The Dodgers catching depth chart is as thin as it’s ever been in years at the moment. Dalton Rushing, who is filling in for Will Smith on regular duties this weekend, fouled a ball off his right leg in the sixth inning on Friday night and had to be helped off the field.
The team during the game announced Rushing has a lower left leg contusion.
Rushing fouled a ball off his leg with two outs in the sixth inning and immediately crumpled to the ground, and was writhing in pain. Manager Dave Roberts and assistant athletic director Yosuke Nakajima ran to home plate to check on Rushing, and both ultimately had to help him back to the cluhouse, to avoid putting weight on his right leg.
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Alex Call was brought in to pinch-hit for Rushing and finish the at-bat, and struck out. Ben Rortvedt, the only healthy catcher remaining on the roster, was brought into catch in the bottom of the inning.
The Dodgers are already expected to be without Smith all weekend, after he took a foul ball off his right hand on Wednesday against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Depending on the extent of Rushing’s injury, if the Dodgers plan to call another catcher up for coverage at least through this weekend, Chuckie Robinson is probably the most likely option in Triple-A Oklahoma City. Robinson, who was claimed off waivers on May 31, has since been outrighted off the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move would need to be made for Robinson to be added to the 40-man roster. Rortvedt was in a similar situation before getting added to the roster on Thursday.
Robinson started at catcher for Oklahoma City on Friday night in Sugar Land, Texas, and was removed in the eighth inning, more than an hour after Rushing’s injury.
Here is every minor league optional assignment used by the Dodgers during the 2025 season.
A player getting sent to the minors will also be tracked on our 40-man roster page, but we’ll pay special attention to options here because there are limits on how many can be used per player per season.
Major League rule 7(d) states that a player cannot be optioned to the minors more than five times during a single season. If a player who has been optioned five times is called back to the majors, they cannot be sent back down to the minors without being placed on waivers first.
For purposes of the option limit, only moves after domestic opening day count. So the Dodgers’ option of Justin Wrobleski, then the options of James Outman, Landon Knack, and Matt Sauer during and after the Tokyo Series don’t count toward the limit.
During the 2024 season, the only Dodger to be optioned five times during the season was pitcher Justin Wrobleski, which was especially prolific considering the left-hander didn’t debut in the majors until July 7.
For this season, you can click on the dates in the table below for more detailed information on each transaction.
Note: if you are on a mobile device, this table will show up best in landscape mode.
Click on date for more information on each transaction
Player Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 Option 5 CJ Alexander June 4* Luken Baker May 8* Alex Call Justin Dean Alexis Díaz May 1* Jul 9 Aug 20 Nick Frasso Alex Freeland Sep 4 Paul Gervase Jul 8* Aug 2 Aug 21 Edgardo Henriquez Jun 29 Jul 27 Will Klein Apr 17* Jun 3 Jun 26 Jul 27 Landon Knack Apr 16 Jun 6 Bobby Miller Apr 17 May 25 Nick Nastrini Zach Penrod May 27* Esteury Ruiz Aug 7 Matt Sauer Apr 8 Apr 30 May 24 Jun 18 Aug 22 Emmet Sheehan Jun 19 Justin Wrobleski Apr 9 May 16 Jul 7
Yoshinobu Yamamoto go to within one out of a no-hitter on Saturday night in Baltimore, and walked off the mound with a two-run lead and nobody on base in the ninth inning. That final out never came, as Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott put the finishing touches on a stunning Dodgers loss to the Orioles in what has to be the low point of the season. So far.
Yamamoto hasn’t gotten a ton of support during his starts this season, but usually that comes in the form of poor Dodgers offense, as they’ve scored three runs or fewer in 14 of his 27 starts. Saturday night was one of them, their fourth straight game scoring three or fewer runs and sixth such game in the last eight.
Yamamoto has six different starts this season of at least six innings with no more than one run allowed in which he didn’t earn the win. The lack of support on Saturday in Baltimore came mostly from an inept bullpen that did not retire any of their five batters faced.
Blake Treinen allowed a double to Jeremiah Jackson, hit Gunnar Henderson with a 1-2 pitch, then walked two batters before being pulled in a one-run game with the bases loaded.
“I needed one flippin’ out , and I didn’t do it,” Treinen told reporters, as shown on SportsNet LA.
In came the embattled Tanner Scott, whose third pitch was hit for a walk-off single by Emmanuel Rivera. That meant Yamamoto did not get his third career no-hitter — he pitched no-hitters in 2022 and 2023 for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan — despite what a somehow-published syndicated article claimed.
