Cody Snavely
Happy Monday, Dodgers fans! The Los Angeles Dodgers capped off what was an eventful second-to-last week of the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season. The team finished off their seven-game East Coast road trip in Miami, which saw the offense explode, including Ohtani reaching the 50/50 mark.
After that, the team returned home for a massive six-game homestand against two National League West foes: The Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres.
However, the Dodgers would also provide multiple injury updates on key players along with a few major roster moves that transpired over the week that will catch up on in the latest Dodgers Notes.
Week recap (9/17/2024-9/22/2024)
Marlins Recap: After settling for a series split in Atlanta against the Braves, the Dodgers continued their road trip with a three-game series in Miami to take on the Marlins, who entered the series in last place in the National League East.
The Dodgers, who are in a tight division race with the San Diego Padres only a few games back, had a six-game stretch against two bottom-dweller teams and needed to take full advantage of that weak schedule.
The Dodgers’ offense was excellent the entire series, scoring six runs or more in five straight games, including a twenty-run outburst in the series finale. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani went six-for-six with three home runs, ten RBIs, and two stolen bases, putting him in the 50/50 club, the first major league player to do so.
However, the starting pitching, with the exception of Landon Knack and Jack Flaherty, was a cause for concern. Bobby Miller‘s two-inning stint before being sent back down to Triple-A OKC highlighted the challenges the team faced. Despite this, the Boys in Blue managed to secure a decent road trip, winning four of the seven games.
- Game One: 9-11, L
- Game Two: 8-4, W
- Game Three: 20-4, W
Rockies Recap: After a seven-game road trip, the Los Angeles Dodgers returned home for their final regular season homestand, kicking off a three-game set with the last-place Colorado Rockies.
With the San Diego Padres playing the Chicago White Sox and the Dodgers leading in the National League West by just four games, each game seemed like must-win territory.
The Dodgers would take the first game of the series with a bullpen game, something that we might see in October due to the Dodgers’ starting rotation taking a massive hit late into the season. However, they would drop game two as Walker Buehler, despite collecting nine strikeouts, would allow four runs in a 3-6 loss.
On Sunday, with the Padres sweeping the White Sox, their division lead sat at 2.5 games, and it looked like, for most of the game, the Dodgers would drop it down to two until the lineup started to push across some clutch runs. The Dodgers would pull within one run in the bottom of the ninth inning. They would waste no time taking the lead and winning the game as Ohtani and Mookie Betts would go back-to-back, giving the Dodgers a thrilling walk-off win, hoping to take that momentum to their next series.
- Game One: 6-4, W
- Game Two: 3-6, L
- Game Three: 6-5, W
Injury Notes
As the Los Angeles Dodgers enter their final week of the regular season, they have provided plenty of injury updates regarding the starting rotation and some options in the minor leagues that could possibly rejoin the team for October.
Prior to game one of the Colorado Rockies series, right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow spoke to the media for the first time since the team announced that the righties’ season was over due to an elbow sprain.
Glasnow expressed his frustration that he would not be able to make an impact during October, as that was the sole purpose the Dodgers traded for him and gave him a pricy extension. Glasnow stated that he does not believe he would need surgery this offseason but admitted he would get more scans in the coming weeks and go from there.
Moving forward, Glasnow hopes to work with his coaches and medical team to address potential mechanical adjustments. His focus is on finding ways to make his delivery more efficient and reduce the stress on his elbow. “I have a long extension and put a lot of stress on my arm,” he explained. By analyzing his mechanics, he hopes to alleviate some of the strain that could contribute to these recurring injuries.
Despite the season-ending injury, it was a career year for Glasnow, who set a new career high in innings pitched, strikeouts, and games started. Hopefully, he can avoid surgery and rejoin the Dodgers’ starting rotation in the 2025 season.
Veteran left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw threw an eighty-pitch bullpen in Miami and was seen again throwing during the three-game series with the Rockies. Kershaw is still highly unlikely to return during the regular season, as only six games remain, but the lefty will rejoin the Dodgers in the postseason with an undecided role.
Left-handed relief pitcher Anthony Banda, who injured his hand a few weeks back, is set to possibly return to the Dodgers in their final week of the regular season after rehabbing the injury at the team’s Arizona complex. With the minor league season over for the Dodgers affiliates, Banda will not need a rehab assignment.
