Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off a fantastic seven-game homestand sweeping the Boston Red Sox and taking three-of-four against their National League West rival the Dodgers look to keep the good vibes rolling as they face the red-hot Houston Astros, who, despite having a sluggish start, are now in first place in the American League West.
The Dodgers stumbled into the all-star break, losing five of their last six games, but since June 1st, the team has the sixth-best record in that span, going 26-19 despite the rough July, which the team is barely over .500 with ten wins and nine losses.
The Houston Astros, who struggled out of the gate to start the 2024 regular season, were at one point barely hovering over the Oakland Athletics, but since June 1st, they have the second-best record, going 28-16 in that span and taking advantage of a weak offensive team in the Seattle Mariners leapfrogging them in the standings.
For the Dodgers, this is their final series before the July 30th Major League Baseball trade deadline as they have a Monday off day before they begin a two-game series with the San Diego Padres.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros have a tumultuous history with one another dating back to their meeting in the 2017 World Series, where the Dodgers lost in seven games, and the widely known cheating scandal that was leaked before the 2020 season.
Despite this, each franchise has owned the league as they are both perianal World Series contenders and have each made the postseason every year since 2017, with the Astros making it to the American League Championship Series seven straight years.
In that timeframe, the Dodgers have three World Series appearances, winning it all during the COVID-19 60-game season, but have yet to reach it since then, losing in the 2021 National League Championship Series and back-to-back National League Division Series losses to the Padres and Diamondbacks.
The Astros have dominated the American League since 2017, reaching the fall classic four times and winning it all again in 2022 over the Philadelphia Phillies.
However, the past is the past, and the Dodgers and Astros are both looking to keep a strong second half going as they face off for three in the Space City.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Gavin Stone (9-3, 3.19 ERA) vs Framber Valdez (8-5, 3.63 ERA)
Game Two: Justin Wrobleski (LHP) (0-1, 4.40 ERA) vs Ronel Blanco (9-5, 2.75 ERA)
Game Three: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Spencer Arrighetti (4-8, 5.65 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 5:10 PM PT, Apple TV
Game Two: 4:1 PM PT, SNLA, City Home Network
Game Three: 11:10 AM PT, SNLA, City Home Network
Who’s in & who’s out?
The Los Angeles Dodgers got plenty of reinforcements activated off the injured list this past week, with Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow returning to the starting rotation and right-handed pitcher Joe Kelly rejoining the team during the Boston Red Sox series.
However, they also lost a few players this week, starting with infielder Miguel Rojas, who is estimated to be on the injured list for a while after having right forearm inflammation after swinging a weighted bat during his all-star break workouts.
With the injury, the Dodgers immediately signed free agent shortstop Nick Ahmed after the shortstop was DFA’d by the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of the month. Ahmed is expected to get the majority of starts in the six-hole until Mookie Betts is activated off the 15-day injured list, hopefully in August.
Utility infielder Chris Taylor also landed on the injured list after hitting a double in the Dodgers’ Wednesday night loss to the Giants. Taylor was seen grimacing in pain rounding first base and ultimately left with a groin injury. There is no firm timetable for his return.
In Taylor’s place, the Dodgers have recalled outfielder James Outman, who was briefly up after veteran lefty Jason Heyward was on the injured list with a knee contusion.
In other injury news, the Dodgers will also be without right-handed pitcher Kyler Hurt for the rest of the 2024 season as he underwent season-ending Tommy John Surgery.
Right-handed pitchers Brusdar Graterol and Ryan Brasier have begun throwing again, and Graterol has already appeared in a minor league rehab appearance and could rejoin the Dodgers at the end of the month. Brasier threw a simulated game and will go on a rehab assignment in the coming weeks.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts has begun fielding groundballs without a cast or bandages on his left hand and will begin to take some dry swings this week. After that, Betts is expected to hit off a tee, take live at-bats, and hopefully return to the Dodgers lineup by mid-August.
As for the Houston Astros have been hit hard with the injury bug in 2024, specifically in their starting rotation, as they are without veteran ace Justin Verlander, Lance McCullers Jr., Cristian Javier, and José Urquidy.
On the offensive side, the Astros are still without outfielder Kyle Tucker, who, before his shin injury, was a front-runner for the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
Prior to their series against the Oakland Athletics, the Astros activated catcher Victor Caratini off the 10-day IL while also recalling Aledmys Díaz, selected from FCL Astros.
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