The Dodgers limped into the All-Star break going 1-5 against Philadelphia and Detroit, including two blown leads late on 2 walk off losses against Detroit. Boston was 4-2 against Oakland and KC.
Teoscar Hernández won the longshot HR Derby winner, and Shohei Ohtani slugged a 3-run HR in the ASG. Were things starting to turn?
In Game 1, the Dodgers were down 1-0 and after an ill-advised IBB to Will Smith to load the bases for Freddie Freeman, Freddie slugs a GS for the 4-1 lead and win.
In Game 2, Gavin Lux hit a solo HR in the 2nd for the initial lead. Down 2-1 in the 6th, LAD scored a pair to take a lead for their first come from behind inning.
Down 4-3 in the 9th, one of the biggest disappointments, Kiké Hernández slugged a game tying solo HR of Kenley Jansen for the second come from behind moment.
Down 6-4 in the 10th, with Freddie on 2nd, Andy Pages doubled him home, and then scored on Kiké Hernández’s game tying single, for the third come from behind moment.
In the 11th needing a single run to complete the come from behind victory, Kiké started at second. Cavan Biggio hit a sac bunt to move Kiké to 3rd. CT3 drew a BB putting runners on 1st and 3rd. Because it worked so well in Game, Alex Cora decided to issue a IBB, this time to Shohei to face Will Smith. On a 2-0 pitch, Will lined a game winning single to score Kiké. LAD came from behind 3 times including in the 9th and 10th.
The Dodgers came from behind again in the 3rd game, but just from the 1st inning. After 3 James Paxton pitches, Boston had a 2-0 lead. LAD tied it up in the bottom of the 1st with a Freddie HR and back-to-back doubles Andy Pages and Gavin Lux.
Four HRs over the next three innings gave the Dodgers a 6-2 lead. Teoscar Hernández, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes, and Shohei Ohtani each hit solo HRs. With a 6-3 lead in the 8th, the bottom of the order put across three. With two outs, Gavin Lux hit his 3rd hit of the day. He stole 2B and scored on a Cavan Biggio single. Jason Heyward followed with a 2-run HR.
Staked to a 9-3 lead, Doc went to Evan Phillips in a non-leverage situation to try and right his ship. Unfortunately, Phillips continued to show why he is suddenly the most vulnerable reliever on the staff. A leadoff single, back-to-back doubles, scored two. Back-to-back 1 out walks loaded the bases and Doc needed to bring in Daniel Hudson. Hudson got the ground ball he was looking for, but it looked like Lux took forever to get rid of the ball on a soft toss to Hernández at SS who could not turn the DP and a run scored. Hudson did get Wilyer Abreu to fly out to end the game and give LAD a sweep.
- LAD was 8-22 WRISP, scored 20 runs, allowed 13 runs, and hit 9 HRs in the series.
- Seven Dodgers hit HRs with Lux and Ohtani each hitting a pair.
- Gavin Lux was 5-9 with 2 doubles and 2 HRs.
- Gavin Lux is hitting .244/.311/.512/.823 in July.
- Austin Barnes one of the most criticized LAD players, has hit in 9 straight games. In those 9 games, he has 11 hits in 27 AB (.407). For the month of July, in 16 AB, Austin is batting .500/.529/.688/1.217. Not bad for a seldom used back up catcher.
- Anthony Banda pitched in each of the three Boston games.
- Daniel Hudson had two saves. Yarbs, Joe Kelly, and Evan Phillips also pitched in two games.
These were three excellent wins against a very good team and three very good starting pitchers.
- Miguel Rojas exited the game with forearm tightness, but it is not considered serious and is expected back in the lineup after a few games rest.
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto is playing catch and is cautiously optimistic he will be pitching competitively again this year. Dodgers are “hoping” their star rookie will be back on the mound for them in late August or early September.
- In other rehab news, for OKC, Michael Grove pitched a scoreless 1.0 inning with a BB and K. Brusdar Graterol also pitched 1.0 inning in his first game in 2024. He allowed a single, a SB, committed a run scoring throwing error, a WP, and a strikeout. With Brent Honeywell pitching well for LAD, there is no urgency to bring Grove back to LAD too quick. Graterol needs more outings before he is ready to be activated.
Kershaw and Graterol are going to require spots on the 40.
Buehler to the 60 feels icky.
Nick Ramirez? Varland?