That’s two walk-off losses in a row with Scott on the mound the last two nights. After the first of which, a middle-middle fastball crushed for a walk-off home run on Friday, Scott told reporters in Baltimore, “It feels terrible. I have to figure it out because baseball hates me right now.”
Scott has nine blown saves on the season, and his 10 home runs in 201 batters faced this season are four more than he allowed to the 601 batters he faced in 2023-24 combined.
Most of the Dodgers’ expected high-leverage relievers have been inconsistent at best to straight-up bad. Michael Kopech is an adventure every time he comes in. Kirby Yates struggled and after his second injured-list stint hasn’t yet been trusted to pitch with a lead in a close game in any of his five appearances. He entered his first game back with a six-run lead, then came in while trailing in each of his last four games.
In fairness, the Dodgers have trailed a lot lately, dropping seven of their last eight games. In their one win over the last week-plus, Scott blew a lead by allowing a three-run home run in the eighth inning, another excellent Yamamoto start with no win to show for it.
The Dodgers’ lead on Saturday was their first on this road trip, which is now five games in, with five losses to last-place teams.
The SportsNet LA postgame show had a funereal tone on Saturday night, with host John Hartung plus analysts Nomar Garciaparra and Jerry Hairston Jr. all shellshocked after the unexpected defeat. Hairston at one point brought up Mark Wohlers as an example of a reliable late-inning reliever from years past, which has to make this the nadir of the season for the Dodgers.
There was one exchange during the postgame show which I did not record so can’t quote exactly, but basically Hairston was stumping, “When we make the playoffs, Shohei Ohtani has to be the closer,” and Garciaparra’s response was “When? They still have to make it.”
Whether mathematically true or not — Baseball Prospectus on Sunday morning gives the Dodgers a 98.8-percent chance to make the postseason, while FanGraphs has them at 98.7 percent — Garciaparra at least captured the correct tone of the moment.
The Dodgers are playing terrible baseball right now.
In Dodgers minor league games played Sunday, September 7th, Josue De Paula finished the season on fire, Jake Gelof as well, James Tibbs lll with a triple and home run.
Player of the day
Josue De Paula, who hit .232 in June, .212 in July, and started August 0 for 18, ended the year on a 16 for 38 (.444) streak
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Impeccable relief pitching helped the Oklahoma City Comets defeat the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros) 7-1. Starter Christian Romero gave up one run in four and two-thirds innings, and then a quartet of relivers finished the game without giving up a run or hit. Paul Gervase pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out one, and Bobby Miller pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out two. Alex Freeland and Noah Miller hit home runs for the Comets, and Tommy Edman played centerfield and went one for three.
Alex Freeland extending the Comets lead with thispic.twitter.com/m2RmFAUgId
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) September 8, 2025
Double-A Tulsa
Down 11-5 after seven innings, the Tulsa Drillers came all the way back to tie the game, only to lose it on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, 12-11, to the Wichita Wind Surge (Twins). The high-scoring affair saw big games by Kole Myers (two hits, four runs scored) and James Tibbs III (triple, home run, four RBIs). Patrick Copen started for the Drillers, and gave up four runs in four innings. Ben Ross ambushed Tulsa reliever Carson Hobbs in the ninth inning, hitting the first pitch over the left field wall for a walk-off home run.
High-A Great Lakes
The Great Lakes Loons put together a trio of three-run innings to defeat the Lake County Captains (Guardians) 9-5. Josue De Paula, finishing the season red hot, had two hits, including a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Jake Gelof, also closing the season strong, had a single, a double, and a walk.
Low-A Rancho Cucamonga
The Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 7-3. Landyn Vidourek had three hits for the Quakes, and Emil Morales contributed a hit and an RBI.
The California League Playoffs begin Tuesday night, and the Quakes will play the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels) in a best-of-three game series.
Scores of games played Sunday, September 7th
Oklahoma City 7, Sugar Land 1
Wichita 12, Tulsa 11
Great Lakes 9, Lake County 5
Fresno 7, Rancho Cucamonga 3
Up next: games scheduled to be played Tuesday, September 9th
Sacramento (TBD) at Oklahoma City (TBD) 4:05 PM PST
Arkansas (Jurrangelo Cijntje) at Tulsa (TBD), 5:00 PM PST
Rancho Cucamonga (Marlon Nieves) at Inland Empire (TBD), 6:35 PM PST, division series game 1
Tyler Glasnow makes his first start in over a week after dealing with some back tightness as the Dodgers host the Rockies.
