NFL
By George Lopez
The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the 2nd half of the MLB season with a record of 60-30 and a 10-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West. As the 1st half of the season was ending, the Dodgers began to find their rhythm. The Dodgers will look to maintain their high level of play as the second half begins.
In the past few years, the Dodgers have made a huge splash at the trading deadline, acquiring Yu Darvish, and Manny Machado, and acquiring Max Scherzer and Trae Turner last season. Dodger fans are waiting to see what move Andrew Freidman will make at this season’s trading deadline. The Dodgers have been linked to Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo. This past week, however, Freidman stated that he isn’t looking at making a big splash at the trading deadline. Freidman is looking at current players on the Dodgers who will be coming back at some point this season.
Dustin May will begin a rehab assignment very soon. The plan is for May to stay in the minors for about a month so he can build up his pitch count. The Dodgers plan on using May as a starting pitcher when he returns. This will help with workload management for Tony Gonsolin, who as exceeded his career high in innings pitch in a season. At the all-star break, the Dodgers starting rotation posted the following record:
Tony Gonsolin 11-0 with a 2.02 ERA
Tyler Anderson 10-1 with a 2.96 ERA
Clayton Kershaw 7-2 with a 2.13 ERA
Julio Urias 8-6 with a 2.89 ERA
Mitch White 1-2 with a 3.78 ERA
Walker Buehler has been out since early June recovering from surgery where they removed loose bodies from his right elbow. The Dodgers expect Buehler to return in September for the stretch run.
Offensively, Freddie Freeman has been on a tear recently. Over the last 15 games, Freeman is hitting .421 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI’s. The Dodgers are still waiting for Max Muncy to get going. He currently is hitting .167 with 9 home runs. Muncy is possibly still dealing with the effects of the elbow injury he suffered at the end of last season. Cody Bellinger is still trying to regain his 2019 MVP form. He has been hovering around .200 all season. Bellinger is not letting his struggles at the plate affect his play in the field as he is playing gold glove caliber defense in the outfield.
The top of the lineup has improved with the decision to bat Trea Turner 2nd behind Mookie Betts. Turner is hitting .307 with 14 home runs while Betts is hitting .265 with 21 homeruns. They have been able to set the table for Freeman, Will Smith, Justin Turner, and the rest of the lineup.
The Dodgers bullpen currently has the 2nd best ERA in the National League at 3.39. The bullpen should get a boost in the next few weeks with the return of Blake Treinen. Getting Treinen back will allow Manager Dave Roberts to set up his bullpen and optimize his matchups. The Dodgers do need more consistency from closer Craig Kimbrel. He currently has a record of 3-4 with a very high ERA of 4.22. Kimbrel has 16 saves but has blown 3 save opportunities. The Dodgers are going to need vintage Kimbrel in the 2nd half of the season.
All season, the Dodgers haven’t had all players firing on all cylinders at the same time and are still 31 games over .500. They are playing with the We, not Me mantra and playing great team baseball. With the players returning in the next few weeks and the possibility of the Dodgers adding pieces at the trading deadline, the Dodgers are in a prime position to make another run at a World Series championship.