Gonsolin made his third rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on September 21st, and it was his best one yet. The right-hander tossed three hitless innings and struck out six, needing just forty-five pitches to complete the outing.
Gonsolin could be an option to pitch in the final series of the regular season at Coors Field, but the Dodgers will wait until he goes through his next bullpen session before determining the next steps. He could be an option for the Dodgers in the postseason also.
Right-handed pitcher Gavin Stone, who was placed on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation, has still not thrown a baseball after the team planned on him doing so in Miami.
Stone is still experiencing soreness, and given where the Dodgers are this season, with the final stretch of games upon them, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated it is highly unlikely we will see Stone again this season, a massive blow to the Dodgers’ postseason hopes.
Dodgers veteran backup catcher Austin Barnes will likely remain on the 10-day injured list due to another fractured toe that he suffered on September 15th. The injury will likely keep Barnes out for the rest of the regular season, but the Dodgers are hopeful he’ll return in time to serve as the team’s backup in the postseason.
Max Muncy was scratched from Sunday’s lineup as he deals with general body soreness, according to manager Dave Roberts. Muncy is fully expected to be back in the lineup for the highly anticipated series opener against the Padres on Tuesday, but it is something to keep an eye on in the final stretch.
Finally, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has continued his throwing program as he rehabs from Tommy John Surgery, which he had late last season. The idea of Ohtani pitching in the postseason has been a hot topic in recent weeks, with the Dodgers stating that the book is not one hundred percent closed.
However, the team and Ohtani are set to meet this weekend before the end of the regular season to discuss the following steps to his rehab program and whether he should be built up to pitch meaningful innings down the stretch.
Dodgers General Manager Brandon Gomes, however, threw cold water on the idea in an interview with MLB Network’s Brian Kenny. “That feels very unlikely right now,” he told Kenny. I think he’s just going through his throwing progression, and he feels really good, which is important, but at this point, I don’t see him pitching in the postseason.”
It remains to be seen how the Dodgers will fare in October, but if an opportunity comes up down the stretch, perhaps in the World Series, what would be more of a Hollywood ending with Ohtani potentially getting the last out?
Ohtani reaches 50/50
It has been quite the week for Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who became the first Major League Baseball player to join the 50/50 club in the Dodgers’ 20-4 win on Thursday, September 19th, over the Miami Marlins.
On the day, Ohtani went a solid six-for-six with three home runs, two doubles, two stolen bases, ten RBIs, and seventeen total bases.
On the same day, Ohtani also broke the Dodgers’ single-season home run record, which had been held by Shawn Green at forty-nine since the 2004 season, the most RBI in a single game in Dodgers history at ten, the most extra-base hits by a Dodger in a single season, and finally clinched a postseason berth for the first time in his career with the win.
Ohtani has been unstoppable over his last four games, hitting .778 (14-for-18) with five home runs, thirteen RBIs, and thirty-one total bases in that span, which was also capped off with a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
With six games remaining, including the final three games at hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver, Ohtani currently sits at 53/55, with 55/55 well within reach. We will see how far Ohtani goes in this final stretch of a historic first season with the Dodgers.
For more on the Ohtani 50/50 day be sure to check out our latest interview with Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play radio announcer Tim Neverett.
NL West & postseason outlook
With a win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, the Dodgers enter today’s Monday off day with a three-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres and a one-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in Major League Baseball and the top seed in the National League.
With six games remaining, the Los Angeles Dodgers have already clinched a postseason berth for the twelfth straight season, dating back to the 2013 season. The third-longest stretch behind the 1990s New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.
However, the Dodgers have not yet clinched the National League West division title, and their magic number to do so is four games.
Entering their three-game series with the Padres, all the Dodgers have to do is win at least two games, and the division will be theirs for the eleventh time in twelve years.
Currently, the only team to clinch a division in the National League is the Milwaukee Brewers, who officially became champions of the National League Central. Here is how the National League seeding stands as of September 23rd, 2024.
- NLW: Los Angeles Dodgers (93-63) x
- NLE: Philadelphia Phillies (92-64) x
- NLC: Milwaukee Brewers (89-67) y
- WC1: San Diego Padres (90-66)
- WC2: New York Mets (87-69)
- WC3: Arizona Diamondbacks (87-69)
x- Postseason berth y- Clinched division
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