When Freddie was asked if he felt this was a reset game, he said no. He was asked again saying the team was 2-11 RISP on Monday and he chuckled and said I did not know that, and I do not think anyone on the team thought about that. He also added nobody will be thinking about tonight’s game on Wednesday. Win or lose, they turn the page. It is the fans and journalists that tend to sit on last game results, and want answers.
Like Will, he did not appreciate the questions about any batting title competition. “Talk to me with a week to go and I might have an answer. But not in August.”
Doc/Prior/Lehman/Geren/AF/BG are paid to look into the previous game and to determine how to attack that night’s game. The players are paid to play. They are not robots, so I bet there is more thinking about Monday’s game than Freddie let on to. I know Teoscar Hernández was thinking about it. He made multiple good plays in the outfield, including one where he did come racing in to make a catch. He also had a 2-hit night and got his 75th RBI.
When Emmet Sheehan was asked how he thought he did, he said that his pitching line wasn’t pretty, but he thought he pitched well. Doc and Freddie thought he pitched well. This was his first game this year going 6 innings, and it was his 2nd consecutive game he threw 91 pitches, right at 15 pitches per inning, so fairly efficient. He had 15 whiffs, 10 on his slider, which was his best pitch. He had issues with his command with his 4-seam fastball. The pitch was often starting at the top of the zone and then rising out of the zone without inducing a lot of swing and miss. This was a pitch he got a lot of swing and miss in 2023.
Emmet made two horrible pitches; and they were horrible. The first was a 4-seamer to Brenton Doyle at the top of the zone that Doyle jumped on and hit a 2-run HR. The second bad pitch was a change he threw to Kyle Karros who crushed it for his 1st MLB HR. Both HRs came with 2 strikes. It would have been better had he not allowed both HRs, but otherwise he had more positives than negatives in this one. You take the positives, file away the negatives for the next time, and move on.
Emmett Sheehan (W (4-2), 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 91 P) speaks with the media after the Dodgers defeat the Rockies 11-4 to even up the series in Colorado. pic.twitter.com/2TLQk02Q7g
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 20, 2025
One negative that he is going to need to eliminate is his lob throw to 1B about 75 feet (yes exaggeration) over Freddie’s head. But Miggy Ro showed why defense is so important.
Wow, Miggy! pic.twitter.com/P9d4Qid5Dq
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 20, 2025
Three nice scoreless innings in relief from Jack Dreyer, Ben Casparius, and Anthony Banda.
Alex Call was the hitting star in this game. Coming into this game, Alex was 4-23 including 1 double, no RBI, 4 BB, 6 K. He went 4-5 on Tuesday. On his 1st AB on Tuesday, he slugged a 453 foot HR for the longest HR of his career, and the longest for LAD so far in 2025.
Alex Call's 453 foot home run was the longest by any Dodger this season. https://t.co/2x1oq7kDr9
— Dodgers Tailgate (@DodgersTailgate) August 20, 2025
And yet it was only the 5th hardest hit ball for LAD in the game:
- Shohei Ohtani – 115.9
- Will Smith – 107.5
- Alex Freeland – 107.2
- Freddie Freeman – 106.4
- Alex Call – 106.3
Alex was a triple shy for the cycle. He was joking after the game saying that his teammates said if he hit it, he better keep running. Unfortunately he struck out.
So, Alex Call actually had some friends who flew out from Wisconsin without telling him and who happened to be sitting in left field tonight in Denver. They managed to track down the home run ball, which Call had postgame and will get put into a case. https://t.co/9ewLaoSyZa
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 20, 2025
It would not be Colorado if we did not see Shohei crush a HR of his own:
Alex Call hit his first home run as a Dodger. A few batters later, Shohei Ohtani crushed his 44th home run of the season.
Ohtani hit his 115.9 mph off the bat. Call hit his 453 feet.
The Dodgers lead 4-0.pic.twitter.com/NDUToY4qnM
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) August 20, 2025
Will Smith seems to be coming out of his mini-slump. He went 3-4 with a BB. He leads NL in BA and OBP. He is also 4th in OPS at .926. That is impressive enough, but especially so for a catcher.
Buddy Kennedy got his 1st hit as a Dodger, a RBI single driving home Alex Call in the 3rd and a 7-0 lead. Mookie, Freddie, Teo, and Miggy Ro each had a pair of hits. Poor Alex Freeland batted twice, hitting the ball >100MPH both times, and accounted for 3 outs. It was great to see him barrel it up twice, but not getting anything out of it is tough for him. Then again, that is baseball. He may get optioned, but he belongs in MLB.
