Giants @ Dodgers August 31, 2015: Real Games That Matter

The Dodgers have been no-hit twice in nine days! That’s bad! They also won five of six against the Reds and Cubs, and carry a 3.5 game lead into a pretty big series against the Giants. That’s good! And yes, the frogurt is also cursed.

Giants
Dodgers
7:10 p.m.
Los Angeles
LF
Aoki
SS
Rollins
3B
Duffy
2B
Utley
1B
Belt
1B
Gonzalez
C
Posey
3B
Turner
RF
Byrd
RF
Ethier
SS
Crawford
LF
Crawford
2B
Tomlinson
C
Grandal
CF
Blanco
CF
Pederson
P
Peavy (R)
P
Anderson (L)

But hey, the big news: Julio Urias has been promoted to the Dodgers, is a sentence that is totally technically true.

Okay, it’s not the news you wanted, but it’s something, isn’t it? Urias is the youngest player in Triple-A, behind Jesus Zambrano, now that totally-not-fake Yeyson Yrizarri has been moved back down to Double-A by the Rangers. Just a late-season look at the highest minor league level? Prelude to a September (and/or October) appearance in the Dodger bullpen? I wouldn’t rule anything out, though his first game in Triple-A hasn’t exactly gone smoothly:

But Urias isn’t here tonight, and you won’t be seeing Enrique Hernandez either, who will likely miss two weeks with that strained hamstring. That earns him a rare August 31 disabled list trip, with Austin Barnes getting activated, because if Hernandez is going to be out for 15 days anyway, you might as well earn the spot back tonight. That gets Joc Pederson back in the lineup in center, though it’s not necessarily “his job” again, since Don Mattingly note that Jose Peraza could see time there. Of course, Peraza’s career outfield experience consists of 17 games, all coming since May 27 this year, so… there’s that.

As you all know by now, tomorrow is Sept. 1, and that means roster expansion. Pitchers Mike Bolsinger, Joel Peralta, and Ian Thomas will all be activated, none coming as a surprise. Yimi Garcia will presumably be seen when he’s eligible in a few days. That won’t be the full extent of it, of course, but the Oklahoma City Dodgers do still have eight more games to play after tonight, plus playoffs, since they’re currently leading their Triple-A division. That won’t prevent the Dodgers from making more recalls if they need to, but you understand not wanting to decimate the affiliate in the first year of their new arrangement. Aside from Urias and Corey Seager, other names to watch include Adam Liberatore, Carlos Frias, Daniel Coulombe, Josh Ravin, Joe Wieland, and Scott Schebler.

But that’s all roster minutiae, and there’s a game with serious playoff implications tonight, especially with Madison Bumgarner looming tomorrow. Tonight’s game will be on MLB Network, though still subject to blackout rules.

About Mike Petriello

Mike writes about lots of baseball in lots of places, and right now that place is MLB.com.