Daily Clips

August 23, 2016

LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPS

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2016

DODGERS.COM: Seventh wonder: Dodgers trounce Reds-Mark Sheldon and Cody Pace Seager hits 22nd homer, ties franchise mark-Cody Pace Toles, Segedin mash first big league homers-Cody Pace De Leon, Slater among top prospect performers Monday-Mike Rosenbaum Kazmir slated to have exam on Tuesday-Cody Pace Sizing up Dodgers, Giants ahead of key series-Phil Rogers LA TIMES: Adrian Gonzalez hits three home runs in Dodgers' 18-9 victory over Reds-Andy McCullough Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir to have neck and back examined-Andy McCullough With Brett Anderson's next start in jeopardy, Ross Stripling rejoins Dodgers-Andy McCullough OC REGISTER: Dodgers hit seven home runs, including three by Adrian Gonzalez, in 18-9 rout of Reds-Bill Plunkett Dodgers, Giants come into key series heading in opposite directions-Bill Plunkett On deck: Giants at Dodgers, Tuesday, 7 p.m. -Bill Plunkett DODGER INSIDER: The battle for first place: Dodgers-Giants preview-Jon Weisman Scott Kazmir to see doctor in latest pitching twist-Jon Weisman González blasts three HR, Dodgers seven in 18-9 romp-Jon Weisman Dodgers Sports Accelerator taps five companies in ’16-Jon Weisman No, you shouldn’t give up on Josh Reddick-Jon Weisman TRUEBLUELA.COM: 2016 MLB postseason schedule: NLDS begins Friday, Oct. 7-Eric Stephen Omar Estevez and Idandel Isabel key Loons 4-3 comeback win-Craig Minami Corey Seager & Kyle Seager, climbing the brothers home run list-Eric Stephen Dodgers sign Dan Johnson as pitcher-Eric Stephen Jose De Leon takes no-hitter into 7th, strikes out 10-Eric Stephen ESPN LA: Giants-Dodgers a matchup of slumping, scoring and great pitch-framing-Sarah Langs & Mark Simon First place the prize as Dodgers clash with Giants-Doug Padilla Lasers in the outfield: New-age defense moves beyond the infield-Wallace Matthews Will Kershaw and Stanton return? Each contender's biggest injury question-Jerry Crasnick Adrian González leads Dodgers' home run barrage-ESPN Stats and Info Adrian Gonzalez hits 3 of Dodgers' 7 homers in win over Reds-AP George Lopez, Fernando Valenzuela super-fan, celebrates Julio Urias-One Nacion MLB Rumor Central: Dodgers actively shopping Yasiel Puig?-Doug Mittler NBC LA: Dodgers Offense Erupts for 7 Home Runs in 18-9 Rout of Reds-Michael Duarte Los Angeles Dodgers Injury Updates: Clayton Kershaw Feels '100 Percent'-Michael Duarte USA TODAY SPORTS: For Dodgers and Giants, marathon season about to turn into a sprint-Jorge L. Ortiz The Dodgers’ Josh Reddick hurt his finger while holding the door for room service-Andrew Joseph Dodgers rookie Julio Urias already leads the Majors in pickoffs-Ted Berg FOX SPORTS: The Dodgers' Josh Reddick just suffered the season's most embarrassing injury-Chris Bahr Report: Dodgers 'trying to give away Puig,' but no one wants him-Lindsey Foltin FANGRAPHS: All Right, Adrian Gonzalez Is Back-Jeff Sullivan SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: LA Dodgers announce next five companies in their accelerator program-Taylor Bloom LA BIZ: Dodgers Accelerator recruits five new startups-Annlee Ellingson SB NATION: Giants vs. Dodgers odds 2016: San Francisco and Los Angeles battle for NL West in pick'em game-OddsShark MLB.COM: The Dodgers have started wearing striped socks for first time in nearly 80 years-Michael Clair