On Wednesday, Shohei will be starting for LAD, and is scheduled to go 5.0 innings. He will be facing 27 year old RHP Tanner Gordon, making his 9th start. He has not pitched well this year with a 7.98 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP in 38.1 IP.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS
OKC Comets 12 – Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle) 8
This was an offensive game that also had some key pitching moments that LAD fans were waiting for. OKC scored 12 runs on 19 hits.
The hitting star for the night was once again Ryan Ward. Ward was 4-6 with 2 HR and 4 RBI. He now has 31 HRs on the season, and 111 RBI, tops in MiLB for both metrics.
League-leading home run No. 3️⃣0️⃣ for Ryan Ward!🚀 pic.twitter.com/n8A679Q6PE
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) August 20, 2025
Like a gift that keeps on giving, Ryan Ward everybody! 👏 pic.twitter.com/n04O2OqbT8
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) August 20, 2025
Ryan Ward claims another record as he now owns the Bricktown era single season RBI record❗️ pic.twitter.com/0dDkwbtB8J
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) August 20, 2025
Noah Miller was 3-5 with 2 doubles (8) and HR (2). He scored 3 runs and 2 RBI.
Esteury Ruiz was 3-4 with 2 BB, 2 runs, and a RBI.
Luken Baker, Ben Rorvedt, Austin Gauthier, and Kody Hoese all had 2 hits. Rorvedt (3) and Hoese (22) each hit a double.
After Landon Knack finished 4.2 IP and José Rodríguez picked him up in the 5th, Dodgers fans were waiting for what was coming next. Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott were making their initial rehab outings.
First rehab outings for Dodgers RP for OKC:
Kirby Yates: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 21 pitches, 13 strikes.
Tanner Scott: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 16 pitches, 10 strikes.
— Howard Cole (@Howard_Cole) August 20, 2025
And what could have been his best relief outing of the year, Bobby Miller wrapped up the game. While it may look odd, he pitched himself out of trouble. He walked the first batter of the 9th, and allowed a single. Then Gauthier threw a DP ball away and a run scored. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and nobody out, Miller struck out the next 2 batters and got the final out on a routine F8. This has been a situation that Bobby Miller has melted down on, but tonight got out of it with an unearned run.
Quad Cities River Bandits (KC) 13 – Great Lakes Loons 4
Kendall George had a three hit night. He also stole his 83rd base, but got caught twice, and has now been caught 20 times (80.6% success rate).
No other Loons hitter had more than 1 hit. There were 4 Loons batters with doubles:
- Zyhir Hope (24)
- Joe Vetrano (16)
- Elijah Hainline (5)
- Jake Gelof (17)
Not much positive in the pitching.
Modesto Nuts (Seattle) 14 – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 8
Charles Davalan made his professional debut, and had a pair of hits going 2-4, with a BB, and a K.
The Dodgers are promoting Charles Davalan to Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, per source. Davalan was selected No. 41 overall out of Arkansas by the Dodgers this year.pic.twitter.com/ydrtaGL74e
— Jesús Cano (@Jesus_Cano88) August 19, 2025
Emil Morales also went 2-4 with a BB, and a pair of runs and RBI. He hit his 4th HR at RC.
Emil Morales absolutely UNLOADS on his latest home run 🚀
The @Dodgers' No. 7 prospect raises his Single-A @RCQuakes OPS to .998 with his 13th dinger between two levels this year. pic.twitter.com/7HudlFTnMV
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 20, 2025
Landyn Vidourek also made his professional debut, but he went 0-4.
Sterling Patick started and completed 5.0 innings, allowing 2 runs, both unearned. He allowed 3 hits, 1 BB, and registered 7 K.
Good to see the Dodgers have a “that’s more like it” Coors Field game. It provided everyone with an opportunity to get out any slumps and feel good about things.
What a breakout game for Alex Call! Of all people, he hit the longest HR of the season for the Dodgers. Add another three hits and maybe we can see the last of Conforto playing LF on a regular basis. Or, what is not unusual for the Dodger FO after a productive game, he’ll be benched for the ever failing Michael Conforto.
Emmet Sheehan pitched well enough to get into the sixth inning. The BP was very effective when called upon. What I enjoyed that with a big lead they came in and had no walks.
With so many runs scored last night, it’s not unusual for a team to have trouble scoring the next game. But, this is Coors Field and the Rockies. Besides, the team had trouble scoring in game one.
Very much the type of a Dodger game the fans expect at least 60% of the time.
I know it’s Colorado, but this series could wake up the hitters and have the pitching to be more efficient.
Carry on.
The Conforto situation is an embarrassment especially to Friedman
Baseball America just published their Top 30 International Free Agents. The IFA associated with LAD? NONE.