Game info
- Teams: Dodgers vs. Rockies
- Stadium: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
- Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
- Radio: KLAC AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)
The Dodgers lost another no-hitter in the ninth inning, but this time they didn’t also lose the game, holding on Monday for a 3-1 win over the Rockies, thanks to Tyler Glasnow’s excellent mound work and the game-winning hit by Mookie Betts.
After Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within out out of a no-hitter in Saturday’s stunning Dodgers loss in Baltimore, on Monday the first hit came to lead off the ninth inning, off Tanner Scott. But the rest of the inning the ball was kept in the infield, and the Dodgers have a second straight win.
Per the great Sarah Langs of MLB.com, the Dodgers are the first team on record to lose a no-hit bid in the ninth inning twice in a three-game span.
For a while, it looked like Monday’s quirk might have been somehow losing a game while throwing a no-hitter, as Glasnow allowed a run in the second inning on a leadoff walk, stolen base, and two fly balls. The Dodgers didn’t have their first hit until the fifth inning, and didn’t score until the sixth, and took their first lead after Glasnow had already thrown his last pitch, in the seventh inning.
That Glasnow was even able to last seven innings was surprising for two reasons. First, he was scratched from last Friday’s start in Baltimore with back tightness and flew home to Los Angeles early for testing. After the game, the 6’8 right-hander described his malady as “random tall-guy back spasms.” Also, Glasnow needed 10 pitches to strike out Tyler Freeman, the first batter of the game, and his pitch count was up early.
Efficiency helped Glasnow persevere, as did not allowing a hit. Glasnow’s second walk came with one out in the third inning, and then he retired his final 14 batters. That got Glasnow through seven innings on 105 pitches, with 11 strikeouts, two walks, and the aforementioned no hits.
There have only been eight games in Dodgers history in which a pitcher threw at least seven innings without allowing a hit and also struck out double digits.
- Nap Rucker, September 5, 1908 vs. Boston
- Sandy Koufax, June 30, 1962 vs. Mets
- Sandy Koufax, June 4, 1964 at Phillies
- Sandy Koufax, September 9, 1965 vs. Cubs
- Bill Singer, July 20, 1970 vs. Phillies
- Clayton Kershaw, June 18, 2014 vs. Rockies
- Clayton Kershaw, April 13, 2022 at Twins
- Tyler Glasnow, September 8, 2025 vs. Rockies
The first six of those games were no-hitters, including Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in 1965. That 2022 Kershaw start was his first start of the season coming off an elbow injury and not throwing much all offseason. He wasn’t expected to go much more than five innings if at all, but was so good he struck out 13 in seven perfect innings before getting pulled, with no push back given the circumstances.
For Glasnow, he now has two seven-inning starts in a row, with the aforementioned late scratch in between. Since returning from the injured list right before the All-Star break, he’s allowed two or fewer runs in seven of his 10 starts, with a 2.81 ERA and 30.7-percent strikeout rate.
The Dodgers look to extend their win streak to three games as they host the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
Emmet Sheehan faces right-hander Germán Márquez.
Will Smith is back in the starting lineup after missing the past five games.
Game info
- Teams: Dodgers vs. Rockies
- Stadium: Dodger Stadium
- Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)
In Dodgers minor league games played on Tuesday, September 9th, Roki Sasaki’s talent was on display, a homer for a third consecutive game for a Double-A outfield prospect, and Rancho Cucamonga will have two elimination games to win to avoid an abrupt end to their season.
Player of the day
Roki Sasaki started for Oklahoma City, and, like his other rehab starts, the results were mixed. The good news was four innings of vintage Sasaki. The bad news was that things fell apart for him in the fifth inning, leading to a mediocre pitching line of three runs on three hits and four walks in four and two-thirds innings. Almost all of that damage came in the fifth inning.
The first inning included three pitches thrown over 100 mph, and the side retired in order, with two groundouts and a strikeout, all on fastballs. In the second inning, Sasaki struck out the side, with one walk. He threw two 99.3 mph fastballs for called strikes, then got a swing and miss on his splitter. The second strikeout went similarly. A called strike on a fastball, a called strike on a cutter, and then the splitter in the dirt for a swinging strike three. In the third inning, Sasaki struck out two more hitters, one on a called strike on the splitter, the other on a called strike on a fastball. In the fourth inning, Sasaki struck out the first two hitters on 7 pitches. The first hitter took a called strike one on a splitter, then swung and missed at two splitters in the dirt. The second hitter stood there like a house on the side of the road as Sasaki threw all fastballs, three for called strikes. The last batter in the inning swung and missed at two pitches, then grounded out to second, for a ten-pitch inning.
