Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers return home after a critical series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, ending their seven-game road trip. They are set to begin their nine-game homestand against three American League postseason contenders: the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and Baltimore Orioles.
The pitching-heavy Mariners, who for most of the season were leading the American League West over the defending 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers and the juggernaut Houston Astros, will start things off.
The Mariners’ offense has been a struggle most of the season, which is why they saw their lead shrink in a matter of weeks until that lead was ultimately lost. The Astros have been scorching hot since June 1st, winning 42 of their last 65 games.
The Mariners are still in postseason contention, only three games back from the final American League wild-card spot and four back from the American League West-leading Houston Astros. They made a flurry of offensive trades this deadline, bringing in Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays and former Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner from the Toronto Blue Jays.
It’ll be the first time Justin Turner returns to Chavez Ravine since the 2022 National League Division Series. Earlier this season, the Dodgers traveled to Toronto and, in 2023, went to Fenway when Turner was a member of the Boston Red Sox.
However, despite these trades, the Mariners have been under .500 since August 1st and have only won five games in their last ten.
The Dodgers return home after a successful seven-game road trip, during which they split a four-game series with the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. They also took the tie-breaker advantage over the Brew Crew in case the two would finish with the same record at the end of the season. The Dodgers also took two of three against a Cardinals team that is falling out of contention.
With their 4-3 road trip, the Dodgers maintain a three-game lead in the National League West. The Tampa Bay Rays are taking a series against the Diamondbacks, and the Rockies are playing spoiler in their series against the San Diego Padres.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Gavin Stone (10-5, 3.63 ERA) vs Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.06 ERA)
Game Two: Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.58 ERA) vs Bryce Miller (9-7, 3.29 ERA)
Game Three: Jack Flaherty (9-5, 3.06 ERA) vs Logan Gilbert (7-9, 2.96 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, ROOTNW
Game Two: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, ROOTNW, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Game Three: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, ROOTNW, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Who’s in & who’s out?
It will be a busy week for the Los Angeles Dodgers transaction page, as multiple moves are willing today.
Dave Roberts confirmed that the Dodgers would indeed be activating third baseman Max Muncy and utilityman Tommy Edman off the 60-day injured list a day earlier than anticipated due to the finger injury of Freddie Freeman.
The Dodgers must clear two spots on the 40-man and 26-man rosters to make room for both players. Last week, the Dodgers did clear a spot on the 40-man roster when Amed Rosario was DFA’d, but right-handed pitcher Ryan Brasier took back that spot after he was activated off the 60-day injured list.
The clear odd man out is veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed, whom the Dodgers signed in mid-July when Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts were both on the injured list and the team did not have a viable shortstop option.
The next 40-man spot will be interesting as the Dodgers could just transfer right-handed pitcher River Ryan to the 60-day injured list or DFA another position player such as Kevin Kiermaier.
On the 26-man roster, the Dodgers will most likely place Freddie Freeman on the 10-day injured list due to his finger injury but could also consider placing Heyward on a phantom injured list stint.
Andy Pages has two minor league options remaining and could be optioned down for the next two weeks until rosters expand from twenty-six to twenty-eight in September.
The Dodgers also have numerous players on rehab assignments, such as utilityman Chris Taylor, right-handed pitchers Connor Brogdon and Blake Treinen, and Brusdar Graterol and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who are making progress toward rehab appearances soon.
The Mariners have been hit with a few major injuries at multiple points this season, including their best player, Julio Rodríguez, who has a right ankle injury.
Rodríguez returned to the Mariners lineup on August 16, which will be a massive boost for a team looking to make the postseason and potentially win the American League West.
Mitch Haniger is also considered day-to-day after suffering a quad injury when leaping at the right-center wall on a two-run homer from Rowdy Tellez in the fourth inning of Saturday’s 7-2 loss to the Pirates. He was pulled as the Mariners took the field in the fifth before taking another at-bat after starting the game two-for-two at the plate.
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