Good guess. Need a spot for Ryan too when he starts today.
Maybe there will be a trade before they activate CK.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doubtful. more likely someone will get DFAd. They have some deadwood on the 40.
Hell, we’ve got deadwood on the 26.
All three games were nail biters. It was great to see the team win all three. I loved the look on the faces of the players in the dugout when Ohtani hit his bomb. I was at Dodger Stadium both times Willie Stargell cleared the RF pavilion roof. First one was off of Alan Foster.
Michael – CK is signed for 2 years for $10m
He is making $5m in 24.
The second year is not guaranteed. It is an option. 5 mil is nothing to these guys, and they gain a lot of fan capital keeping Kersh. He should finish his career as a Dodger. No way he meets all the criteria for the big bonuses. He won’t have enough of the season left. Loyalty has a lot to do with it. His velocity sits at about where it was last season. And the guy knows how to pitch. If he can’t hack it, they will just put him back on the IL. He can’t be any worse than some of the other guys they have run out there.
So he’s not earning £2m in 24 as you stated on the previous thread?
Nope, I was wrong. He has earned a little more than 2.3rds of his 5 mil. His incentives do not really start for a while. 2 million pounds is 2,580,000 dollars at today’s exchange rate.
It is now safe to say the Dodgers will seriously be looking at another big bullpen arm with Phillpps struggling mightily. As it unfolded that 9th inning had a very similar look as did that game in Detroit a week ago.
Tanner Scott or even Mason Miller are the two guys on top of everybodys wish list. Miller will cost a kings rasnom in prospects so I would go after Scott.
Great to see how Lux has turned it on. 3 oppo hits yesterday . Keep it up, kid.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happens every year and to every pitcher in the major leagues. I saw it happen to some of the best the Dodgers have ever had. So, he has a couple of bad outings. No reason to jump off of the deep end. Same thing happened earlier this year to Hudson. In March/April, he gave up 6 runs, 5 earned in 14 innings. He gave up 12 hits in those 14 innings, 3 of which were homers. Since then, he has been nails. Allowing only 2 earned runs and 2 homers. There were 3 unearned runs scored off of him. Phillips has had a rough July. But he only has pitched in 7 games this month. Give him a little time, he will be fine.
I´d rather have another high leverage arm just in case.
Both Scott and Mason would upgrade our bullpen considerably.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Miller would cost a ton, and AF is not going to trade 4 or 5 players for a closer as some have suggested. He could save a lot by doing a package deal and getting some other pieces he needs. Marlins really do not have anyone else they might need that they would put on the block. But he might trade 2 lower and one top 10 for Scott. But I could easily see a deal with the Rays for Arozarena, Elfin and then add Pete Fairbanks their closer. Power arm out of the pen, decent numbers. Make it a blockbuster and add Paredes if they want to go that far. Crochet, Robert Jr., everyone’s favorite, and Kopech, just would cost too much.
It’s also very in-Friedman to bring in a top of market reliever.
And lots of quality relievers coming back
But very Friedman-like to bring in a reliever….
With Phillips struggling, why not get Tanner Scott?
He checks a lot of boxes:
–Proven.
–Lefty,
–Closer
Because of what Friedman has said on the subject?
Another gutsy performance by the team last night. Paxton was shaky in the first but settled in nicely to give them a good start.
Phillips’ recent struggles are cause for some concern.
I believe that AF should concentrate on beefing up the bullpen at the deadline. One or two high leverage relievers. I would make that a priority over a top of the rotation starting pitcher. Won’t cost as much in prospects either.
A middle of the rotation inning eating starter would be a good acquisition. Flaherty??
I would still look for an upgrade for the outfield. Pham would not cost a lot.
It was cool when he struck out Devers for his 7th K. He threw two at 95 and got him with a 96 MPH high heater. Great sequence. I would take Arozarena over Pham any day. Great playoff numbers, speed, good defense, plenty of power and you could get Elfin or Fairbanks in a package deal. Pham would only be in play if they bundled a deal for Crochet without Robert Jr.
Yep Bear, I didn’t know Paxton had that kind of gas in the tank.
Arozarena would certainly be preferable to Pham. Either would be a big upgrade.
Lighting up Jansen was fun.
Arozarena isn’t having a great year. His OPS+ is only marginally better than Pages and he is no centerfielder with a negative dWAR in left field. I don’t want Pham either. You know who I want.