At this point in the game, Sasaki looked like the dominant pitcher the Dodgers hoped for, all his pitches were working, his velocity was 98-100 mph, he was getting called strikes on all his pitches, and chases on his splitter in the dirt.
The fifth inning started with a walk, a single, and a walk, and after a couple of outs, a double, and a hit batter ended Sasaki’s night after 90 pitches (52 strikes).
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Bobby Miller couldn’t hold a one-run ninth inning lead, and the Sacramento River Cats (Giants) defeated the Oklahoma City Comets 6-4. Roki Sasaki started for the Comets and gave up three runs in four and two-thirds innings, striking out eight. The Comets jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Esteury Ruiz had a four-hit game, and Jose Ramos and Luken Baker homered for the Comets. The Comets had great middle relief as Nick Frasso, Kyle Hurt, and Will Klein got ten outs, collectively giving up only one hit and one walk, while striking out eight. But Miller blew the save by giving up three runs on three hits and two walks.
Double-A Tulsa
The Tulsa Drillers won their game against the Arkansas Travelers (Mariners) in 13 innings, 4-3. The Drillers needed to tie the game in the eighth inning, the ninth inning, and the twelfth inning, before pushing across the winning run in the thirteenth. James Tibbs lll homered for the third game in a row. Tulsa used nine different pitchers.
3 straight games with a homer for James Tibbs III
The @Dodgers' No. 8 prospect has an .848 OPS with 27 RBIs in 31 games for the Double-A @TulsaDrillers: pic.twitter.com/Tk8i7dptdK
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 10, 2025
Low-A Rancho Cucamonga
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes lost their Game 1 Division series contest to the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels), 5-4. The Quakes scored all four of the runs on a grand slam home run by second baseman Nico Perez. The winning run came home in the bottom of the seventh inning on an infield hit.
Scores of games played on Tuesday, September 9th
Sacramento 6, Oklahoma City 4
Tulsa 4, Arkansas 3
Inland Empire 5, Rancho Cucamonga 4
Up next: games scheduled for Wednesday, September 10th
Sacramento (Trevor McDonald) at Oklahoma City (Andrew Heaney), 10:05 AM PST
Arkansas (Michael Morales) at Tulsa (Jackson Ferris), 10:05 AM PST
The Dodgers’ sweep of the Rockies gave them some breathing room for a potential 12th National League West title in 13 years, but an uphill battle remains in trying to avoid playing in the wild card round.
NL West standings
Dodgers 82-64 (.562) – – –
Padres 79-67 (.541) 3 GB
While the Dodgers took all three from the Rockies, San Diego lost two of three games at home to the clinging-to-relevance Reds. The Dodgers own the tiebreaker over the Padres by winning nine of their 13 matchups this season. The magic number for a Los Angeles division title is 13.
National League seeding
This is where it gets tricky for the Dodgers, as the Phillies have won three straight themselves and remain four games up on the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the NL playoffs, which would secure a bye straight into the division series. Philadelphia won two of three games over the Dodgers in April, and next week’s series between the two teams at Dodger Stadium will go a long way toward figuring out which of them will secure the bye.
- Brewers 89-58 (.605)
- Phillies 86-50 (.589)
- Dodgers 82-64 (.562)
- Cubs 83-63 (.568)
- Padres 79-67 (.541)
- Mets 76-70 (.521)
- Giants 74-72 (.507)
- Reds 74-72 (.507)
Even with a loss on Wednesday, the Giants have won 13 of their last 17 to pull within two games of the Mets for the final wild card spot. San Francisco faces an uphill climb toward October, and the Dodgers will have something to say about it considering the longtime rivals play seven times over the next 10 days beginning Friday at Oracle Park.
“I still stand by that it’s up to us how we play, regardless of opponents,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “You’ve got a division rival, a team that’s hungry and playing well. It’s going to be a battle up there for three nights.”
Current Dodgers scenario: No. 3 seed, hosting No. 6 seed Mets in wild card round at Dodger Stadium.
Up next: Dodgers at Giants, Padres vs. Rockies, Brewers vs. Cardinals, Phillies vs. Royals, Cubs vs. Rays, Mets vs. Rangers, Reds at A’s
In Dodgers minor league action, OKC pitchers went on a strikeout binge, Andrew Heaney somehow snuck back onto the team, and Double-A is too hard for Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope.