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2016

DODGERS.COM

Seventh wonder: Dodgers trounce Reds By Mark Sheldon and Cody Pace CINCINNATI -- If the Dodgers' bats came alive in Sunday's win, they were downright perky on Monday. With seven home runs, including four slugged during the top of the fifth inning, Los Angeles took a wild 18-9 victory over the Reds to gain a split of their four-game series. Adrian Gonzalez did the most damage with three homers and a career-high eight RBIs, including a three-run shot in the first inning, a solo homer in the six-run fifth and another three-run homer in the seventh. The win helped inch the Dodgers' lead in the National League West standings to one game over the idle Giants ahead of the rivals' three-game series that opens on Tuesday. "There was a lot of good things," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Obviously, Adrian had a career day and Chase [Utley], Corey [Seager], guys were on base all game and to see that these guys didn't let up and continue to put together at-bats, run the bases, hit some balls out of the ballpark, very excited for our offense." The Dodgers are the second team this season to hit seven homers in a game. The last team do it was the White Sox, who launched seven in a 10-8 loss to the Blue Jays on June 25. "The majority of the days you feel really good, as some of my games have shown. And then some days it's just not there for no rhyme or reason that I'm aware of," said Reds starter Homer Bailey, who was tagged for six earned runs and nine hits over 2 1/3 innings in his fifth start back from Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third inning against Bailey. But Cincinnati -- aided by Joey Votto's three-RBI day where he was a homer away from the cycle -- worked its way back. Its three runs in the third inning cut Scott Kazmir's day short and added another run in the fourth inning to make it a 6-5 game. In the top of the fifth, the Dodgers' offense erupted and blew the game open against reliever Josh Smith. Rookies Andrew Toles hit a two-run homer and Rob Segedin made it back-to-back long balls -- both the first of their careers -- and Seager added a two-run shot. With Smith out, Gonzalez smoked a first-pitch homer against Jumbo Diaz to reopen a large gap that the Reds could not close a second time. Gonzalez's third homer came in the seventh against Blake Wood to make it an eight-run game. It was the fourth time in the history of Great American Ball Park that there was a seven-homer game, but it was the first time it was done by the visiting team. The seven homers given up also tied a record for Reds pitchers that was most recently achieved this season on May 31 at Colorado. It was the first

time the Dodgers hit that many since Sept. 18, 2006, vs. the Padres. The 18 runs and 21 hits were season highs for Dodgers hitters and the most allowed this season by Cincinnati. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Seager's 22nd: According to Statcast™, Seager's fifth-inning blast had an exit velocity of 103 mph and landed 401 feet away from home plate. The homer was his 22nd of the season, tying the Dodgers' franchise record for a shortstop, set in 1930 by Glenn Wright. Seager batted .692 in the series with five RBIs, and he has a .343 average in his last 92 games since starting the season with a .243 mark in his first 28 games. "It's cool whenever," Seager said. "That's not why you're out here playing, but when it happens, it's something to kind of celebrate at the end of the year." Solid combo: Jose Peraza and Votto thrice jump-started the Reds' efforts to get back into the game. In the three-run bottom of the third, Peraza hit a leadoff double to left field and scored on Votto's RBI single. In the fourth, Peraza hit a one-out single and scored from first base on Votto's RBI double to the left-field wall. In the sixth, after Peraza reached on an infield hit, Votto's liner to right field was misplayed by a diving Toles and went for a RBI triple that put Votto a homer away from hitting for the natural cycle. Peraza had four hits in the game, a career high. "That's my goal right now, get on base and try to be in scoring position. After that, let those guys do their job and bring me in," said Peraza, a former Dodger, via translator Julio Morillo. For whom the bell Toles: Toles and Segedin became the first players in Dodgers history to hit their first Major League homers in consecutive at-bats. It was the second time teammates hit their first career home runs back-to-back this month, following Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and first baseman Tyler Austin in their Aug. 13 debuts, and the fourth time in the last 30 years, per the Elias Sports Bureau. "Andrew, just getting called up, put a lot of good swings the last couple days, and for him to get his first homer, which was actually a big one to change the momentum back, and then you see Segedin follow that up with his homer, first homer," Roberts said. "I know that their teammates were very excited for those two guys to get their first two homers." First batter blues: It was a dismal day for the Reds' bullpen, and two of Gonzalez's homers helped the group extend a dubious club record. His shots against Diaz and Wood were the 24th and 25th times this season that a Cincinnati reliever gave up a home run vs. his first batter faced. That's also the most in the Major Leagues since the 25 first-batter homers allowed by the Rays' bullpen in 2007. "They were swinging it and swinging it well and swinging it comfortably," Reds manager Bryan Price said of the Dodgers against all of his relievers. "Sometimes when you start things like that, they're really hard to stop. You get into your middle relief guys and the game's kind of out of control a little bit." QUOTABLE "Doesn't ring a bell, Chavez Ravine, Marlon Anderson, Nomar [Garciaparra], doesn't ring a bell. … I was in left field, watching one go over my head, a couple in right center. Yeah, I saw it. I remember it." --