And now Rojas is hurt. Who knows how long he might be out. Centerfield, shortstop and starting pitching. I’m just an echo in here at this point.
Since June 1 in 162 PA, Arozarena is batting .292/.395/.526/.921. 17 BB and 31 K (19.1%). 7 HR and 18 XBH.
Since June 1 in 168 PA, Pages is batting .267/.339/.407/.746. 15 BB and 34 K (20.2%). 3 HR and 14 XBH.
Agreed, Arozarena is not a good defensive OF.
For the first time since the rumors have started, I am starting to warm up to the idea of acquiring Luis Robert Jr. I have no illusions that he will have a MVP type 2nd half, but the Dodgers have ZERO bona fide CF candidates even remotely close to MLB, and that includes James Outman who would be better served playing for another team, and Robert Jr. could fill that role for 3.5 years at a very reasonable cost.
Funny, Jeff, I’ve started thinking the same thing about Louis Robert.
Even with his horrible start, he’d still match what Outman was doing!
We have a number of mid 20’s aged, but solid prospects where we can definitely ship a few of them, along with the lottery tickets, to get Robert, Crochet, etc.
Also, because Arrozarena is so proven in Oct, I’d be more than happy to have him in LF for the October run. He might be the guy I’d be most confident during clutch situations.
I do not believe AF is going to pay what the Sox are asking, and Crochet is not the answer in the starting pitching dept especially if they are going to monitor his innings.
Enjoyed the bullpen this weekend. Yarbs, Banda, Honeywell, even Kelly had his moments.
Kelly always has moments.
Braves signed Whit Merrifield. Totally did not realize that the Olympics start this week in Paris.
Dodgers still have not signed any of their draft picks. I wonder if they are waiting until after the deadline.
At least two have signed
They have signed at least two – 23 year old OF Kole Myers for $2,500 and 23 year old RHP Seamas Barrett for $5,000.
Neither player has been announced as signed by LAD which is why most publications have not reporting them.
Dodgers almost always wait until close to the deadline before announcing their signings.
Those 2 signings you mentioned Jeff gave them an extra 350/360 thou to go over slot on other picks.
I was looking on the Dodger website draft signing tracker, but that answers the question.
Welcome back Jeff.
*Paxton settled in nicely after a rough start with the first 2 hitters. He seems to make big pitches when there’s traffic. He ended up going 5 innings which seemed unlikely in the first. He also found a little extra cheese which makes his soft stuff more effective.
*Doc sandwiched Kelly between the lefties but I kind of like the ideal putting Paxton, Yarbrough and Banda, back-to-back-to-back. The speed differences, all from the left side, make sense to me, if Banda can throw enough strikes with his higher velocity.
*It’s rare to see players react like they did, watching Ohtani’s home run. Their disbelief and amazement was fun to see.
*Again I took issue again with official scorer. I didn’t see Dever’s roundball in the 3rd as an error on Kike. But no harm, no foul.
*My concern for Phillips continues. I hope he isn’t injured.
*What’s the deal with Fox broadcasts? Saturday’s game had the background noise turned up to a deafening level. Joe Davis and Wainwright were drowned out and I could hear a word they said. And Dieter’s stuff was so loud it totally dominated the air. “let’s Go Dodgers” shook my windows. Yesterday on ESPN, it was way more normal. I could hear the announcers, despite Dieter still being too loud but in the background. I’m not a Dieter Ruehle fan anyway. Too loud and too repetitive with every clever selection ending in a head-banging “Let’s Go Dodgers”.
*I like David Cone more each time I hear him. He doesn’t jump out at you with a big personality but he’s funny and smart. He’s especially good with Michael Kay. Yesterday, he said subtly, “a pitcher needs to beat the hitter, just enough”
Was the breeze blowing out the other day? Six HRs is a lot, and Ohtani’s blast was epic. Freddie’s traveled a long way too…. Apart from the wind, I don’t understand how atmospheric conditions play into homer equation.
For reasons I can’t quite understand, I’m more excited about River Ryan’s arrival than I am about any other pitcher in recent memory.
Maybe it’s just the hope that the Dodgers really fleeced the Pads. Nothing against Matt Beatty–a fine fellow, I’m sure–but flipping a bench piece for a two-way player who The Athletic’s Keith Law is hyping as a potential No. 2 starter is pretty sweet. Not an ace, but ace-adjacent….Credit to the Dodgers’ scouting staff for targeting Ryan.