Player of the game
The Pirates DFAed Andrew Heaney a couple of weeks ago, the Dodgers quietly signed him, sent him to their secret underground rehabilitation facility where he underwent remediation, and they had him start a game at Oklahoma City to see how things were going. He pitched to eleven batters and struck them all out, mostly.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
If you missed that the Dodgers signed veteran left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney as a free agent about two weeks ago, you might have been surprised to see him starting a game for Oklahoma City. Even more interesting, he struck out almost everybody he faced. He struck out the side in the first inning on 11 pitches. He struck out the side in the third inning. And he struck out two in the second; other than that, there was a double and a flyout. The next two pitchers for Oklahoma City, Ben Casparius and Ronan Kopp, also struck out almost everybody they faced. Casparius got three strikeouts and five outs, and Kopp got five strikeouts and seven outs. Between the three, they pitched seven innings, struck out 16, walked none, and gave up no runs on two hits. Meanwhile, the Comets put five runs on the board, with Kody Hoese accounting for much of it with a double, home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Paul Gervase pitched the ninth, giving up one run, and the Comets won by the final score of 5-1 over the Sacramento River Cats Giants).
Kody Hoese rips it into the gap to open up the scoring and give the Comets an early 2-run lead!pic.twitter.com/vdg1JGfsBW
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) September 10, 2025Kody Hoese came to play!
Already a 2-XBH and 3-RBI day for 15 pic.twitter.com/eoUPBA1jev
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) September 10, 2025
Double-A Tulsa
The Arkansas Travelers (Mariners) defeated the Tulsa Drillers 7-4. Jackson Ferris gave up two runs (one earned) in five innings and got tagged with the loss. Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope, promoted after the end of the High-A season, started for the Drillers. De Paula went 0 for 5 for the second consecutive day, and Hope went 0 for 4 in his first game in Double-A. James Tibbs III had a hit, two walks, an RBI, and a run scored.
Scores of games played Wednesday, September 10
Oklahoma City 5, Sacramento 1
Arkansas 7, Tulsa 4
Up next: games scheduled for Thursday, September 11th:
Arkansas (Adam Seminaris) at Tulsa (Luke Fox), 5:00 PM PST
Sacramento (John Bertrand) at Oklahoma City (Kyle Funkhouser), 5:05 PM PST
Inland Empire (TBD) at Rancho Cucamonga (TBD), 6:30 PM PST
Whoever said a six-man rotation in baseball was a nice concept, but unfeasible, clearly never met the current version of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Across Los Angeles’ last six games, the Dodgers sent six different starters who have thoroughly dominated everyone in their way, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s objective is to keep that run going. To illustrate the quality of recent pitching for Los Angeles, their starters have compiled 2.0 fWAR since Friday. They’ve allowed five runs in 38 innings of work, allowing the fewest runs in the second-most innings, trailing only Cleveland in volume.
Obviously, there are unavoidable consequences of a long 162-game season that often get in the way of a six-man rotation, but for right now, it is working beautifully for the Dodgers. Not only does the production of all names involved justify it, but also the specific circumstances around each one. For different explanations, the Dodgers have a particular reason for closely monitoring each of their starters, and for Yamamoto, it’s the volume increase from last season, in which he missed a significant amount of time due to injury.
One could also argue that with a six-man rotation, Dave Roberts has a bit more leeway in pushing each starter’s pitch count, and that was evident in Yamamoto’s last start. Going for that no-hitter in Baltimore, Yamamoto reached 112 pitches, his highest single-game mark in the big leagues, and for the second straight game, he struck out 10 batters.
All of this recent success from the Dodger rotation came against a pair of last-place clubs, which doesn’t necessarily detract from the achievement. Yamamoto will now face a Giants team inching closer and closer to a playoff spot, currently only 1.5 games back of the New York Mets for the final Wild Card slot. Considering the Dodgers’ current scenario, if the Giants were to be able to run down the Mets, these teams could meet again in the Wild Card round.
Friday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Giants
- Ballpark: Oracle Park, San Francisco
- Start time: 7:10 p.m.
- TV: SportsNet LA
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
After scoring just one run on Friday, the Dodgers bats erupted in a Saturday night slugfest that resulted in a 13-7 victory.
The Dodgers got to right-hander Logan Webb quickly, as Shohei Ohtani led off the game with an infield single against the shift. Freddie Freeman knocked in Ohtani with a base hit down the left field line, but he was gunned down at second trying to stretch a single into a double.
