Cody Snavely
For the second time in four weeks, the two top teams in the National League will be battling it out again, this time in Chavez Ravine. The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game set to kick off their six-game homestand.
In their first meeting of the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season, the Phillies outplayed the Dodgers in all facets of the game, including starting pitching, the bullpen, and offense. They were better in every category, and they embarrassed the Dodgers by sweeping them out of Philadelphia.
The Dodgers, who were having an awful week of baseball heading into the all-star break, only winning one of their final six games on their road trip, started the second half off hot, sweeping the Boston Red Sox and taking three of four against their National League West rival San Fransisco Giants.
However, despite losing back-to-back series against the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers rebounded well, taking two of three against the Oakland A’s, giving them nine wins in fifteen games played.
While their lead in the National League West has gone down, they still maintain a respectable 4.5-game lead over the Padres, who have been red hot over their last ten games, winning eight.
The Phillies’ downward spiral has outrivaled the Dodgers’ struggles since July, as the team traveling to Los Angeles today is not playing anywhere close to the team that swept them at Citizens Bank Park.
Since July 1st, the Phillies have played under .500, winning only eleven of their twenty-seven games played, and have seen offensive struggles with Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Alec Bohm, along with a team ERA of 5.47 ERA while allowing forty-three home runs.
The Phillies currently hold a 1.5-game lead over the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. Unlike last time, they will be with two of their top starting pitchers, Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw. They will likely have Freddie Freeman back after he was placed on the family emergency list during the Astros series.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Tyler Glasnow (8-6, 3.50 ERA) vs Aaron Nola (11-4, 3.43 ERA)
Game Two: Clayton Kershaw (LHP) (0-1, 5.87 ERA) vs Cristopher Sánchez (LHP) (7-7, 3.36 ERA)
Game Three: Gavin Stone (9-5, 3.63 ERA) vs Tyler Phillips (3-1, 4.39 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, NBCSP,
Game Two: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, NBCSP
Game Three: 7:10 PM PT, SNLA, NBCSP
Who’s in & who’s out?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to activate multiple key players for the month of August and possibly for this three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies.
First up is Freddie Freeman, who has been out for eight games, missing the entire road trip as he was placed on the family emergency list before the Houston Astros series.
Thankfully, Maximus Freeman was released from the hospital on Sunday, and Freddie Freeman could rejoin the team as soon as today or sometime during this homestand.
Despite the positive news about Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, and Max Muncy, neither player will be active during this series. However, of the three, Betts’ return seems likely to be during the next road trip. As Dave Roberts stated, Betts is targeting an August 12th return.
Three pitchers who could return at any point this week are Ryan Brasier, Brusdar Graterol, and Michael Grove. They have all been pitching minor league games during their rehab assignments.
Roberts stated that Grove would be the first of the three to be activated and revert to a multi-inning bullpen arm similar to what left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough gave the Dodgers before being DFA’d and traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Walker Buehler will make one more start in Triple-A OKC but will not be activated for this series, and neither will Bobby Miller, who was shut down due to another injury.
The Phillies, unlike the Dodgers, are relatively healthy. Most, if not all, of their full-time starters in the rotation and lineup are active.
In their first meeting earlier in July, the Phillies activated first baseman Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber off the 10-day injured list, and over the last few weeks, they have also activated catcher J. T. Realmuto.
The Phillies’ three major injuries, however, are all in the starting rotation. Right-handed pitchers Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull, along with left-handed pitcher Ranger Suárez, are on the 15-day injured list.
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