The Dodgers are closing out the first half with a familiar kind of edge: 60 wins already in hand, a 14.5-game cushion over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and one more series before the break.
Shohei Ohtani is lined up for his final start before the All-Star break, which means he will not pitch in the Mid-Summer Classic. His outing was pushed back from Wednesday because he is still dealing with lingering health issues.
Arizona is sending Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound, and he’s already given the Dodgers plenty to think about this season. He has faced Los Angeles twice and allowed just one run across 11 innings.
Rodriguez owns a 2.25 ERA overall, and over his last three appearances he’s posted a 1.37 ERA while walking only three batters. He’s also held opponents to two or fewer runs in 14 of his 18 starts.
Ohtani hasn’t been quite as sharp over his last three starts, giving up three runs, then two, then four. Two of those outings were quality starts, but that’s a step down from the way he opened the season. Still, when he saw the Diamondbacks in June, he was dominant, allowing only two hits over six shutout innings.
The Diamondbacks enter at 46-47 and are tied with the San Diego Padres for second place in the NL West after splitting a four-game series in San Diego.
Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll continue to pace Arizona’s offense, while the Dodgers’ bats have been a little quiet lately. If Rodriguez keeps dealing the way he has, he could make that lineup work for everything it gets.
This is also the Dodgers’ final home series until July 28, with a 10-game East Coast road trip waiting after the All-Star break.
In Other News...
Blake Snell Just Gave Dodgers Fans A Reason To Believe Again
Blake Snells recovery has moved into a more encouraging phase for the Dodgers, with the left-hander saying he feels the best he has in two years after elbow surgery and has no pain in his arm. Snell has already been facing live hitters as he works his way back from the procedure, and the next step in his return should be a rehab assignment before he tries to rejoin the starting rotation.
For a team that has had to manage plenty of pitching uncertainty, any sign that Snell is trending toward a mid-August return matters. His surgery used a NanoNeedle procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow, and while the final stretch of the comeback still has to play out, the early signs are at least giving Dodgers fans a reason to think the rotation could get a meaningful boost soon. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Trade Proposal Puts Orioles In A Tough Spot With Lefty
The Dodgers are still weighing ways to add pitching before the trade deadline, and one idea on the table would send them after a left-hander who has quietly rebuilt his value over the summer. Baltimores Trevor Rogers has looked much sharper in recent weeks, which is exactly the kind of rebound that can make a front office pause and ask whether the market price is about to rise.
For Los Angeles, the question is less about whether Rogers can help and more about how much prospect capital it should be willing to part with to get him. Jackson Ferris remains one of the organizations more intriguing young arms, while Ryan Ward has also put himself on the radar as a depth bat, so any deal built around those two would force the Dodgers to decide how aggressively they want to chase immediate rotation help. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Still Have One Lineup Problem That Could Haunt October
The Dodgers have spent much of the season trying to solve a lineup question that sits just behind Shohei Ohtani, where production has been uneven enough to keep drawing manager Dave Roberts back to the topic. The No. 2 spot is supposed to be a bridge between Ohtani and the rest of the order, but the team has rotated several accomplished hitters through it without finding much consistency, leaving a small but persistent hole in a lineup built to overwhelm opponents.
Roberts has acknowledged there may be a mental side to the job, with hitters feeling the weight of batting directly behind Ohtani, though he stopped short of saying he knows that for certain. The Dodgers are still weighing options for later in the season, including a possible look at Will Smith when he returns from injury, and the answer could matter more in October than it has in the regular season if this one spot continues to lag. [Read more 🡒]