The Giants proceeded to give Clayton Kershaw fits in the bottom half of the first, as Heliot Ramos led off with a single before Rafael Devers won a nine pitch battle with a walk. Willy Adames and Matt Chapman brought home both Ramos and Devers with a pair of singles before Kershaw recorded his first out with a strikeout of Wilmer Flores. Jerar Encarnación plated Adames on a fielder’s choice, with Luis Matos promptly following with an RBI single to make it a four-run first inning against Kershaw. Kershaw needed 36 pitches and a full go-around through the Giants lineup to bring an end to the first inning.
The Dodgers immediately responded by loading the bases on three consecutive singles to begin the top of the second inning. Webb was able to get Miguel Rojas to pop out to second base before getting Ben Rortvedt to ground into a double play, once again exacerbating the Dodgers incapabilities of hitting with the bases loaded.
After Kershaw got two quick outs, the Giants also loaded the bases with a single and a pair of walks, but Kershaw left the bases loaded by getting Casey Schmitt to ground out to.
Ohtani trimmed the Dodger deficit in half with a titanic shot to dead center field that hit the batter’s eye. It was his 49th home run of the season, tying Shawn Green for the second-most home runs in a single season by a Dodger, and travelled 454 feet, surpassing Alex Call by a foot for the longest home run hit by a Dodger this year.
That Shohei bat flip.pic.twitter.com/xXTbDinb7Y
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 14, 2025
Teoscar Hernández brought the deficit to a single run with an RBI double, but Webb struck out Michael Conforto to leave the tying run on base. Clayton Kershaw managed to get through a perfect nine pitch inning, but his day was done after just three innings, his shortest start since May 23 where he went just two innings against the New York Mets.
Edgardo Henríquez took over for Kershaw in the bottom of the fourth inning, and struck out the side in his lone inning of work.
The Dodgers once again loaded the bases against Webb with nobody out, forcing Giants manager Bob Melvin to relieve his ace with right-hander José Buttó. Hernández greeted Buttó with a go-ahead two-run double that landed just out of the reach of a diving Matos. Conforto followed with a sacrifice fly to push the Dodger lead to two, but the floodgates burst open with a two-run double from Ben Rortvedt. Mookie Betts plated the Dodgers sixth run of the inning with an RBI single that forced Buttó out of the game.
The Giants made things interesting against Kirby Yates in the bottom of the fifth, as they scored three two-out runs to make it a two run game. Justin Wrobleski was called upon to end the inning, and he managed to strike out Heliot Ramos to end the inning before proceeding to set down the next six hitters in order.
For the second straight game, Max Muncy had to be removed from the game, as he took a fastball to the head from Matt Gage. He was able to finish the top of the sixth inning but was replaced by Kiké Hernández defensively in the bottom of the sixth.
The Dodgers added four more runs after their explosive fifth inning, bringing their total to 13 on the night, the most amount of runs they have scored in the second half. Both Michael Kopech and even Tanner Scott had scoreless innings, as the Dodgers allowed zero hits after the fifth inning.
With the Giants losing, they now fall a half game back of the New York Mets for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. The Dodgers’ division lead remains at two and a half games with the San Diego Padres defeating the Colorado Rockies.
Game particulars
- Home runs— Shohei Ohtani (49)
- WP— Edgardo Henríquez (1-1): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
- LP— Logan Webb (14-10): 4+ IP, 10 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Up next
The Dodgers wrap things up against the Giants on Sunday (1:05 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before heading back home to open a three game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Tyler Glasnow gets the start for the Dodgers and faces lefty Robbie Ray.
The Dodgers took care of business by winning five of six games last week, giving them six wins in their last seven contests. But there are only two more weeks left in the regular season and an uphill climb ahead for them to earn a bye into the Division Series.
NL West standings
Dodgers 84-65 (.564) – – –
Padres 82-68 (.547) 2 1/2 GB
While the Dodgers took a three-game series in San Francisco, the Padres won three of four at home against the Rockies. Los Angeles holds the tiebreaker and has a magic number of 10 to win the division; any combination of Dodgers wins and Padres losses that total 10 gives LA the National League West. Put another way, the Dodgers have 13 games left and the Padres have 12 games remaining, and they don’t play each other again.
Los Angeles needs 10 of 25 outcomes to go their way to win the division, while San Diego needs 16 of 25 outcomes to fall their way.
National League playoff seeding
The Milwaukee Brewers were the first team to clinch a postseason berth, doing so on Saturday when the Mets lost to the Rangers.
