Byes are not clinched in late August, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have an opportunity to separate themselves this week. Perhaps for good. The reigning back-to-back World Series champions have steadied themselves by toppling the Colorado Rockies and plundering the Pittsburgh Pirates for six straight victories. Their lead over the Atlanta Braves for a top-two seed in the National League and a postseason bye is up to four games.<\/p>\n
Three games against the Braves at Truist Park this week could build that cushion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt matters,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday, hopeful to avoid a letdown after a week of taking care of business against lesser teams.<\/p>\n
How Dodgers’ Max Muncy will earn $15,000 for every plate appearance<\/p>\n
Fabian Ardaya and Lauren Morales-Jones<\/p>\n
There are bigger goals ahead, including the top seed and home-field advantage. They trail the Milwaukee Brewers by one game for the NL lead, but the deficit is effectively two games, after the Dodgers dropped the season series (losing three of four to Milwaukee at home this month looks even more painful now, after the Dodgers have improved their play).<\/p>\n
Securing a bye feels paramount for a club that employs the oldest group of position players in the sport, and which has played more games and for longer than any team in baseball over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n
A playoff bye would provide a few days of rest for the Dodgers to set up their star-studded pitching staff however they\u2019d like. It would buy more healing time for Andy Pages\u2019 fractured left, which required surgery this weekend to insert a compression screw into his fifth metacarpal. A bye would mean that the chance to become just the fifth MLB team in history to win three consecutive titles is only 11 wins away, instead of the 13 they needed to win in 2025.<\/p>\n
So, as Roberts said, it matters.<\/p>\n
Some more things I think:<\/p>\n
Edwin D\u00edaz won\u2019t be the closer when he comes back, but he could still close games in October.<\/p>\n
This might just be a lost season for D\u00edaz, who said he felt something in his neck<\/a> after getting knocked around in what had previously been a blowout and turned into a much tighter Dodgers win last Monday in Colorado. He has pitched 16 times in a Dodgers uniform and missed time with elbow surgery before this latest stint on the injured list. None of his outings before or in between the injuries have inspired much confidence.<\/p>\n His stuff is not the same as it was during his dominant seasons with the New York Mets, or earlier in his career with the Seattle Mariners. D\u00edaz\u2019s fastball is flat. His slider isn\u2019t moving as intended. Everything is moving in the wrong direction, something the Dodgers and D\u00edaz have tied to an average arm angle that has dropped dramatically and concerningly since his heyday in New York.<\/p>\n All of this paints the picture of a broken pitcher.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t done my job,\u201d D\u00edaz said. \u201cIf I\u2019d done my job, I\u2019d be pitching in the ninth inning.\u201d<\/p>\n Relief work is volatile, which is what made D\u00edaz\u2019s run of dominance all the more impressive. The nature of the position means success can flip quickly to failure and vice versa. The Dodgers have been hoping for a sudden return to success, but so far, it hasn\u2019t come. D\u00edaz has continued throwing, and even threw a bullpen session Saturday.<\/p>\n After each period of throwing, he conferred with assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness, who showed him video of his mechanics. D\u00edaz\u2019s arm slot is the main focus right now.<\/p>\n D\u00edaz will not be the club\u2019s closer immediately when he returns, Roberts said. D\u00edaz accepted the decision, repeatedly saying that Tanner Scott had earned the opportunity after recording 19 saves, with a 2.24 ERA, through 56 appearances so far this season.<\/p>\n The bridge to Scott is still a little wobbly, though that should get more secure once Roki Sasaki and Justin Wrobleski shift into relief roles.<\/p>\n But D\u00edaz\u2019s upside should not be ruled out, just in case something clicks into place.<\/p>\n Pages\u2019 injury is a massive deal, even if he can return this season.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start defensively, which was the Dodgers\u2019 clear priority when they summoned Alek Thomas to serve as Pages\u2019 primary replacement in center field. Thomas graded out as a quality defender during his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he said the Dodgers have worked with him to fine-tune his jumps since acquiring him in May.<\/p>\n There will still be a drop-off in the short term, largely because of how good Pages has been in center field this season. His 18 defensive runs saved trail only the Boston Red Sox\u2019s Ceddanne Rafaela, who has 19. Pages also still possesses one of the best arms in the sport. Defensive metrics can be faulty, but Pages\u2019 range is of particular importance to the Dodgers, who have seen Kyle Tucker regress in right field and understand that Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez has limited range in left.