Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After dropping three of four games against the Milwaukee Brewers (81-50) two series ago, the Dodgers (80-51) followed that up with consecutive sweeps against the Colorado Rockies (50-81) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (64-69), as they look to find their form as they approach the final month of the season. Their ideal rotation is nearing reality with Tyler Glasnow rejoining a group that now features Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell, missing only Shohei Ohtani who is nearing a return of his own. While I’m sure the Dodgers would like to claim the top seed in the National League and ensure home field throughout the entirety of the Postseason, the non-negotiable should be targeting a bye which is awarded to the top-two seeds in their respective leagues. They trail the Brewers for the top seed by a game, but lost the season series so it’s essentially two games, while they’re currently four games ahead of the Atlanta Braves (76-55) for the second seed. Glasnow will make his first start off the Injured List tonight, up against the right-handed Bryce Elder.
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| 4:15 P.M. | Atlanta | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | DH | Baldwin (L) |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | RF | Acuña Jr. |
| SS | Betts | 1B | Olson (L) |
| 3B | Muncy (L) | SS | Dubón |
| 2B | Edman (S) | CF | Harris II (L) |
| RF | Tucker (L) | 2B | Albies (S) |
| LF | Call | LF | Yastrzemski (L) |
| CF | Thomas (L) | 3B | Riley |
| C | Feduccia (L) | C | Murphy |
| P | Glasnow (R) | P | Elder (R) |
The Braves’ offense has been pretty weak for their standards for much of the year, despite winning the amount of games they have. Their 98 wRC+ (18th), .722 OPS (13), and .311 OBP (23) indicate that this offense is mediocre at best, especially for a team with World Series aspirations. Matt Olson has been steady as ever, with an .865 OPS, a 133 wRC+, and 36 home runs, while Michael Harris II (121 wRC+), and Drake Baldwin (121) have also been great. Ronald Acuna Jr. hasn’t looked like himself at all this season, with just a 107 wRC+ and a .747 OPS. He might have the best outfield arm in the game, but also due to his effort and injuries, is currently at -8 OAA in right field.
Same story as of late for the Dodger offense, where they’re looking for any sort of offense from either corner outfield spot, a consistent step forward from Mookie Betts, and hoping for Ohtani to reach the heights of his previous two seasons. Any of those outcomes should result in more wins and provide some confidence as we head toward the playoffs.
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Glasnow was never going to throw 180+ innings this season, and what was supposed to be a relatively minor back issue turned into nearly four months on the Injured List. He was having an excellent start to his third season with the Dodgers, with a 2.72 ERA, a 3.24 FIP, and a 0.83 WHIP through seven starts and 39.2 innings, until he left his start after just one inning on May 6 in Houston.
The stuff was outstanding as always, with his curveball somehow taking a step forward, registering a 155 Stuff+, up from 112 and 115 his first two seasons with LA, and rivaling his 156 Stuff+ on the pitch in 2021. His sinker, slider, and curve, all have allowed a batting average below .130, with batters hitting just .097 against the sinker thus far. His four-seam fastball usage was at a career-low 29% down from his previous low in 2025 at 36%, while his sinker usage was at a career-high 25.4%, up from 19.7% in 2025. It was a limited sample, but it’ll be interesting to see if the trend continues as we head down the stretch.
Elder has been a reliable member of Atlanta’s rotation this season with a 3.92 ERA through 24 starts and 137.2 innings, despite sitting in the low-90’s and coming off of two consecutive down years. It’s been a great bounce-back season for the 27 year-old, especially in a rotation that has suffered frequent injuries and dealt with significant inconsistency. One of the reasons to be pessimistic of the Braves postseason aspirations however is likely that their starting rotation will depend on guys like Elder to play a significant part, while the Dodgers and Phillies have dominant rotations, and the Brewers and Cubs can either match their ace in Chris Sale, or significantly outnumber their depth.
However, that’s not Elder’s fault. He had a 1.97 ERA through his first eleven starts and 68.2 innings pitched this season, including five scoreless innings against the Dodgers back near the beginning of May. He just hasn’t been able to find whatever worked for him in the first couple months of the season, as he’s posted a 5.87 ERA, a 5.84 FIP, and a 1.48 WHIP with just 53 strikeouts to 25 walks in 69.0 innings pitched. He’s almost exclusively sinker-slider against right-handed batters, while he reaches into his entire arsenal against left-handed batters, throwing the two aforementioned pitches, including a four-seam fastball, a cutter, and a changeup. He’s had more success against left-handed batters with a .206/.271/.371 slash allowed, compared to .286/.332/.448 against right-handed batters. He’s shown that he can successfully get big-league batters out for sustained stretches at times, and has also done so against the Dodgers, so he won’t necessarily be some easy matchup. The offense will have to be ready out of the gate, and in a meaningful series.
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The most obvious move to activate Glasnow.
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Dalton Rushing, Hunter Feduccia, and Ben Rortvedt have held things down in the absence of Will Smith, but the offense has been missing his steady presence and quality at-bats in the lineup.
Rotation nearing full strength, possibly as soon as this weekend.
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First pitch is at 4:15 PT on SNLA and TBS.