- Brewers 91-59 (.607)
- Phillies 89-61 (.593)
- Dodgers 84-65 (.564)
- Cubs 85-64 (.570)
- Padres 82-68 (.547)
- Mets 77-73 (.513)
- Giants 75-74 (.503)
- Reds 74-75 (.497)
Milwaukee holds a two-game lead over Philadelphia for the No. 1 seed, and own the tiebreaker over the Phillies by winning four of their six head-to-head matchups. The Phillies are still in good shape to earn a bye into the NLDS, holding a 4 1/2-game lead over the Dodgers.
Luckily for fans of good baseball, the Dodgers host the Phillies for three games at Dodger Stadium beginning Monday night. Even if the Dodgers sweep the Phillies, they’d still be 1 1/2 games back for the No. 2 seed, but in that scenario would also hold the tiebreaker over Philadelphia. Bottom line is, the Dodgers likely need a series win over the Phillies at bare minimum to still cling to hope for the No. 2 seed.
Current scenario: Dodgers win division as No. 3 seed, host the sixth-seed Mets in the best-of-3 wild card round. The Giants and Reds are still clinging to hope at a Mets collapse for that final playoff spot. New York lost eight straight before eking out a win on Sunday over the Rangers.
Up next: Dodgers vs. Phillies, Brewers vs. Angels, Cubs at Pirates, Padres at Mets, Giants at D-backs, Reds at Cardinals
With too many back-and-forths to count, the Phillies managed to connect the last punch, winning it in extras, 6-5. In doing so, Philadelphia secured the NL East title and put a big dent in Los Angeles’ rather small chance of potentially running down that number two seed and the incredibly valuable bye it secures.
It’s not often that the Dodgers welcome any opponent who can roll out a hitter matching Shohei Ohtani’s power threat, but the Philadelphia Phillies are capable of just that with Kyle Schwarber in 2025. So big is the danger from facing Schwarber and also fellow lefty-hitter Bryce Harper at the top of the Phillies order that Dave Roberts worked up a specific plan for tonight’s game. In shades of postseason baseball, Roberts had Anthony Banda open the game for the specific purpose of facing those lefties before Emmet Sheehan made his regular scheduled appearance, but as a follower.
Ultimately, said plan only proved that very little would have been able to slow down the lefty mashers from Philly. Both Harper and Schwarber went deep in the game off southpaws, Schwarber in the first and Harper in the eighth.
What made this pitching decision from Dave Roberts particularly odd is that almost nothing from Sheehan’s recent performance led you to be overly cautious about his matchups against dangerous hitters. Harper and Schwarber are daunting, but they’re a problem against anyone, and Sheehan had been dealing as of late. Furthermore, not starting a game only twice this season, Sheehan could hardly be referred to as someone who is all that used to this approach.
Unfazed by Banda’s presence on the mound, Schwarber took the left-hander deep in the top of the first. It was Schwarber’s third home run in as many games, and it put him at 53 on the year, one below major-league leader Cal Raleigh. Although the Dodgers’ pitching strategy didn’t work out, it also didn’t not work out. Much like Schwarber, Sheehan was unfazed by the disruption in his routine. The Dodgers’ current youngest starting pitcher came on in the middle of the first and absolutely dominated the Phillies, not allowing a hit until his final pitch of the game, when Otto Kemp got him for a ground-rule double to open the seventh. By that time, Los Angeles held a 3-1 lead courtesy of a Max Muncy homer and a pair of Mookie Betts’ sac flies. That hit, though, opened the floodgates as Jack Dreyer struggled against the bottom of the Phillies’ order, allowing three runs to come across, capped by a Weston Wilson two-run bomb, giving Philadelphia a 4-3 advantage.
One of the big issues in dealing with the likes of Schwarber and Harper is that even if you make the right decisions, with the best pitchers throwing the correct pitches, you’re still susceptible to getting burned. That’s how talented they are, and shortly after Mookie Betts tied the game with a solo shot in the seventh, it was Harper’s turn to show out against a talented Dodger left-handed reliever.
Alex Vesia came on with the plan of attacking Harper with high heaters. He executed that quite well, and still, Harper went out of the zone to crush one of those four-seamers over the right-field wall, once again putting the Phills back in front.
Much like Banda’s 1-2 slider in the first hadn’t been a bad pitch by any means and had Schwarber reaching out for it, this was yet another case of good pitch, better swing. Room for improvement is ever-present, but there was little to complain about from the job Banda and Vesia did against these two outstanding hitters. If anything, Los Angeles should lament the seventh-inning blowup against a part of the Phillies order it should handle swiftly, regardless of who is on the mound.