They lost most of 2025 IFA because of the bonus for Roki Sasaki and it is showing. The Dodgers have two teams in the DSL. LAD Mega is 25-30, in 4th place out of 6 in the DSL Northwest Division, and LAD Bautista which is 17-37 and in 6th place (out of 6) in the DSL North Division. That is a combined 42-67 or .385 winning percentage.
Now with no IFA associated with LAD for 2026, is that going to be two years in a row with no discernable IFA talent?
What a great night for Call. 4 for 5 with a HR, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Of course that means he will sit today and Conforto will get the start.
Probably will. The Rockies SP is a RH. But it still makes no sense. Conforto has reverse splits this year, and he is not hitting better than Call against RHP or LHP. He is also a superior defensive OF, and faster runner. Call does have a weak arm which puts him only as a LF.
It is almost as if Dodgers management is focused on proving they did not make a mistake with signing Conforto, rather than admitting so and moving on.
Conforto has the lowest batting average of any player in the league (minimum 380 at bats). And tonight there are two hitters behind him with lower averages.
Maybe the Dodgers don’t score 11 tonight.
It’s gone beyond “focused” with them at this point. It’s more like a crazed obsession bordering on a maniacal disorder!
I am not going to argue with that!!!
It is just plain stupid.
Nice to see the offense wake up even if it’s against one of the worst pitchers in baseball at Coors field. Jeff why is a fastball at the top of the zone such a horrible pitch? More so than a mid-mid location?
Because it is right in the player’s eye sight and a player can get on top of it, especially if it is flat. This is especially true for RHB who like the ball up. Colorado has 11 RH batters on their roster and 2 LH batters. The idea is to allow the batter to believe that the pitch is hittable at the top of the zone, but with upwards vertical movement has the batter swinging under the pitch. As soon as I saw where the pitch was to Doyle, I knew it was trouble. Right at the top of the zone, in the middle, and not much movement. I yelled, Oh No, at the TV before he swung. In 2023, Sheehan’s 4-seamer induced a lot of that swing and miss.
Alex Call hit the Dodgers longest HR of the season so far at 453 feet.
Can anyone remember who hit the Dodger’s longest HR of our 2017 season?
it was 463 feet.
No Google!!!!! …. I’ll know
I am guessing, but I would say Puig, Bellinger, or Seager.
I remember. It was against SF at Oracle (then AT&T). It was early in the season and I was at the game, given tickets from a SF season ticket holder. My friend knew how much of an Alex Wood fan I was, so he got the tickets from his office and took me to see Wood against SF. I also remember how cold it was with the wind blowing out. Oh, the player, Corey Seager, and I was wearing my Seager jersey (under my Dodger jacket). He hit it off Johnny Cueto.
Do not ask me how I remember this s***. My wife tells me all the time that my head is full of useless information. I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I remember that game as if it was yesterday. I am still upset that Seager is not a Dodger.
that is a great memory, but not the correct answer!!
The player concerned only hit 2 long balls in a Dodger Uniform and this was one of them!
I cheated so won’t give the answer. We could be sitting here on this date next year and, without googling it, nobody would have the answer.
Here’s a clue: after his career as a hitter was over, he actually converted to pitching for a short time and made it back to MLB. This might be enough for Jeff to get the right answer.
Eibner
And no I did not google. The HR was hit in Colorado if I remember correctly and it was a massive blast.
Then he became a pitcher after leaving the Dodgers. Don’t know what happened to him after that. Is he still in baseball?
OK, I cheated also. I would never have guessed him.
I only remember Seager’s, so I wait for the correct answer.
Felix Bautista to undergo shoulder surgery and will be out 12 months.
The next potentially elite Pittsburgh starting pitcher, Bubba Chandler, is getting the Call on Friday. But it appears that he is going to finish the season as a long relief pitcher.
Found this article on why Shohei is a different pitcher with the Dodgers.
https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/shohei-ohtani-different-pitcher-with-dodgers-2025
Dodgers not the only team with their superstars slumping. Kyle Tucker is having a miserable 2nd half, and it will cost him millions.
Tucker is slashing .189/.325/.235 since the start of July with just one home run. This month, he is just 8-for-54. After Monday’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, manager Craig Counsell announced that Tucker would spend some time on the bench. Tucker sat out both games of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Brewers. The Cubs won both games, and Owen Caissie, who was playing in place of Tucker, looked great.
Sure wish Dodgers management did this with the Conforto failure and a couple of other guys.
Instead the Dodgers double down on the opposite.
“We’re going to play Conforto ans other mendoza line hitters from the waiver wire every day”….
Or something like this.
Just saw the staring lineup. Conforto starting and Call on the bench. Un-Freaking-Believable. What a farce.
4outs in the lineup.
Wow I just saw Rojas’ hustle play. That was amazing!!
A half-inning in and I am already miffed by a mental error. Come on guys!
