Cody Snavely
Happy Monday, Dodgers fans! The Los Angeles Dodgers wrapped up another impressive week of baseball, splitting a two-game series with their Freeway rival in the American League West, the Los Angeles Angels, and taking two of three against the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians.
However, despite the weekly recap, there is plenty of Dodgers news to catch up on as we enter the last three-week stretch of the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season.
Week recap (9/3/2024-9/8/2024)
Angels Recap: The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their streak of American League matchups the last two weeks, this time facing off the Los Angeles Angels for a short two-game series to wrap up the Freeway Series.
Game one would belong to the Dodgers and Walker Buehler, and the Dodgers bullpen would hold the Angels offense to just two runs in ten innings of work.
The drama was high as the Angels were still well within the game, only down one run in the top of the tenth inning, and opted to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani to face Mookie Betts, which blew up in their faces as Betts would hammer a clutch three-run home run to give the Dodgers a four-run lead.
However, the Dodgers would settle with a split as the pitching would blow up in this one, with the Angels dropping ten runs on the day.
- Game One: 6-2, W
- Game Two: 1-10, L
Guardians Recap: After settling for a two-game split with the Los Angeles Angels, the Dodgers returned home to kick off a six-game homestand welcoming the Cleveland Guardians.
The Dodgers would lose more than just a game to kick off the series, as prior to the game, the Dodgers announced that right-handed pitcher Gavin Stone would be placed on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation. During the game, the Dodgers would lose Teoscar Hernández to a hit by a pitch in his foot, which would sideline him for the rest of the series.
However, the Dodgers would rebound well, winning the next two games thanks to an outstanding performance by the Dodgers bullpen and offense in game two and right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty in game three as the righty went 7.1 innings of shutout baseball.
The Dodgers would end Sunday in the 103-degree heat with a 4-0 win and, after a San Diego Padres loss, are now six games ahead in the standings.
- Game One: 1-3, L
- Game Two: 7-2, W
- Game Three: 4-0, W
Injury Notes
The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to activate two vital right-handed pitchers prior to their three-game series with the Chicago Cubs.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 26, has been out since mid-June due to a strained rotator cuff injury that landed him on the 15-day injured list; however, the Dodgers ultimately transferred him to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man for other players in his absence.
The Dodgers plan on activating Yamamoto tomorrow to start game two of a three-game series with the Cubs. Yamamoto made two rehab starts for the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City Baseball Club, each with mixed results. Still, the main thing was that he averaged 94.5mph on his fastball and came out of each outing healthy.
With Yamamoto being on the 60-day injured list, the Dodgers will need to make a corresponding roster move to add him back to the 40-man roster along with the active 26-man roster.
The Dodgers are also set to activate right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol off the 15-day injured list after missing a month with a minor hamstring injury against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Graterol will be a nice addition to a Dodgers bullpen that is lacking starting pitching depth and with October on the horizon.
According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Teoscar Hernández is also set to return to the Dodgers lineup either tonight or tomorrow. Hernández missed the final two games of the three-game series against the Guardians due to a left foot contusion after his first-inning hit by a pitch on Friday night.
Originally, the Dodgers feared the worst for Hernández, but after X-rays and an MRI scan revealed no fractures or damage, the Dodgers dodged a massive bullet.
Right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow threw a twenty-five-pitch bullpen session over the weekend, came out of it feeling fine, and is set to throw another bullpen this week during the Cubs series incorporating more pitches. If all goes well, the next step would be to face live hitters and a potential simulated game prior to any activation before the end of the regular season.
Veteran left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw is still nursing a bone spur in his left big toe and was seen in a walking boot. He hopes to return before the regular season is over like Glasnow, but with only nineteen games remaining, it will be difficult.
The Dodgers also suffered another massive blow to their starting rotation, losing depletable right-handed pitcher Gavin Stone due to shoulder inflammation and being placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday.
Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman stated the team will shut down Stone from throwing for ten calendar days and will reevaluate then.
When asked if Stone would be available before the end of the regular season and the postseason, Friedman was unsure. In the meantime, expect right-handed pitchers Landon Knack and Bobby Miller to continue getting starts until the end of the year.
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