The Dodgers head into Wednesday night trying to erase the sting of a 7-6 loss to the Mariners in the series opener, a game that turned into a home run derby with seven blasts in all, five of them by Seattle.
Los Angeles is also hoping to keep the ball in the park while setting up a return to the bullpen for Edwin Díaz. The right-hander has not pitched since April 19, when he had surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, and the Dodgers would love to have the game in hand by the time he’s needed. Wednesday is also his bobblehead night.
Before any of that can matter, though, the Dodgers need a solid outing from Eric Lauer. The lefty is lined up for what could be his last start in a Dodgers uniform, with trade chatter building ahead of next week’s deadline.
Lauer has been a stabilizing force for a rotation that needed one, but if Los Angeles gets healthier, there may not be a spot for him in October. That’s why the club could look to turn him into a prospect or two after helping get his career back on track.
Lauer has made eight appearances for the Dodgers since being designated for assignment and traded by the Toronto Blue Jays. Los Angeles has won all eight of those games, and he enters this one with a 3.35 ERA over 45.2 innings.
Seattle counters with Emerson Hancock, another pitcher whose name has come up in deadline conversations. The 27-year-old has posted a 3.16 ERA across 105.1 innings this season, with 97 strikeouts and 26 walks. With the Mariners adding more starting pitching depth, he could be used to fill another need on the roster.
The Dodgers’ lineup features Tommy Edman in the No. 5 spot, with Mookie Betts dropped to sixth. The rest of the order stays the same.
First pitch for Dodgers-Mariners on Wednesday, July 29 is set for 7:10 p.m. PT/10:10 p.m.
ET. The game will air on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app, with radio coverage on AM570 in English and KTNQ 1020 AM in Spanish.
In Other News...
Mariners Missed A Third Base Fix Fans Knew They Needed
The Mariners had a chance to address one of their most persistent lineup headaches when they were reportedly in the mix for Kazuma Okamoto, a right-handed bat with power and enough defensive reliability to handle third base. Instead, the search for stability at the hot corner has kept dragging on, with Seattle cycling through options and never quite finding the kind of everyday answer that settles a lineup and lets everyone else slide into clearer roles.
Okamoto has already shown why he drew that kind of interest, giving Toronto a productive presence at third and steady middle-of-the-order thump in his first stretch there. For Seattle, the frustration is less about one missed name than the larger truth underneath it: this is still a team trying to patch together a position that should have been solved long before the season reached this point. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Finally Have A Real Fix For Their Biggest Hole
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Among the names drawing attention are Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards, two infield options who could fit Seattles needs in different ways. Lopez, in particular, looks like the cleaner match on paper because of his right-handed bat and defensive value, while Edwards brings a switch-hitting profile that could appeal in a different role. The Mariners do not have to act quickly, but the fact that Miami is even listening gives Seattle a real avenue to explore as the deadline approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Finally Face The Tradeoff Fans Knew Was Coming
The Mariners have spent much of the season with a starting staff that looks almost unfair on paper, a six-man group built around Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Luis Castillo, with Emerson Hancock rounding out the mix. It is the kind of rotation depth that gives Seattle a chance to survive almost any night, and it has only been reinforced by the fact that two more Mariners starters just landed inside the top 10 of a recent Just Baseball Top-100 Prospect Rankings update.
But the same pitching surplus that makes the staff so enviable also creates a familiar front-office dilemma, because the club still has obvious offensive needs to sort through. Hancocks name has already surfaced in trade chatter as the type of arm that could help Seattle address that imbalance, and with so many starters pushing for innings, the Mariners may soon have to decide whether to keep the rotation intact or use that depth to fill a different hole. [Read more 🡒]