Several Dodgers did reconnaissance at Citizens Bank Park last week, in preparation for this week’s series against the Phillies. But it was also for good reason, with three Dodgers starting the All-Star Game and Justin Wrobleski on the mound.
Once regular season play resumed on Friday, the Dodgers acquitted themselves well in a low-scoring weekend against the Yankees. The series was bookended by 2-1 contests, each team winning one. The Dodgers won the middle game, postponed by rain on Saturday and played Sunday morning instead. Even that game was low-scoring, aside from the Dodgers pulling away with a five-run eighth inning.
The result was two wins in three games, and the Dodgers finishing the week at 63-37, the best record in Major League Baseball 100 games into the season.
Batter of the week
Tommy Edman has been quite productive since returning from the injured list over a month ago. He was instrumental in The Bronx, with two hits and two RBI in Sunday’s first game, then a game-tying pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning of the nightcap.
Honorable mention goes to Max Muncy, who played in his third All-Star Game and started at third base in Philadelphia, then homered off Gerrit Cole on Friday night at Yankee Stadium to give the Dodgers the win in the series opener.
Pitcher of the week
Two-time All-Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto rebounded from his first truly bad start of the season by going the distance on only 102 pitches on Sunday afternoon against the Yankees. He struck out seven, walked none, and hurled the Dodgers only complete game this season to date.
Yamamoto pitched the Dodgers’ first complete game at Yankee Stadium since Burt Hooton in Game 2 of the 1977 World Series (hat tip to Jay Jaffe for that nugget).
Week 17 results
2-1 record
11 runs scored (3.67 per game)
5 runs allowed (1.67 per game)
.809 pythagorean win percentage
Year to date
63-37 record
517 runs scored (5.17 per game)
362 runs allowed (3.62 per game)
.658 pythagorean win percentage (66-34)
Miscellany
Happy birthday: Left-hander Justin Wrobleski made his first All-Star team, and got to pitch two innings for the National League on his 26th birthday, Tuesday in Philadelphia. Wrobleski allowed a solo home run to old friend Miguel Vargas but also struck out five. That matched a Dodgers record in an All-Star Game, along with Don Drysdale in 1959 and Fernando Valenzuela in 1986. Those two previous five-strikeout affairs came in three-inning stints.
Wrobleski is just the second Dodger to play in an All-Star Game on his birthday. Closer Jeff Shaw made his Dodgers debut in the midsummer classic in 1998 on the day he turned 32 years old.
First things first: Two weeks after his major league debut, catcher Eliezer Alfonzo singled to center field off Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough in the third inning on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium for his first major league hit at 26 years, 299 days old.
Backstop on top: Speaking of catchers, Will Smith hasn’t played since June 5, and he’s expected to be out until at least mid-August as he still deals with neck inflammation. Smith led the Dodgers in catching starts and innings behind the plate every season from 2020-25, and was leading the team this year too until the weekend in New York. Dalton Rushing now tops the team with 46 catching starts and 398 1/3 innings, with Smith at 44 starts and 393 innings.
Transactions
Friday: Utility man Kiké Hernández started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, 52 days after suffering an oblique strain. He’s expected back at some point during the Dodgers homestand that begins on July 28.
Friday: Pitcher Charlie Barnes, who was designated for assignment on July 11, cleared waivers, was sent outright to Triple-A but declared free agency. But he’s back with Oklahoma City on a minor league deal.
Sunday: Pitcher Kyle Hurt was called up as the 27th player for the second game of the doubleheader in New York.
Game results
- Friday: Dodgers 2, Yankees 1
- Sunday: Dodgers 8, Yankees 2
- Sunday: Yankees 2, Dodgers 1
| Player | PA | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | BA/OBP/SLG |
| Edman | 10 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .444/.500/.889 |
| Muncy | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .333/.500/.779 |
| Rojas | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500/.500/.500 |
| Call | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000/1.000/.000 |
| Alfonzo | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500/.500/.500 |
| Ohtani | 13 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .231/.231/.308 |
| T.Hernández | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .200/.200/.300 |
| Pages | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .167/.231/.250 |
| Rushing | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000/.444/.000 |
| Freeman | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .100/.231/.100 |
| Tucker | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .154/.154/.154 |
| Betts | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000/.231/.000 |
| Totals | 111 | 11 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 13 | .200/.306/.316 |
| Pitcher | Record | IP | H | R | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Yamamoto | 1-0 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2.00 | 0.444 |
| Sasaki | 0-0 | 5.7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0.00 | 1.059 |
| Stewart | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| Vesia | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.00 | 1.500 |
| Hurt | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 | 1.000 |
| Dreyer | 1-0 | 1.7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 1.800 |
| Scott | 0-0, Sv | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| Phillips | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.00 | 3.000 |
| Klein | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 3.000 |
| Henriquez | 0-0 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 | 3.000 |
| Totals | 2-1 | 26 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 1.38 | 1.000 |
Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | no reviews for Weeks 14-15 | Week 16
Up next
The road trip continues, running the Juan Samuel gauntlet first in Philadelphia then back to New York to play the last-place, dumpster-fire Mets.
| Mon, 7/20 | Tue, 7/21 | Wed, 7/22 | Thu, 7/23 | Fri, 7/24 | Sat, 7/25 | Sun, 7/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at Phillies | at Phillies | at Phillies | at Mets | at Mets | at Mets | |
| 4:10 | 3:40 | 3:40 | 4:10 | 4:15 | 10:40 | |
| Sheehan | Lauer | Wrobleski | Sasaki | Yamamoto | TBA | |
| Sánchez* | Wheeler | Nola | Manaea* | McLean | Peralta | |
| ESPN | SNLA/TBS | SNLA | SNLA | Fox | SNLA |