Cody Snavely
Happy Monday, Dodgers fans! The Los Angeles Dodgers Dodgers finished their six-game homestand this past week facing off against two teams from the state of Pennslyvania, the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
After a disappointing start to the homestand, the Dodgers, despite winning the opening game of the three-game set with the Phillies, dropped the next two embarrassingly, losing more than just two games and being bullied on the field.
However, the team would rebound well, sweeping the National League wild-card contending Pittsburgh Pirates, beating two of their best starters in Mitch Keller and Paul Skenes.
However, there is much to catch up on, such as injury updates to numerous players, Betts reverting to right field, the status of River Ryan, and more in the latest Dodgers Notes from DodgersBeat.
Week recap (8/5/2024-8/11/2024)
Phillies Recap: For the second time this month and the first time post-all-star break, the two best teams in the National League would meet for a three-game series, this time in Chavez Ravine between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.
Entering the series, the Phillies and Dodgers were both playing some rough baseball, each watching their division leads fall. However, the Dodgers were in the same situation that they had in Philly; only a few games separated the two for the best record in the National League.
As we know, the Dodgers were swept out of the City of Brotherly Love and ended that road trip with only one win in six games.
This time, the Dodgers had their 2024 ace Tyler Glasnow back off the injured list, veteran lefty Clayton Kershaw, and Gavin Stone, who would get his second crack at the Phillies this season.
However, despite an opening series win thanks to a string performance by Glasnow, the Dodgers dropped the next two games and lost embarrassingly.
With the two extra wins, the Phillies now hold the tiebreaker in the National League, winning five of their six games against Los Angeles this season.
- Game One: 5-3, W
- Game Two: 2-6, L
- Game Three: 4-9, L
Pirates Recap: From welcoming the City of Brotherly Love to welcoming the Steel City as the Pittsburgh Pirates would visit Chavez Ravine for a short three-game set, and with the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres continuing to win, these were three must-win games.
The Dodgers faced a tough task in the first two games, facing off against the Pirates’ two best starters, Mitch Keller and rookie Paul Skenes.
The offense would handle both and would get the best of Skenes, who has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball since his callup earlier this season.
Gavin Lux continued his hot second half, collecting three hits in three games with three RBI, and Tyler Glasnow went seven strong innings on Sunday, which went a long way as the game headed into extra innings.
Despite the Dodgers failing to capitalize on multiple scoring opportunities, Teoscar Hernández would save the day, hitting a single, which would drive in the winning run, completing the sweep for the Dodgers.
- Game One: 9-5, W
- Game Two: 4-1, W
- Game Three: 6-5, W
Injury Notes
With the Summer starting to come to a close with the Major League Baseball regular season approaching mid-August, the Los Angeles Dodgers are getting healthy at the right time.
Kicking off on the offensive side of things, the Dodgers are expected to activate Mookie Betts off the 15-day injured list during their series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Betts has been out since June 16th after fracturing his hand on a hit by a pitch during the series final on Father’s Day, with an initial six to eight-week timetable for a return.
Over the last few weeks, Betts has begun to catch, field, swing a bat off a tee, and, over this past week, take live at-bats and hit off a high-velocity machine.
Despite missing nearly two months, Betts will not need any rehab games and instead opted for simulated at-bats and fielding drills. Interestingly enough, despite Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stating that Betts would return to shortstop, the team changed their tune on Friday, announcing Betts would return to right field a position. The 31-year-old has six Gold Glove Awards.
Shortly after Betts is activated, the Los Angeles Dodgers are also preparing to activate third baseman Max Muncy and newly acquired utilityman Tommy Edman from the 60-day injured list.
Muncy, 33, has been out most of the season, getting placed on the 15-day injured list due to an oblique injury that was considered minor, in the words of Dave Roberts.
However, after weeks without any improvement, the Dodgers opted to transfer Muncy to the 60-day injured list to create more roster flexibility while he was out for an extended period of time.
After multiple updates, the return of Max Muncy to the Dodgers lineup seemed bleak, but after a visit to a chiropractor, Muncy has made exponential progress and is currently on a rehab assignment in Triple-A OKC.
Edman, who was acquired by the Dodgers in a three-team trade prior to the trade deadline, has not appeared at all this season. The utility switch hitter has been on the 60-day injured list due to offseason wrist surgery and a sore ankle.
