Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (73-55) have been rather inconsistent over their last ten games, involving a sweep by the Angels (61-66), a sweep of the Padres (72-56), and a 2-2 split against the Rockies (37-91) most recently. It results in an even .500 stretch, as they enter this weekend with a one game lead over San Diego, albeit with the tiebreaker now in hand. This will be the final time these two teams meet this season, so it’s the last opportunity either side has to directly impact their standing in the NL West. Former Padre Blake Snell will be on the mound looking to match his scoreless performance against them last week, while Yu Darvish looks to improve this time out.
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| 6:40 PM | San Diego | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | RF | Tatis Jr. |
| SS | Betts | 1B | Arraez (L) |
| C | Smith | 3B | Machado |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | DH | O’Hearn (L) |
| RF | T. Hernández | SS | Bogaerts |
| LF | Conforto (L) | LF | Sheets (L) |
| CF | Pages | CF | Laureano |
| 2B | Freeland (S) | 2B | Cronenworth (L) |
| 3B | Kennedy | C | Fermin |
| P | Snell (L) | P | Darvish (R) |
The most important Dodger bats seem to be coming alive as of late, as Shohei Ohtani has an OPS of 1.162 over the previous ten games for a 215 wRC+, while Teoscar Hernández (.866) and Freddie Freeman (.862) have looked good as well. Mookie Betts has a .907 OPS and 156 wRC+ over the last two weeks, which is very encouraging. The lineup will get deeper and improve as guys return from injury, but when they’re down a few key contributors, the offense needs the top four to be producing. Betts is slashing .351/.415/.491, with just four strikeouts to six walks over the last two weeks, doing an excellent job batting second in the order. Alex Freeland has mentioned that he’s feeling locked in and comfortable with his swing right now, with just one strikeout over his last five games and a .357/.438/.643 triple-slash while playing above-average defense all over the infield. If the offense can keep it up over the next few games, the Dodgers could create a bit of breathing room in the division.
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Here’s what I had to say about Snell prior to his outing against San Diego last weekend.
Snell earned the win his last time out, allowing three hits and three walks over five scoreless innings against the Blue Jays (73-51). He racked up ten strikeouts against the offense that avoids strikeouts better than any other team in the league, and notched his first double-digit strikeout game for the Dodgers. He was coming off of a great start against the Rays (60-63) where he looked stellar aside from the flukey home runs he allowed, and since returning from the IL he’s allowed just three runs in ten innings, with 18 strikeouts to three walks.
He continued his recent run of good form against his former team, with arguably his best outing of the year. He earned his second consecutive win, where he went six scoreless innings on five hits and two walks although with only three strikeouts. San Diego had a clear gameplan against him swinging early and often, and while it limited his strikeouts, the six scoreless innings were exactly what the team needed. He’s still allowed just three earned runs since returning from the IL, with a 1.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts to just five walks in 16.0 innings. It’s early, but so far the Dodgers have gotten the second half Snell they were hoping for.
Darvish struggled his last time out, as he allowed four runs on three hits and two walks against the Dodgers, with all four runs coming in the first inning. The offense was sharp early, working pitch counts and forcing Darvish to come into the zone, where Freeman and Andy Pages each deposited a ball into the bleachers.
He’s allowed home runs in each of his previous two starts and has allowed at least one in five of his last six outings. He’s made eight starts and has made it through the fifth inning in just three of those, resulting in a 5.97 ERA, 4.58 FIP, and a 1.22 WHIP. He’s been an issue for the Dodgers for quite some time and is capable of putting together seven strong innings every time he takes the mound, so the offense will need to be disciplined like they were last week.
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Tanner Scott is officially back, as Matt Sauer was optioned.
The Dodgers have activated LHP Tanner Scott and optioned RHP Matt Sauer.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 22, 2025
Scott made one rehab outing on Tuesday where he issued a walk but struck out two. He could get thrown into the fire quick, as Alex Vesia threw 25 pitches yesterday and is probably down today.
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Hyeseong Kim and Kiké Hernández returning soon should help both infield and outfield depth. It’s not great for Michael Conforto, as Kiké can easily play left field and Kim is getting rehab starts in left as well. Kim could be back next weekend, while Kiké is expected to be back sometime during the next series against the Reds.
Some other injury updates regarding Michael Kopech, Kirby Yates, Brock Stewart and Tommy Edman.
Yates is expected to be activated tomorrow, and Kopech could follow soon after. Stewart is playing catch and could be back in mid-September, while Edman could return in early September.
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First pitch is at 6:40 PT on SNLA.