By the time the ninth inning rolled around, the Dodgers needed to score against Jhoan Duran with their bottom of the order up. Andy Pages managed what no one else had since Duran got traded to Philadelphia, which is to homer against the flame-throwing closer. An outstanding hitter at home, Pages added to the folklore of his skills at Dodger Stadium with yet another signature moment.
Shohei Ohtani got nothing in the zone a couple of batters later, walked, stole second, and set up the game-winning opportunity for Betts, who, unlike in many of his previous at-bats in this game, this time couldn’t come through. Missed opportunities ended up marking the final innings for Los Angeles. In the tenth, Blake Treinen did a fine enough job to hold the Phillies to one run, and when the Dodgers loaded the bases with just one out, the park was very lively, but a Miguel Rojas pop-fly and an easy groundout from Muncy meant defeat for Los Angeles.
Monday particulars
Home runs: Max Muncy (18), Mookie Betts (19), Andy Pages (25), Kyle Schwarber (53), Weston Wilson (5), Bryce Harper (27)
WP — Jhoan Duran (7-6): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
LP — Blake Treinen (1-5); 1 IP, 1 run (unearned), 1 walk
SV – David Robertson (1): 1 IP, 2 walks
Up next
Same start time for the Dodgers and Phillies on Tuesday, with Shohei Ohtani and Cristopher Sánchez squaring off on the mound and both teams trying to navigate tired bullpens after an eventful Monday game.
It’s been a while since I didn’t feel completely frustrated after a loss, but that’s where I’m at today. While the Dodgers failed in their comeback attempt Monday night, there still were a whole bunch of positives.
They hit
The Dodgers had 18 hits in Sunday’s game against San Francisco. They halved that on Monday night, but who they hit its more important. Ranger Suarez came into the game having been lights out lately. They tagged him for three runs, including a homer from Max Muncy. Suarez left the game down 3-1. Andy Pages also tagged Johan Duran for a home run in the ninth inning. Duran this season has only allowed two homers – that one to Pages, and one in July to Shohei Ohtani.
Sheehan looked great
Last season, the Dodgers had to rely on at least one bullpen game a series on their way to winning it all. This year, the starters are probably what’s going to get them deep into the playoffs if that happens. Emmet Sheehan will be a big part of that. The team used an opener for him, which didn’t exactly go as planned with Anthony Banda allowing Kyle Schwarber to go deep right off the bat, but Sheehan then came in to deliver 5.2 innings of one run ball, allowing one hit and striking out seven. He shut down a very good Phillies offense for a good chunk of the game and will be a weapon in the bullpen if he continues that.
Tanner Scott – back?
Every Dodger fan collectively groaned when Dave Roberts put Tanner Scott in the game in the ninth when the Phillies had a 5-4 lead. But he showed up this time, setting down the Philles 1-2-3 and keeping the game within one run which allowed Pages to tie it in the ninth.
Overall, it was a pretty decent game to start the series. The bats stayed going, Mookie Betts is continuing his Player of the Week status, and they kept battling. Worrisome that Jack Dryer, Anthony Banda and Alex Vesia gave up runs, but hopefully those are just blips. Blake Treinen, well, as we said yesterday, that has been happening all season.
The Dodgers will face another tough pitcher in Cristopher Sanchez on Tuesday. He is 13-5 on the season with a 2.57 ERA. He has allowed exactly one run in each of his last three starts and has only walked nine batters in his last seven games. Sanchez has faced the Dodgers three times in his career, has a 2-0 record and 3.57 ERA. Teoscar Hernandez has homered twice against Sanchez, and Alex Call only has one hit against him, but that too was a homer.
Shohei Ohtani will start for the Dodgers, and it will be a test to see how he looks against a playoff caliber team. He only went 3.2 innings in his last outing against the Baltimore Orioles, in what was a spot start after his own missed start in Pittsburgh. He should be back at full strength, and it would be good to see him go a full five innings.
If there is any such thing as a positive loss, the Dodgers had one last night. The Phillies look like the team to beat in the playoffs this year, and the Dodgers were right with them. You can say “yeah they should be!” and you would be right, but the Dodgers have not looked like those Dodgers most of the season. They just need to carry this momentum forward and good things will happen.
Tuesday game info
- Teams: Dodgers vs. Phillies
- Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
- Start time: 7:10 p.m.
- TV: SportsNet LA, TBS (out of market)
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