<\/p>\n It was notable that Saturday, in a one-run game, Roberts pulled Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez and inserted Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez in left field to start the ninth inning and preserve the lead, with Thomas manning center. That was something he hadn\u2019t done often with Pages in center field.<\/p>\n The Dodgers have lacked right-handed production, even before Pages\u2019 injury.<\/p>\n The deficit stems mostly from their stars in Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez, who have combined to produce a .698 OPS this season (91 wRC+).<\/p>\n \u201cWe got to get Teo going, and I like his work,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cIt just certainly hasn\u2019t translated to the field consistently. Mookie, I think that he\u2019s in a much better spot. Certainly, when you take on some left-handers, some tough lefties, you\u2019re going to need that production from those right-hand hitters, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Tommy Edman\u2019s return has provided a boost. Getting Will Smith back in early September should also help (he starts a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City).<\/p>\n But Smith\u2019s return might only offset some of what Pages\u2019 bat provided, as the center fielder had emerged as a middle-of-the-order producer for a lineup that lacked consistency.<\/p>\n Dodgers’ OPS from right-handed hitters<\/p>\n SEASONVS. LHP<\/p>\n Andy Pages<\/p>\n .797<\/p>\n .906<\/p>\n RHH with Pages<\/p>\n .722<\/p>\n .737<\/p>\n RHH without Pages<\/p>\n .702<\/p>\n .704<\/p>\n The Dodgers have held onto the belief that Pages will return this season, saying he has a four- to six-week timetable to return after surgery. But even if he makes it back to the lineup, it\u2019s fair to wonder how much of a lingering effect the hand injury will have on Pages\u2019 swing, timing, and strength offensively.<\/p>\n Gavin Stone might be back, which has big ramifications for 2027 \u2014 but maybe also for 2026?<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard not to be impressed with how good Stone has looked since he started a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on Aug. 6. In three starts, he has struck out 13 batters in 7 2\/3 innings, walking just one and allowing two runs. He went three innings in his last start, in which the only baserunner reached on an error.<\/p>\n Stone\u2019s stuff appears to be in line with where he was in 2024, when he led the Dodgers in innings pitched (remember that?). He\u2019s finally been able to maintain his surgically repaired right shoulder enough to progress into game action after a series of stops and starts to begin the year.<\/p>\n The Dodgers likely won\u2019t push Stone. But if his shoulder feels good enough, they might have to consider if he could be one of the team\u2019s best 14 arms on a postseason pitching staff.<\/p>\n Stone has not thrown more than 46 pitches in an outing since undergoing shoulder surgery<\/a> in late 2024. He was capped at three innings in his last outing, which could be a matter of managing his workload, but might also be the club keeping its options open.<\/p>\n Stone\u2019s rehab will continue through the first week of September, though he has remaining minor-league options and could stay in Oklahoma City to keep working his way back.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll be fascinating to see how Stone fits into what, on paper, looks like a crowded mix of starting pitchers for 2027. But maybe the Dodgers will take a look at him sooner.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for Josue De Paula to get a look at Triple A, and there are openings in the Oklahoma City outfield to make that happen.<\/p>\n It was surprising that De Paula didn\u2019t get promoted when the Dodgers traded Jack Suwinski to the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline, but then again, the outfield in Oklahoma City is still quite crowded (along with the outfield at almost every level in the Dodgers\u2019 system). Promoting Thomas creates another opening, though it would mean Zach Ehrhard having to play a lot of center field and James Tibbs III making a lot of starts at first base and designated hitter.<\/p>\n Still, De Paula has torched Double A. This is him over his last 23 games: .341\/.447\/.718 with nine home runs. He has walked nearly as often (15) as he has struck out (18) in that span. That included yet another home run Sunday, his 25th of the season. He is pulling the ball in the air now, tapping into his elite power without sacrificing much of the approach that helped him reach No. 18 in Keith Law\u2019s rankings of the best prospects in baseball<\/a>.<\/p>\n De Paula has proven just about everything he can offensively. It might be time to see what he can do at the next level. While the Pacific Coast League is clearly a hitter-friendly environment, it\u2019ll be interesting to see how De Paula fares with the major-league ball, rather than the different baseball used at Double A and below.<\/p>\n Jason Heyward, a special assistant with the organization and former Gold Glove outfielder, has taken De Paula under his wing to work on his defensive flaws. That work must continue, but it can do so in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Byes are not clinched in late August, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have an opportunity to separate themselves…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2323,363,99],"class_list":["post-825428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}