#los-angeles-dodgers

#los-angeles-dodgers

The club has been stuck in neutral offensively for months. They've been harping on it, including holding what fellow hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc has called "NFL-style" film sessions during daily hitters meetings to improve the quality of team at-bats in key situations. At around 2:30 p.m. Friday, Aaron Bates was barking out instructions during an early batting practice session. The fellow hitting coach was employing what the organization hopes is a useful exercise during the season's most critical games - calling out different situations to hitters taking part in early batting practice in hopes of training a stagnant Dodgers lineup to take more collective at-bats and generate consistent offense.

One of the biggest names in last year's free agency pool was relief pitcher Tanner Scott. At this point in the season, Scott is now notorious for his late-game blunders and being tied with the MLB-most blown saves (10), but with a four-year, $72 million price tag, there are already plenty of reasons to feel regret. The 31-year-old Scott was coming off a 1.75 ERA campaign in 2024 with an ERA+ of 243, ranking him 143 percent higher than league average.

Ahead of the eventual victory, the Dodgers placed All-Star catcher Will Smith on the injured list. Rookie catcher Dalton Rushing is also on the IL while Ben Rortvedt and now Chuckie Robinson are with the team from Triple-A to assume the backstop responsibilities. In other news, future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is undecided on what his future looks like beyond this season.

I don't know. It's one of those things where when you're not with the team, you don't know what's going on inside the clubhouse," he said. "You try to talk to guys, but you never really know unless you're there. "So for me, I'm not entirely sure what's going on. It's definitely one of those stretches that's gone on for a while.

Teo being more comfortable in right and I think since Colorado, the outfield play has been very good from Teo. Now to just flip him, I just didn't feel comfortable doing that right now. I think we have two guys that are more comfortable in right with Andy and Teo, if Andy is not in center field. That's kind of where we're at.

Sauer was designated for assignment by the Dodgers over the weekend when Dalton Rushing was placed on the injured list and Chuckie Robinson was called up. After clearing waivers, the Dodgers elected to release Sauer back to free agency. More news: Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Predicted to Win NL MVP in a 'Landslide' Sauer, 26, joined the Dodgers this offseason on a minor league deal. The right-hander ended up making the roster for the Tokyo Series, but didn't appear in either of the two games. He was then optioned back to Triple-A ahead of the domestic season opener.

"I mean, obviously, when you get taken out of a game, like I want to stay in, no matter what my pitch count is," Glasnow said. "And I think just given my track record, I kind of understand why. If I was healthy every single season, it'd maybe be a different story. But I respect the decision. They wanted to take me out, and we ended up winning, so we're good."

For any team with championship aspirations, losing five games in a row to start September is brutal. Doing so as the reigning champions of the league is one thing, but for the fifth loss of the skid to be after 8.2 no-hit innings by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, morale seemed to have reached a new low in LA. The Dodgers, fortunately, have gotten somewhat back on track with two straight wins, but it's tough to have any confidence in the team at this point in time.

Little has gone as expected for the Los Angeles Dodgers throughout the 2025 season, but their starting pitching has emerged as a strength for the team since August. That's coincided with the Dodgers rotation getting healthy, as the likes of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow returned from the injured list. Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw has pitched well in his 18th season, Shohei Ohtani is finding his footing on the mound and Yoshinobu Yamamoto continues to shine as an ace.

On Sept. 9, 1965, Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles Dodgers needed every bit of Koufax's brilliance as Bob Hendley also turned in a gem that evening. Los Angeles broke through in the fifth inning of the pitcher's duel, sparked by Lou Johnson drawing a leadoff walk. After he was sacrificed into scoring position, Johnson attempted to steal third base.

You look at our 'pen, there's a confidence thing right now that they've got to get over. That's pretty much everyone included. So trying to figure out where the best place to put a guy, because the sixth inning in a tie ballgame with the top of the order, could be a high-leverage situation. So you've got to kind of figure out what constitutes leverage, high leverage, and also the alternative.

But the 33-year-old returned for a third stint with the Dodgers organization with a long injury history. That wound up surfacing after Stewart made just four appearances for the Dodgers before going on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. There was optimism from Stewart and the Dodgers that his condition wasn't too severe and it would lend to a relatively quick recovery. Nevertheless, he wasn't projected to return until September.

The Los Angeles Dodgers salvaged their weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles with a win on Sunday, but are looking to turn the page on an ugly road trip as they return home Monday to face the last place Colorado Rockies. More news: Dodgers Lose Reliever to National League Rival Right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow (1-3, 3.41 ERA), who was scratched from his scheduled start on Friday, is taking the mound for LA now that his back is feeling better.