The Dodgers, who have struggled on defense in a few spots this season, such as center field and shortstop, are counting on Edman to pick up the slack when he returns. Edman has been a league-average hitter in his career, posting a 99 wRC+, and will also give the Dodgers a more consistent bat in the bottom third of their order.
Edman is also with Muncy in Triple-A OKC, and according to Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Freidman should rejoin the Dodgers on their next homestand on Monday, August 19th.
On the pitching side, the Dodgers suffered another blow in the starting rotation, losing young right-handed pitcher River Ryan to a UCL sprain, ending his 2024 season.
Ryan showcased in his short stint in Los Angeles why he was considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, posting a 1.33 ERA in four starts.
The Dodgers still do not know Ryan’s next steps, but Tommy John Surgery seems likely.
In his absence, the Dodgers have recalled righty Landon Knack, who has made a few brief appearances with the club this season, pitching to a 3.07 ERA and 4.00 SIERA. He has a 3.97 ERA in 59 innings at Triple-A. While he is primarily a starting pitcher, he will join L.A. as additional bullpen depth, with Walker Buehler rejoining the club on Wednesday in Milwaukee.
Speaking of Buehler, the right-handed pitcher will rejoin the Dodgers starting rotation this Wednesday after being placed on the 15-day injured list back in June due to hip discomfort.
At that time, Buehler went to a private complex in Florida to work on his mechanics away from the Dodgers coaching staff but would rejoin the club a few weeks ago to begin his rehab assignment.
On August 8th, Buehler pitched five and one-third innings, striking out five batters while only allowing one run, and maxed out at 96mph.
Right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has been out since mid-June, has begun throwing bullpens and could start a rehab assignment in the coming weeks to hopefully rejoin the Dodgers rotation in September.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has thrown two bullpen sessions in the last week and a half and will throw another bullpen session on Tuesday. Roberts said after that, Yamamoto will join the team in St. Louis next weekend to face live hitters.
Ryan Braiser, who has been on his own rehab assignment, could rejoin the Dodgers in their upcoming road trip or their next homestand. He has looked dominant in six minor league appearances thus far and, with the final box to check to be a multi-inning appearance, will likely rejoin the team in St. Louis, according to Dave Roberts.
River Ryan’s 2024 season is over
The Dodgers suffered a massive blow in their starting rotation with young right-handed pitching prospect Rivery Ryan being placed on the 15-day injured list due to right forearm tightness.
After yesterday’s game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts updated Ryan’s status, stating that the righty had a strained UCL and that the next steps would be determined at a later date but reiterated that the young prospect season is over.
Ryan is highly regarded as one of the Dodgers’ top pitching prospects if not one of the best in baseball. Despite a shoulder injury earlier in the year, he has performed exceptionally well since his return, with a 2.66 ERA in Triple-A and a 1.33 ERA in his first four major league starts.
For more on River Ryan, be sure to check out the article here.
Betts moving back to right field, hitting in two-hole
The upcoming seven-game road trip is exciting for multiple reasons, but perhaps the biggest is Mookie Betts’ return to the Dodgers lineup.
Betts has been out since June 16th, when the then National League Most Valuable Player frontrunner was hit by a pitch on his non-throwing hand. The pitch ultimately fractured his hand, putting him on the shelf for six to eight weeks.
Fast-forward to now, and the Dodgers will finally activate their star, but he will be in two different spots compared to the beginning of the season.
Betts, who was slated to be the Dodgers’ full-time second baseman but was then shifted to the full-time shortstop after the Dodgers brass got cold feet on the thought of Gavin Lux there, will return as the Dodgers’ full-time right fielder, a position he has not played at all in 2024.
However, right field is not a stranger to Mookie Betts, who has won six Gold Glove Awards in his career at the corner outfield position. According to Dave Roberts, the move back there gives the Dodgers their best chance to win.
Betts will not only shift back to right field but will also now hit in the Dodgers’ two-hole lineup behind Shohei Ohtani and before Freddie Freeman.
This allows Dave Roberts and the Dodgers to break up the left-handed bats in the Dodgers order with Betts allowing it to go lefty-righty-lefty.
Betts made some interesting comments about his drop in the order this past week, which sparked much debate about whether the former 2018 American League MVP is a bit bitter about the situation.
There’s nothing really you can say; whatever Shohei says goes, and after that, we kind of fall in line.
In his career, Betts has played ninety-one games in the two-hole, hitting .307/.390/.488 with a .927 OPS and has a .991 fielding percentage in right field compared to a .986 at shortstop, so both changes will benefit the Dodgers immensely.
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