He’s been running his four-seam and two-seam fastballs in the 98 mph range.
So I’m not dealing Ryan for Crochet.
But reports of a potential blockbuster persist…
Baseballs will travel further in warm humid air (less dense) then in cold dry air.
Wouldn’t thermodynamics imply the opposite? Dense air proving more resistance?
guessing.
You’re out of your element, dude
As we head into the last week before the deadline, AF is probably re-thinking his original strategy. Until half of our starters went to the IL, I’m sure he thought he’d have extra pitching to trade in July.
In any major trade, I’m sure he’ll be asked to include Wrobleski, Ryan or both and I’m not sure he can afford to do that since we still don’t know how effective CK, Miller, Buehler or Yamamoto will be down the stretch.
I wonder if Frasso, Sheehan, Hurt, May or Gonsolin have enough trade value at this point that he could convince someone to take one or more of them in a major trade? Chances are that any team we make a major trade with probably won’t be going to the 2024 post season, so they could afford to wait for these guys to pitch for them until next year. Only question is whether a team would want to see them actually pitch before trading for them.
Whoa!!!!!
Just announced that the Dodgers will DFA Paxton.
I’m sure they’ll be able to trade him, but that seems like a strange move unless they’ve already lined up a trade or two for a pitcher that they feel confident will actually come to pass.
This MUST mean the injured guys are close and/or Skubal/Crochet are on their way.
Otherwise, WTF??
Hmmm.
did someone envision trading a SP because of surplus?
per Harris:
Given the amount of teams in need of SP, the Dodgers are expecting some suitors, per source
time to trade for the next River Ryan baby!
you would think they would have held onto him for at least a few more weeks, especially with all of the injury problems and qustionable health from the other starters. I’m assuming there must be some trades in the works, and they needed to clear roster space.
Don’t they have a week to trade him and in the mean time, a spot was opened for A River Runs Through It.
Very interesting decision on James Paxton. U could argue that he was one of the most dependable sps throughout the year. When it appears we are looking for sp u might think the Dodgers would be hesitant to DFA a guy who hasn’t been on the dl this year. I don’t think he figures in the playoffs or in the bullpen. I would rather c Wrobleski, Ryan, knack get innings but just surprising. I don’t think he has much trade value so it is a gift to a team willing to take on a minimum salary. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite us with an opposing team. Although rare he has been very good on occasion and did show a 96 plus fastball yesterday.
Paxton DFA
And Lux POTW
Paxton is the winning pitcher and the next day he’s DFA.
Lux is probably looking over his shoulder. If a win gets you DFA, who knows what Player of the Week might result in?
Yup, he finally had his first good week in the majors after 5 years, and is now batting .225 with a 73 OPS+! his OBP is up to .276!
He’s going to the hall of fame!
WTF.
Another hyperbolic performance.
Why can’t anyone just be happy he’s playing well?
And therein my friend lies the rub. I am really happy for the guy myself, why? Because it is coming at just the right time.
Who wouldn’t be happy for him? but let’s not let one good week cancel out 5 years of dreadful hitting.
I find it odd how Lux can fail for years and years, but some of the other guys have a few bad weeks, or even one bad season and it’s off with their heads.
If anyone (not trying to single out anyone) is going to call for Muncy, Taylor, Kike, Barnes, Heyward to be released, or traded or DFA, then you have to also throw Lux in there as well. I still am puzzled as to why he gets such preferrential treatment.
Youth, athleticism, pedigree and upside?
So that should also apply to Pages, Outman, Vargas as well, but they’ve been treated very differently then golden boy Lux.
How do you figure?
Pages, Outman, and Vargas haven’t sucked for 5 years.
Rosenthal estimates, given injury history and lack of production, only a 40% chance of Robert Junior being traded at the deadline.
Also, looks like my “trade target,” Max Fried, is off the market
Does Rosenthal have the + or – on that estimate?
Not even a margin of error!
Wow. I was shocked to hear they DFA’d Paxton. I would have thought it would be Biggio if anyone. Something is brewing.
Generally, teams try to keep the Pitcher to position player ration the same. So you don’t often see a Utility player DFA’d to open a spot for a Pitcher.