Roberts, who was the Padres' left fielder the last time the Dodgers hit seven homers in a game and four in one inning "What do you get out of them? You get to learn what persistence is and what respect for the game is. I think we showed that today, as ugly as it was. As much as we didn't want to go through it, there was some effort at the end and I appreciated that." -- Price, on his offense providing several good performances amid the blowout loss HOLT PITCHES IN Things were so rough on Monday for the Reds' pitching staff that reserve outfielder Tyler Holt was used to pitch the ninth inning. Holt did something pitchers from both teams struggled to do -- worked a 1-2-3 inning while using five pitches. It was the first time the Reds had a position player pitch since Skip Schumaker took the mound on Aug. 21, 2014, during an 8-0 loss to the Braves. More > UPON FURTHER REVIEW In the top of the first inning, the Reds challenged the safe call at the plate when Joc Pederson scored on Toles' sacrifice fly, just ahead of a good throw from left fielder Adam Duvall and the tag from Tucker Barnhart. After a brief review, the call from home-plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth was confirmed. WHAT'S NEXT Dodgers: The Dodgers head back home for a pivotal three-game series against the Giants, who trail the Dodgers by a game in the NL West. Kenta Maeda takes the mound for the Dodgers against Madison Bumgarner for the 7:10 p.m. PT first pitch. Reds: A two-game series vs. the Rangers begins at 7:10 p.m. ET with Dan Straily having an opportunity to right the ship for the Reds' pitching staff. Straily is 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his last seven starts that have all been won by Cincinnati. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV. Seager hits 22nd homer, ties franchise mark By Cody Pace CINCINNATI -- First baseman Adrian Gonzalez has seen a lot of rookies in his 13-year career. When he saw shortstop Corey Seager, Gonzalez knew the Dodgers had something special. "I always said that I thought he was type of talent, type of guy that will be in the Hall of Fame discussion 20 years from now," Gonzalez said after the Dodgers' 18-9 trouncing of the Reds on Monday. While there's a long ways to go before Gonzalez's premonition can be proven accurate, Seager has gotten off to a good start in his first full season in the big leagues. Already in the running for the National

League Rookie of the Year Award and in the discussion for the NL MVP Award, Seager is having one of the best seasons for a Dodgers shortstop. On Monday, Seager added to that lore, hitting his 22nd homer of the season to tie Glenn Wright's 1930 mark for most in a single season by a Dodgers shortstop. "It's cool whenever," Seager said. "That's not why you're out here playing, but when it happens, it's something to kind of celebrate at the end of the year." Seager, who went 4-for-5 with three RBIs on Monday, also extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Seager started the season slowly, batting .243 with two homers through his first 28 games. In 92 games since then, Seager has hit .343 with 20 homers and has gone on four hitting streaks of 10 or more games. Seager isn't just getting it done with the bat, either. He ranks third among all shortstops with an 11.6 ultimate zone rating (UZR) and by Fangraphs' version of WAR, Seager's 6.2 ranks fifth, behind only Kris Bryant's 6.6 in the NL. "He's been incredible," Gonzalez said. "Definitely night in and night out, swings the bat great, plays great defense for us. It's just, done a lot more than we thought he would his first year. … He's shown that it doesn't matter what league there is, he's going to rake." Toles, Segedin mash first big league homers By Cody Pace CINCINNATI -- The last time the Dodgers had four homers in the same inning, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and manager Dave Roberts were wearing different uniforms. During Monday's 18-9 thrashing of the Reds, the Dodgers bashed four homers in a span of six batters in the fifth inning. The last time Los Angeles hit four homers in an inning was on Sept. 18, 2006, when it crushed back-to-back-to-back-to-back long balls in an 11-10 walk-off victory against the Padres. Roberts was playing left field that day for San Diego and Gonzalez was at first base. "I was in left field, watching one go over my head, a couple in right center," Roberts said. "Yeah, I saw it. I remember it." "Who won [the division]?" Gonzalez quipped. Roberts had a different view of a four-homer inning on Monday. Gonzalez played a part in that fateful frame, hitting the final homer, his second of three on the day to go along with a career-high eight RBIs. But that inning proved special for another reason, too. The first homer came from right fielder Andrew Toles, who was recently recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Toles took a 1-1 slider deep to right field, driving in two for his first career homer. On the

