Sasaki? Wow! If this is the guy from now on, sign me up! The deer in the headlight look was gone. Seriously though, he was fantastic last night! Perfect? No , but probably by far his best performance yet. Now if Emmit can replicate that performance tonight? Dryer? Retired all 4 batters he faced, but it didn’t feel like he was was in total control. Not complaining, but he did the job. Vesia ? a bit of a struggle, but thanks to one of the best defensive plays of the season, he gets out of it. So anyone who doesn’t think Mookie is a damn good shortstop, rethink it buddy! Tanner Scott should be comeback player of the year if they voted right now! Aaron Boone? Thank you for being so easily convinced to leave Cole in! Max should send flowers! Pages needs to clean it up in center field. And even though Dalton made a helluva play at home on the tag, his receiving last night was not pretty! I’m sure he will clean it up. Freddie looked mad last night. Didn’t have a good night. Padres and dbacks both lose! Pads 13 out! Mason Miller could and should be on the trading block. Be nice to get the win tonight! Yankees better look in the rear view mirror for that team from Boston!
Roki with 21 pitches last night 100 or better. Very Impressive! This is the guy with the velo the Dodgers saw in Japan before they signed him.
In his last start against the Rockies, Sasaki had bases loaded nobody out. From that point on, Sasaki has nor given up an earned run in 8 2/3 innings. Time will tell if getting out of that jam was a turning point, but so far so good.
Mark, congrats on 29 years. What a story you have. Can’t wait to read the book.
Saturday’s Dodger Affiliates' Schedule 2:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Aidan Foeller) vs. West Michigan (Charlie Christensen) High-A game 2: Great Lakes (TBD) vs. West Michigan (TBD) 5:05 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Adam Serwinowski) at Frisco (Dalton Pence) 6:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Blake Snell) at Tacoma (Casey Lawrence) 6:05 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) vs. Lake Elsinore (Lan-Hong Su) Look at who is pitching at Oklahoma City tonight?
"Edwin Díaz (elbow) struck out two in a perfect inning on Friday in a minor league rehab appearance for Low-A Ontario. Díaz has struck out six of the nine batters he’s faced, while allowing just one baserunner, across three rehab outings in the lower minors. The 32-year-old stopper figures to be close to making it back to Los Angeles’ late-inning mix and figures to take over the closing duties from Taylor Scott".
The first officially confirmed signing from their 2026 draft class is: Russell Sandefer (RHP, Florida) – The 4th-round pick (132nd overall) officially signed on July 17, 2026. He agreed to an under-slot deal worth $434,000 (saving the Dodgers $141,300 against their pool value to allocate toward other selections).
Congratulations on your 29th. My wife and I are celebrating our 56th today.
I’m getting used to the new format, but I don’t see an edit capability. Am I just missing it?
lots of great news and speculation online this morning. Perre Plunkett: Shohei Ohtani got his knee lubricated, not drained. He's back in the lineup at DH but probably won't pitch until Wednesday -- a 19-day break between starts. Meanwhile, Will Smith remains in limbo, but is expected back. Per, some other dodger bloggers : Lots of observation that Sasaki had a bigger glove, maybe to hinder pitch tipping. This was very fun to read. Thoughts on the new site in the user experience: One. Edit button. Two. Expanded reply threads? There are some posters, unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan reading. With the replies are expanded out I can see where they are driving conversation and where they are not. Three. The @s in rep replies to tend to throw discussion off course a little. Four. Is it just me or do you have to enter name and email for every reply?
It looks like Sirota had his consecutive games on base streak snapped. He scored a run but did not get a walk or a hit. He was on base on a fielder's choice and I am pretty sure that doesn't count. If you cannot find the Barnes post Mark, I will do another. I still have most of the research on my computer. Game tonight on FOX and tomorrow on NBC with Sabathia, Hershiser and Roger Clemens all on the broadcast team.
