LOS ANGELES Dave Roberts accepted a new reality Friday night as his Los Angeles Dodgers team wrapped up a victory.
“I’d be lying if I said that no one’s watching the scoreboard and appreciating how good the rest of the teams in our division are playing,” Roberts said.
Even after Teoscar Hernández delivered yet another heroic performance in a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West has shrunk to just 3 1/2 games. Few teams in baseball are playing as well as the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks right now, and the Dodgers’ run of mediocre play over the past few months has transformed a once-underdog division into a genuine race.
Thus, September might be like no other. The Dodgers might not have a solid grip on their division going into the final month of the season for the first time since 2021. That creates a sense of urgency. The standings were mentioned by both general manager Brandon Gomes and manager Dave Roberts as the reason why Mookie Betts was moved back to the outfield this week.
Where would the Dodgers be this year without Teoscar Hernández?
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 11, 2024
“With where we’re at in a legitimate pennant race, that’s certainly front of mind,” Roberts said.
It’s a talking point that will linger after a week punctuated by notable returns and even more impactful injuries.
Even more injuries
It is difficult to find fault with the gloomy atmosphere that dominated the Dodgers’ home club on Tuesday night. After suffering a springtime shoulder injury, Brusdar Graterol made his much anticipated season debut, but after just eight pitches, he reached for the back of his right leg. It was followed by tears. Graterol’s injury has hardly begun, and any injury this time of year carries the possibility of being season-ending.
But when an MRI revealed a Grade 1, early worries about a Grade 3 injury subsided. Granted, there is little chance that Graterol will not return this year. His status is very important for a bullpen that is frequently used and depends on two players in their 30s, Blake Treinen and Daniel Hudson, who have both missed a significant amount of the last two seasons due to injury.
Not as fortunate was River Ryan. The big leaguer, 25, grimaced after throwing a slider on Saturday night after giving up three earned runs in his first 20 1/3 innings. A few innings prior, his forearm had become more tense, but he believed he could pitch through it.
Further examination linked his pain to his elbow. Ryan suffers from a strained ulnar collateral ligament, Roberts said reporters. Just as the pitcher’s climb to fame with the Dodgers was getting underway, his season is gone.
Make that 11 Dodgers starters who have hit the injured list this season:
Clayton Kershaw – shoulder
Tony Gonsolin – elbow
Dustin May – elbow
Nick Frasso – shoulder
Walker Buehler – elbow, hip
Emmet Sheehan – elbow
Kyle Hurt – elbow
Bobby Miller – shoulder
Yoshinobu Yamamoto – shoulder
Tyler Glasnow – back
River Ryan – elbow
Gonsolin and Frasso were expected to miss the whole season by the Dodgers, and May for the most part of it. Both Kershaw and Buehler have since returned to the major leagues, but Buehler was placed back on the injured list in June due to a hip injury. Both players had recently undergone surgery and were anticipated to begin the season on the injured list. The series of events that ensued, such as Sheehan and Hurt’s Tommy John operations, posed a serious threat to the Dodgers’ season-long viability and transaction record.
What are the Dodgers getting as a replacement?
Even prior to being sent back to the IL due to a persistent hip ailment, Buehler’s performance this season has not been good. That hiatus was meant to be a breather, a kind of reset that would prepare the right-hander for his comeback from a second Tommy John procedure. That is part of the reason he chose to go to Florida in order to reacclimate to a new voice.
Since then, his rehab visits have not shown much promise. Still, Buehler will make a comeback, starting for the Dodgers in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
With just one run allowed for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 5 1/3 innings, his most recent start was also his most encouraging. The Dodgers have consistently emphasized that he still has enough talent to be useful. The largest obstacle still lies in perfecting Buehler’s execution.
“He’s in a good spot,” Roberts said. “I think physically he feels great. He obviously performed well. It still matters to go out there and feel good about your last outing before coming back. I honestly think this is as confident, as good as Walker has felt — physically and mentally — this year.”
During the last two months of the season, one of the biggest mysteries will continue to be what the Dodgers acquire in Buehler. Getting a feel on Buehler is crucial now more than ever after Ryan’s injury.
The week of Betts
This week, Mookie Betts began as the leadoff hitter and shortstop for the Dodgers. He was their shortstop and No. 2 batter back then. He is currently their right fielder and No. 2 batter.
Got all that?
But Betts dismissed any notion that he may be upset about missing the last month and a half of play because of a broken hand, including losing his position in the order on the field.
“I could’ve said (something) but that would’ve been not very smart,” Betts said. “That wouldn’t have been a very smart thing, a very selfish thing. That’s not who I am. I’ve preached this from the very beginning, and I always will.”
Even if every decision he made involves some degree of common sense, Betts had the ability to lead the Dodgers in a different direction. The Dodgers’ decision to separate lefties Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the batting order makes sense. Betts has improved as a shortstop, but there are still superior defensive choices. The Dodgers’ outfield problems are severe.
“There’s only one Mookie,” Betts said when asked why he was fine with the move. “I don’t care. I want to win. Keep that first and foremost, and the rest just is what it is.”
The stakes remain quite high, even if Betts doesn’t voice any displeasure.
“He is a superstar that is a rarity,” Gomes said. “And I think we have a lot of them on our team — ‘Hey, I will take on any challenges that help the team.’ He’s somebody who puts the team first. We try to be as open as we can with our players and we have a great relationship with Mookie. We go back and forth and at the end of the day, he’s just ‘I’m good with whatever. Let’s go win a World Series.’”
(Photo of Teoscar Hernández: John McCoy / Getty Images)
