Dodgers' Mookie Betts: Reaches three times, swipes base
Rotowire
Betts went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run and a stolen base against the Nationals in Thursday's 2-1 victory.
Betts scored the decisive run in the contest by walking, swiping second base and crossing the plate on a Freddie Freeman double in the eighth inning. Betts seems to be running more frequently so far this season -- the stolen base was his sixth of the campaign through 27 contests, putting him well on pace to reach 20 steals for the first time since 2018. That has to be sweet music to his fantasy managers' ears, and Betts is paying huge dividends in other areas as well, slashing .374/.477/.636 with six homers, 21 RBI and 27 runs.
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Dodgers' Teoscar Hernandez: Goes deep in victory
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Hernandez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday in a 2-1 win over Washington.
Hernandez's second-inning solo shot put the Dodgers on the board and amounted for half of the team's total output of runs in the low-scoring win. The long ball was the slugger's sixth of the campaign and his first over his past 11 contests. Hernandez has trailed off a bit of late after a strong start to his Dodgers tenure, but he still ranks second on the team and is tied for 11th in the majors with 20 RBI.
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Dodgers' Evan Phillips: Keeps rolling with seventh save
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Phillips earned a save against the Nationals on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect inning of work.
Phillips didn't have any trouble protecting Los Angeles' one-run ninth-inning lead, striking out the first two batters he faced before inducing a game-ending groundout. The right-hander has yielded just one earned run over 10.2 innings on the season, giving him a minuscule 0.84 ERA. Phillips has converted all seven of his save chances as he continues to build his case as one of the league's most reliable closers.
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Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Impressive again Thursday
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Yamamoto (2-1) earned the win over Washington on Thursday, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over six scoreless innings.
Despite a rough season debut, Yamamoto has thus far lived up to the billing that netted him a 12-year, $325 million contract in the offseason, as he's tossed a scoreless outing of at least five frames in half of his six starts so far. The Japanese hurler's outing Thursday was his second straight quality start and lowered his season ERA to 3.54. Yamamoto also holds a 1.07 WHIP and 37:6 K:BB through 28 innings.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Paxton's next start will be at Arizona on Monday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
Paxton would be on regular rest Sunday after he started Tuesday's game against the Nationals, but the Dodgers will go with a bullpen game Sunday in Toronto and give Paxton an extra day of rest. The southpaw has managed a 2.61 ERA but a 1.55 WHIP and 11:17 K:BB through 20.2 innings this season.
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Dodgers' Walker Buehler: Goes four-plus in rehab start
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Buehler (elbow) was charged with five runs (three earned) over four-plus innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
He permitted seven hits, walked two and struck out five. The line for Buehler wasn't pretty, but keep in mind that the game was pitched at high altitude at Albuquerque, so the results were mostly secondary. Buehler got his pitch count up to 86 and averaged 94.1 mph with his four-seamer, which is down 1.1 mph from what he averaged during the 2022 season prior to Tommy John surgery. It's possible this was Buehler's final rehab start, but that determination hasn't been made yet. He could potentially make his season debut as soon as Tuesday in Arizona.
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Dodgers' James Outman: Gets Thursday off
Rotowire
Outman is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
With the Dodgers and Nationals concluding their series with a day game after a night game and with southpaw MacKenzie Gore on the bump for Washington, Outman is one of three lefty-hitting regulars who will get the afternoon off. Outman will be joined on the bench by Gavin Lux and Max Muncy.
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Dodgers' Max Muncy: Takes seat against southpaw
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Muncy is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
With the Dodgers and Nationals concluding their series with a day game after a night game and with southpaw MacKenzie Gore on the bump for Washington, Muncy is one of three lefty-hitting regulars who will get the afternoon off. Muncy will be joined on the bench by Gavin Lux and James Outman.
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Dodgers' Gavin Lux: Sits against lefty
Rotowire
Lux is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
With the Dodgers and Nationals concluding their series with a day game after a night game and with southpaw MacKenzie Gore on the bump for Washington, Lux is one of three lefty-hitting regulars who will get the afternoon off. Lux will be joined on the bench by Max Muncy and James Outman.
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Dodgers' Austin Barnes: Draws starting nod Thursday
Rotowire
Barnes will start at catcher and bat ninth in Thursday's game against the Nationals.
Barnes will pick up his sixth start of the season while top backstop Will Smith gets a breather as the Dodgers and Nationals close their series with a day game after a night game. Over 19 plate appearances to date, Barnes has batted .250 with no extra-base hits, one RBI and one run.
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Dodgers' Will Smith: Receives rest day
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Smith is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
Smith will get a breather for the day game after he pounded out four hits, scored twice and drove in a run in Wednesday night's 11-2 win. Austin Barnes will fill in for Smith behind the plate.
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Dodgers' Mookie Betts: Four hits in rout
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Betts went 4-for-6 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's 11-2 win over the Nationals.
The 31-year-old continues to rake. Betts has had three or more hits three times in the last 10 games, batting .395 (17-for-43) over that stretch, and on the season he's already delivered a .365/.468/.625 slash line with six homers, five steals, 21 RBI and 26 runs in 26 contests. He hasn't produced a 30-30 campaign since 2018, but Betts seems intent on reaching that milestone again.
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Dodgers' Andy Pages: Swats second homer
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Pages went 3-for-5 with a double, a solo home run and two additional runs scored in Wednesday's 11-2 rout of the Nationals.
The rookie outfielder took Tanner Rainey deep in the eighth inning for his second homer in seven games since his promotion. Pages is batting .259 (7-for-27) in the majors with five of his hits going for extra bases, but his 0:9 BB:K is at least a small warning sign that tougher times could lie ahead.
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Dodgers' Landon Knack: Collects first career win
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Knack (1-1) picked up the win in Wednesday's 11-2 rout of the Nationals, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out five.
The 26-year-old rookie recorded his first career quality start along with his first MLB win, tossing 59 of 94 pitches for strikes and retiring the last 13 batters he faced after walking in a run in the second inning. Knack is making a case to stick in the Dodgers' rotation even after Walker Buehler (elbow) is declared ready for his 2024 debut, especially with Gavin Stone and James Paxton having issues in the early going.
Graterol (shoulder) has stopped his throwing program due to his arm remaining sore and manager Dave Roberts stated Wednesday, "It's going to be a long program" to get him back, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
Graterol threw a bullpen session last week and appeared to be trending well in his recovery, but his rehab program will now be put on pause. The right-hander may now have a difficult time returning from the 60-day injured list when first eligible May 18.
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Dodgers' Miguel Rojas: Collects two hits, steal in win
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Rojas went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base against the Nationals in Tuesday's 4-1 victory.
Rojas got the start at shortstop while Mookie Betts shifted to second base with southpaw Patrick Corbin starting for Washington. That has been the usual lineup arrangement versus lefties in what has developed into a platoon situation, with Gavin Lux starting at second and Betts playing shortstop versus right-handed starters. Rojas has performed well when given the opportunity, slashing .281/.324/.500 with two homers, five RBI, four runs and a stolen base over 34 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Lux has struggled mightily with a .148/.224/.164 slash line, though the Dodgers seem set on sticking with him for the time being.