What a great game last night. I love pitcher’s duels and what a fantastic setting. Friday night at Yankee Stadium, full house with the history and tradition just dripping. I love the classic uniforms. It was like a trip back to 1963. Sasaki wasn’t efficient but he was effective and it was much needed as Garret Cole looked like his old self. Really fun game to watch I listened to the Yankee broadcast, as I like Michael Kay and David Cone. And I like Paul O”Neill a lot better in the booth than I did as a player. It was ironic, Kay was just complimenting Boone on his popularity with the players because he has their backs and trusts them, as Boone was returning to the dugout after leaving Cole in the game to face Muncy, with a LHRP ready to go in the bullpen. And it bit Boone in the ass. Kay reported after the homer that Boone went Old School and trusted his gut instead of the analytics. I imagine the New York press had plenty to say about that decision. Hey, it’s one of those things in baseball - “sometimes you get the peanuts and some day you get the shells”. What a fantastic throw home by Mookie and a great tag by Rushing at home to preserve the lead in the 8th. Rushing did struggle with a couple of whiffs on pitches again last night. Sometimes he wants to frame a pitch before he catches it. But you can’t fault the kid’s effort. While he would never admit it, you’d have to think Belli had a little added incentive to produce after Doc decided to intentionally walk Goldschmidt to get to him in the 8th? I hope Emmit produces equally good entertainment today.
There has been some online speculation that de la Cruz is the next superstar the LAD target when he comes to FA market. Elly De La Cruz ends the debate 🔥 In his early years, many put him on the level of Ezequiel Tovar. Four seasons later, the difference between them is evident. Elly De La Cruz .260 AVG | 112 OPS+ | 12.6 WAR Ezequiel Tovar .249 AVG | 81 OPS+ | 5.6 WAR
Two good bits from Passan: https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/49349931 And then a piece, depressing but good, on the state of labor negotiations: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49381100/mlb-labor-dispute-looms-2026-all-star-game Both, I think, are free
Today on MLBTR it was reported that it will be at least mid-August before Will Smith can return to the roster. Dodgers resigned Charlie Barnes who they had DFAd. He has been assigned to AAA OKC.
We have two guys pitching lights out in rehab and Saski looking like a starter. Looking forward to the playoffs, I see four starters, two closers, two swingmen (Sheehan and Saski, and a strong compliment of middle relievers. Not sure we need any pitching help before the deadline. Max hit the dinger but the pitching won the game. Loved his bat drop and his Babe Ruth stare. Weather here in NY area sucks so we may be watching a double hitter tomorrow. Full house in Yankee Stadium, crappy weather, short porch in left field and Yankee fans. No pressure on Sheehan.
if Will Smith were indeed having to miss the rest of the season, I could see LA targeting a solid backup catcher with MLB experience to take his place. The Mets will be making Alvarez available along with most everyone else. Giants just DFAd eric Haase. Ben Rortvedt could also be on their radar. Sylvia Chen has suggested that LA will not make a move for a major piece like Skubal but will probably work on the fringes especially with Diaz, Snell and Hernandez all likely to rejoin the team by August, with Glasnow also starting a throwing program.
The Dodger game this evening has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Looks like a doubleheader tomorrow.
No game tonight. Let's play two tomorrow!
Who are some of the available catchers out there that could be moved at the trade deadline? I keep hearing Ben Rortvedt and he did a great job last time he was on the roster. I always liked Victor Caratini. Be nice to just get Will Smith healthy but we will know in a couple weeks if they make a move for another catcher.
Cubs just traded a minor leaguer for Arron Civale from the A's and the A's DFAd Joey Meneses.
Mookie Betts had one suggestion for Major League Baseball to make blowouts a little less painful for all involved. In an interview with Tom Dierberger of SI, Betts suggested that games should simply end whenever a team wants to bring in a position player to pitch. That tactic is typically used by teams that are getting blown out and do not want to use any other pitchers to get outs in a game they have already lost.
Watching the minor leagues is the best. Random A pitcher impressed me: Chastain.
Snell's pitching line at AAA Oklahoma City last night 1.1IP 1H 1BB 0R 0ER 4K. Limited but encouraging.
Still trying to figure this place out. In the new post column I click on a post I want to read expecting it to pop up and it doesn’t. I have to search for it. And I feel I need an edit capability. I make a lot of mistakes. Interesting reads in the paper this morning. The Dodgers need a defensive catcher as Rushing is second to last in DRS, the Tigers, still in Wild Card hunt, had a short win streak before the break, 13 of 16 games before the trade deadline are against teams with a losing record, and fans are pissed the Dodgers are going to the White House. And of course there’s still a few columns being written about soccer. I skip those. I won’t go into what’s on the pages before the Sports Sections. Suffice to say the world’s on fire. Have a nice day.