Dodgers Preview: Dodgers Roll to Arizona with Magic Number at Three Games
PHOENIX, AZ—Whelp, folks, we’re finally here, the final week of the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season, and your Los Angeles Dodgers still have some work to do on their final six-game road trip.
Despite the Dodgers taking three of four over the weekend, they have yet to clinch their fourth straight National League West title, with their Magic Number being just three games heading into tonight’s game.
Still, the Dodgers did clinch their 13th straight postseason berth with Friday’s win on the final Kershaw Day at Dodger Stadium and will have a challenging task over their final six games of the regular season.
First up on the gauntlet, the Dodgers will head to Phoenix, Arizona, to clash with their NL West rival, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are still just one game back of the final National League Wild Card spot.
That spot has major implications for the Dodgers as they’re currently on pace to secure the number three seed in the National League, forcing them to play a three-game Wild Card series against the winner of the number six seed.
The Diamondbacks have been one of the hottest teams in baseball with an 11-7 record since the start of September and winners of seven of their last ten games, including taking two of three versus Philadelphia over the weekend.
The Dodgers, however, have also been playing good baseball, winners of six of their last ten games, and are just two wins shy of ninety on the year and another NL West title.
The Dodgers’ bullpen, which struggled yet again with right-handed relief pitcher Blake Treinen allowing three runs to score on Sunday in the Dodgers’ 3-1 loss to San Francisco, will have some reinforcements with the return of Brock Stewart and Roki Sasaki.
The season series is dead even, with each club having five wins each, so the winner of this series will also win the season series.
After the Dodgers took five of the seven games versus San Francisco, they pretty much ended all hope the Giants had for a postseason appearance this season. If they can bring that same energy to Arizona, they can also end their postseason hopes.
Game One: Shohei Ohtani (1-1, 3.29 ERA) vs Brandon Pfaadt (13-8, 5.02 ERA)
Game Two: Blake Snell (LHP) (5-4, 2.44 ERA) vs Ryne Nelson (7-3, 3.34 ERA)
Game Three: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8, 2.58 ERA) vs Zac Gallen (13-14, 4.70 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 6:40 PM PT, SportsNet LA, Dback.TV
Game Two: 6:40 PM PT, SportsNet LA, Dback.TV
Game Three: 12:40 PM PT, SportsNet LA, Dback.TV
Who’s in & Who’s Out?
As mentioned earlier, the Dodgers are expected to activate right-handers Roki Sasaki and Brock Stewart this week in Arizona, with each arm vying for a spot in the bullpen for the postseason.
Sasaki, 23, has been out since mid-May after suffering a right shoulder dislocation, and the team is using the benefit of the 60-day injured list for the right-hander to tweak some of his mechanics before his return.
Now, after nearly three months on the shelf, Sasaki will rejoin the Dodgers, this time in the bullpen rather than the starting rotation. Sasaki made two appearances out of the bullpen for the Triple-A OKC Comets; both of them were scoreless.
Stewart has been on the 15-day injured list since early August for a similar shoulder issue, and after receiving multiple rounds of injections, he began his minor league rehab assignment last week and made three appearances, each one of them scoreless.
Another name that could rejoin the team this week is right-hander Kyle Hurt, who has posted a 1.93 ERA across nine appearances with the Comets on his rehab assignment.
All-Star catcher Will Smith’s regular season is more than likely over after a second MRI scan showed a microfracture in his upper right hand, an injury suffered after a foul ball hit it in early September.
Smith still has trouble hitting and throwing, and his status for the first round of the postseason is “up in the air”, per Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
In the meantime, catcher Ben Rortvedt will get the bulk of starts with Dalton Rushing serving as the backup.
The Dodgers also placed right-hander Michael Kopech back on the 15-day injured list, with Roberts and Kopech stating it’s due to multiple issues. Kopech could be an option for the bullpen in October, but that remains TBD.
Another arm that likely won’t return this season is right-hander Bursdar Grateol, who, according to President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, is unlikely to return this season after rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery following last year’s Fall Classic.
Day-to-day (00):
10-day Injured List (1): Will Smith
15-day Injured List (1): Brock Stewart
60-day Injured List (8): Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Evan Phillips
The Diamondbacks have been hit hard by the injury bug this season, with nine players on the 60-day injured list, and most recently losing one of their top players, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., due to a torn right ACL.
First baseman Tyler Locklear is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering left elbow inflammation. Locklear’s most recent tests came back inconclusive and put a damper on any comeback.
Juan Burgos‘ season is also likely over after the right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list with right forearm inflammation.
Day-to-day (00):
10-day Injured List (2): Tyler Locklear, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
15-day Injured List (1): Juan Burgos
60-day Injured List (9): Blake Walston, Corbin Burnes, Tommy Henry, Justin Martinez, Christian Montes De Oca, Christian Mena, A.J. Puk, Kevin Ginkel, Pavin Smith
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