While I don’t doubt something is brewing (the Dodgers always make moves at the deadline) I think this was simply getting a return on a surplus asset. Too many starters.
What is the return?
Has it been announced?
I think it’s too early….
If no one claims him, he is a free agent and any team can sign him for the MLB minimum. Dodgers get nothing in return.
You really think that’s going to happen?
I don’t.
Neither do the Dodgers. Per Plunkett:
That <the DFA’ing of Paxton> has not changed the Dodgers’ focus with the trade deadline a week away, Gomes said. Starting pitching remains the No. 1 target.
“Targeting starting pitching, but it’s going to be an impact-type arm,” Gomes said.
The Dodgers have seven days to waive, trade or release Paxton. With a number of playoff contenders in need of starting pitching (including the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros, prominently) and a thin trade market, the Dodgers could find a landing spot for Paxton that would bring back some minor return.
“I would think so,” Gomes said. “We will take the time to vet out teams and who is interested. If we didn’t see James being part of the stretch run, now there would be enough time to see what interest is out there.”
More from Gomes @TheAthletic:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5652044/2024/07/22/dodgers-james-paxton-trade-deadline/
You really think that’s going to happen?
Yes, I do.
I guess we will see. I hope they get something.
Two questions:
Why would you trade anything for him when you can get him for nothing but pro rated minimum?
Because the teams that need him, won’t be ensured to get him?
And who are the teams that need him? I get it. If a team wants him and are not high in the pecking order, they might make a deal for him. A long shot. I hope we get something for him.
I think he is a slam dunk to be traded and I would not be surprised if Freidman starts getting calls tomorrow,
Miguel Vargas vying for the Gold Glove with a huge assist from LF followed by a diving catch!!
Not sure if this has been posted here, but Fangraphs had an interview with Robert Van Scoyoc on his philosophy and hitting in general.
It’s a great read, IMHO.
This passage was particularly interesting I thought:
Laurila: There has been talk about banning shifts. If that happens, will anything change about the way you work with hitters — primarily what you’ll communicate to them?
Van Scoyoc: “Probably not. I haven’t thought a ton about it, but we’ll adapt to whatever. I mean, the highest-value batted balls are going to be driven over the infielders’ heads. We want to do that as often as possible, so I don’t think [banning shifts] would change the game all that much, particularly with how pitching is going. With how good pitchers are now, you need to drive the baseball.”
Laurila: You mentioned driving the ball over the infielders’ heads. I’ve had hitters tell me that they’ve gone from that approach to one where they’re looking to drive the ball over the center fielder’s head.
Van Scoyoc: “One is talking about an outcome and one is talking about process. From an outcome standpoint, we know that we want the ball hit in the air, somewhere above the infielders’ heads to above the outfielders’ heads, but not too high above the outfielders’ heads. The other one is more of a process to create the outcome. So, it’s a little bit apples-and-oranges. From an outcome standpoint, we want the ball driven in the air; there’s no doubt. There are guys who think, ‘Drive the ball really high; hit a fly ball,’ there are guys who think, ‘Hit a hard groundball,’ and everywhere in between. It’s about appreciating what process is going to create the optimal outcomes for each guy.”
I’ll try to find that today Bluto.
I was taught differently growing up. I bet most were. I was taught “hit line drives”. A fly ball was an out. But then, we weren’t all over 6’ and over 200 pounds. I wonder how strong the average MLB player is? We seldom hear about how much they bench, dead lift or squat. I lifted a lot for football but when baseball season came around pretty much all I did was push-ups, sit ups, pull ups and sprints. No doubt it’s different now.
Great win Dodgers!!! Can’t stand the pumpkins.
Teo what a story. He has improved so much!!! He makes a conscious effort with 2 strikes to make contact.
Yes he does
Heck of a win considering that Ohtani, Smith, Freeman, Pages, and Lux went 0 for 16.
Thank Teo. Hernandez 3, Giants 2.
4-0 out of the gate after the break. Jeff will be posting a story on Friday then he will be out for a while with his surgery. I would appreciate some story ideas you might like. I have 3 doctors appointments myself between Tuesday and the 31st. I will do game recaps if I do not have a story ready to go. I appreciate all of you guys.
And we certainly appreciate you and your contributions. I would like a recap on what happened in the 1990’s. What went wrong. We had 5 rookies of the year and really underachieved.
Great idea. I can do that.