Not impressed with the execution 2.5 innings in — sheesh. Wake up!!
https://fixvx.com/dodgers/status/1958291874327974220?s=46
Gervase up Diaz down
Yikes — unwatchable, I’m done. I hope they wake up and get us a “Badger 8” cuz they’re gonna need it.
Who is the OF coach for this team?
I am SO tired of Orel’s and Stephen Nelson’s excuses. I am not saying they have to be brutally honest, but quit with the excuses for everything that is going bad. Sometimes they are just bad, and so far, tonight is one of those games, where pitching, offense, and defense have all gone wrong.
Nelson may have been called on the carpet. A couple of weeks ago he was on the radio with Rick Monday and they were both brutally honest calling out the team for playing bad baseball. You could hear in his voice the disgust of describing how bad they played that day. He called it as he saw it. Maybe he has to be kinder and gentler on TV because of a larger audience
Agreed. Orel making excuses for Ohtani not advancing to third. That is bad baserunning, plain and simple.
Then we get Pages trying, in vain, to throw out a runner at third and allowing a runner into scoring position. Rinse and repeat.
Roberts has been lamenting the Dodgers not playing “good” baseball but nothing changes. Poor baserunning, throwing to the wrong base, poor swing decisions, bad defense, I am not blaming Roberts but they play like a poorly coached baseball team. Maybe they are.
The fact that Buddy Kennedy and Conforto are playing every day should tell you everything you need to know about this team this year.
Who’s playing second base tomorrow? F.P. Santangelo? The team and management are a joke this year.
I miss 2024.
Not that it would have made a difference tonight but Edman, Kiké and Kim are all out. That’s the only reason Freeland and Kennedy are in the lineup. Conforto? I guess they’ve decided to ride that mule to the finish line.
I second that. Orel is really hard to listen to. I just can’t imagine how a $400 million team can put such an embarrassing display on the field. Can’t hit, can’t pitch, can’t field, can’t run the bases on a pretty regular basis. What is Roberts doing? Sits Betts tonight. Why, he has already missed a ton of games this year. Call gets 4 hits and sits in favor of a guy hitting.190 for the year. Buddy Kennedy , freeland, couldn’t hit me. Ohtani he leaves out there to just bury the Dodgers. I’m sorry but this is one pathetic team currently with no urgency. They have not played well all year. Even the SD series the pads pretty much gifted it to us.
No excuses. This just isn’t a very good team.
Yeah, that sucked.
Holy shit Batman. Wednesday nights game has to be one of the most pathetic losses in a critical stretch in the schedule I’ve ever seen. The pitching, the offense, the defense, the fundamentals and the lineup were horseshit.
*Let’s start with the lineup. This isn’t just another series against what should be an overmatched team, in the Rockies. Not to me, anyway. There really needs to be some urgency for this series, coming into 4 with the Puds this weekend. No Mookie in the lineup. He’s starting to have productive at bats and I would not sit him. Alex Call goes like 4 for 5 which earns him a seat on the bench, in favor of Conforto, again. Due to splits? Alex is hitting .243 vs RHP. Conforto is hitting .179 vs RHP. And that is even less meaningful to me with Call coming off a big night.
*Tanner Gordon has an ERA a tick below 8.0 and we made him look like Cy Young. $ hits and 1 ER in 6 complete. Are you kidding me?
*Why didn’t Ohtani advance to 3rd on the ball hit behind him?
* This team plays such poor fundamental baseball. Throwing to wrong bases, giving up an extra
90 feet and losing the double play option by throwing ahead of runners with no shot at throwing them out. Pages seems to think he can hose Superman going to first to third while allowing the hitter to stroll into 2nd.
*I’m good with Diaz going to OKC but who in the hell is Paul Gervase? Yes another lead off walk that scores. I know we were behind when he came in but I’m finding another pitcher in that spot to hold the Rockies.
*After Ohtani gets hit in the leg and is limping around. I’m taking him out. No conversation. He was ineffective anyway and I’m not risking further injury.
*Ohtani is scheduled for a “normal” day off tomorrow. Maybe he can’t answer the bell after being hit by the comebacker? But he would NOT get a scheduled rest day when we are trying to salvage a split with the Rockies.
*I’m playing Freeland every day at 3rd and how he hits a bit. Kennedy is useless in the 9 hole.
*The Rockies outhit us 16 to 6 in a meaningful game.
*Orel this many nights in a row’s agony. How many excuses to we need? How about some accountability? He he said it once, he said it 100 times that our pitchers stuff suffers in the thin air and doesn’t break.
*That’s probably enough bitching but if the game was a sick horse they would have shot it after the 4th.
I’m sure I’m forgetting other stuff but this game was a totally shit show.