Dodgers Preview: History can be Made this Week as Dodgers Welcome White Sox for Three

LOS ANGELES, CA—After wrapping up a six-game road trip that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers collect five victories, the team will return home to Dodger Stadium for a six-game homestand in the first week of July.

First up for a short three-game interleague series is the Chicago White Sox.

The Dodgers finished off their best month of the season, going 17-10 in June despite having Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit a combined .220 and missing multiple pitchers on their staff.

The Dodgers roll into July winners of seven of their last ten games and have grown their National League West lead to a season-high 7.5 games over the San Diego Padres and eight games over the San Francisco Giants.

However, the spotlight is on Clayton Kershaw for this series as the lefty will enter his Wednesday start just three strikeouts away from three thousand.

After a dominant six-inning performance at Coors Field last week, the future Hall of Fame left-hander collected five punchouts, pushing him close to the career milestone.

If successful, Kershaw will become just the third left-handed pitcher to reach the mark, joining Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, and CC Sabathia.

Pitching match-ups

Game One: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-6, 2.61 ERA) vs Shane Smith (3-5, 3.38 ERA)

Game Two: Clayton Kershaw (LHP) (4-0, 3.03 ERA) vs Sean Burke (4-7, 4.22 ERA)

Game Three: Dustin May (4-5, 4.68 ERA) vs Aaron Civale (1-4, 4.74 ERA)

Game Times

Game One: 7:10 PM PT, SportsNet LA, CHSN, MLB Network (out-of-market-only)

Game Two: 7:10 PM PT, SportsNet LA, CHSN, MLB Network (out-of-market-only)

Game Three: 7:10 PM PT, SportsNet LA, CHSN

Who’s in & who’s out?

Over the last month, the Dodgers ’ injured list has shrunk, a good sign as the team enters the Dog Days of summer.

Over the weekend, the team activated right-handed relief pitcher Edgardo Henriquez off the 60-day injured list. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers DFA’d veteran righty Luis García.

However, the Dodgers opted to keep Henriquez in the minors with Triple-A OKC, rather than a promotion to the Major League club.

Tyler Glasnow made his second rehab start this past Friday with mixed results. The righty allowed five runs on seven hits but averaged around 97-98 mph with his fastball.

Glasnow was slated to attempt four innings but only made it one out in the third. Due to that, he’ll likely need two more rehab outings rather than just the initial three, as previously thought.

According to Dodgers insider David Vassegh, left-handed starting pitcher Blake Snell threw a thirty-six-pitch bullpen session over the weekend at Dodger Stadium. Snell’s next steps could be facing hitters this week.

Roki Sasaki, 23, has continued his throwing progression, but little else has changed for the right-hander regarding a timeline for his return.

60-day Injured List (11): Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips

If there’s one team banged up just as badly as the Dodgers, it might be the White Sox.

Coming into this three-game weekday series, the White Sox have eleven total players on the injured list, along with several pitchers who are out due to a UCL injury or surgery.

On the position player side, former American League All-Star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. is expected to miss the next several weeks due to a left hamstring strain.

Robert Jr., 27, is expected to be a top trade candidate again this deadline, but he may not get a chance to prove his value for Chicago with the Major League Trade Deadline just thirty days away.

Left-handed pitcher Jared Shuster landed on the 15-day injured list due to a blister on his pitching hand. The lefty allowed four runs iJune 4thning on June 4th against the Detroit Tigers and has not thrown a ball since.

Another injured Southpaw for the White Sox is Cam Booser, whose return is to be determined after suffering a left shoulder strain in mid-June.

The lefty underwent imaging that found no structural damage, but the White Sox wanted to give Booser a chance to rest and recover.

10-day Injured List (1): Luis Robert Jr.

15-day Injured List (3): Jared Shuster, Davis Martin, Cam Booser

60-day Injured List (7): Jesse Scholtens, Ky Bush, Prelander Berroa, Drew Thorpe, Martín Pérez, Fraser Ellard, Miguel Castro

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