next pitch, third baseman Rob Segedin took a curveball to left-center field, also for his first career homer. Although it was the second time this month that two players have gone back-to-back for their first career homers -- following the Yankees' Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin on Aug. 13 -- it was the just the fourth time in the last 30 years that it'd happened, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "I mean, when I saw he hit his, I looked up on the board and I saw that it was his first, so I was excited for him because I knew, especially because it landed in the net that he was going to get the ball back," Segedin said. "It was a big hit at the time, too. What I was able to do, the next pitch, it was pretty cool." The day was sort of a perfect storm for both players. Toles wasn't even originally in the lineup, only to be a late insert after Josh Reddick came up with a jammed right middle finger. Segedin, who spent the first six innings in the field before being removed in a double switch, hoped he wasn't going to get a phone call, because Monday was his wife's due date. "Once I got taken out of the game, I just came in and checked and made sure that she didn't go into labor while I was playing," Segedin said. "Once I heard from her, I was kind of relaxing knowing that I can probably get back in time just in case anything does happen." While Segedin has some important matters to take care of once he gets back to Los Angeles, Toles is just hoping that the ball, which he was able to get retrieved, makes it back. "If I don't lose it, I'll probably give it to my mom or something," Toles said. "I lose a lot of stuff. That's a problem." De Leon, Slater among top prospect performers Monday By Mike Rosenbaum Since beginning his season in early May, Jose De Leon has been making a strong case for a late-season promotion to the Major Leagues. The Dodgers' No. 2 prospect took another step towards achieving that goal on Monday, when he struck out 10 hitters over seven scoreless innings to pace Triple-A Oklahoma City in a 7-0 shutout of New Orleans. He carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning before surrendering a leadoff single to Marlins No. 11 prospect J.T. Riddle. It was the only hit the right-hander allowed in the contest. De Leon also induced eight ground-ball outs while throwing 66 of his 88 pitches for strikes. Ranked No. 38 on the Top 100, De Leon compiled just two strikeouts through the first two innings but missed more bats as he worked deeper into the game, striking out the side in the subsequent frame and then notching a pair of strikeouts in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively. De Leon's 10-strikeout performance was his second in as many starts, and he's now accomplished the feat four times in his past eight turns for Oklahoma City. In his Minor League career, the 24-year-old right-hander has recorded double-digit strikeouts in 15 of 63 starts over parts of four seasons.

With a win on Monday, De Leon improved to 6-1 in 15 starts for Oklahoma City. He's posted a 2.86 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in that span, with 98 strikeouts and 20 walks in 78 2/3 innings, all the while limiting opposing hitters to a .199 average. The rest of the best performances from top prospects Monday • Nos. 15 and 61 overall prospects Amed Rosario (Mets' No. 1) and Dominic Smith (Mets' No. 2) hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning to help power Double-A Binghamton past Hartford, 6-3. Overall, the duo combined to go 5-for-6 at the plate, with three extra-base hits, three RBIs and five runs scored. • No. 50 overall prospect Nick Senzel (Reds' No. 1) tallied four RBIs and reached base four times in Class A Dayton's 11-10 win over Lansing. The 2016 No. 2 overall Draft pick finished the game 2-for-3, hitting a bases-clearing double and drawing two walks, to improve his average to .315 for the Dragons. He also scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, capping a seven-run comeback by Dayton. • For a second straight outing, No. 72 overall prospect Brady Aiken (Indians' No. 2) allowed exactly one earned run on three hits with six strikeouts in five innings for Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley. The 20-year-old lefty is 2-4 with a 5.48 ERA on the season, but he's accrued 48 strikeouts and allowed just three homers in 37 innings. • After hitting 29 home runs with Double-A Midland, A's No. 4 prospect Matt Chapman connected on his first home run for Triple-A Nashville in a 12-3 rout of Omaha. Jaycob Brugman (A's No. 22) turned in another big offensive performance, going 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, giving him 20 hits in his past 44 at-bats. • After allowing six earned runs and walking six in his last outing, Blue Jays No. 10 prospect Conner Greene rebounded to toss seven scoreless innings for Double-A New Hampshire and lower his ERA to 3.55. The 21-year-old right-hander scattered three hits, walked a pair and struck out one, with 54 of his 86 pitches going for strikes. It was his third scoreless start for the Fisher Cats. "I have the same approach every outing," Greene told MiLB.com. "The six walks in the last outing, that was just a lack of command. I wasn't staying within myself and maybe a little overthrowing. My approach is the same every game, I try to change nothing day in and day out and try to compete and give my team a chance to win. Nothing much really changed, except I had fastball command, unlike last time, which was very bad. "If I keep it low, it's a good outing. If I can spot up with the fastball, I throw with a little velo and the low fastball, good things happen. Overall, fastball down in the zone, I believe, is the key to a successful outing. And if you can do it every time, you can really get through lineups." • Braves No. 13 prospect Austin Riley homered for a second straight game for Class A Rome on Monday, his 17th of the season. Riley's power really has been on display during the second half, during which he's connected on 14 home runs in 54 games. • No prospect is swinging a hotter bat right now than Austin Slater. On Monday, the Giants' No. 22 prospect paced Triple-A Sacramento's offense in a win over Reno with a pair of two-run home runs and an RBI double, finishing the contest 3-for-5 with five RBIs. The 23-year-old second-baseman-turned-outfielder has collected at least three hits in four straight games for the River Cats, during which he's

gone 13-for-17 to improve his Triple-A average to .297 from .258. He has four home runs, three doubles, nine RBIs and eight runs scored in that span. • Rays No. 9 prospect Casey Gillaspie hit a pair of two-run homers and scored three times in a 4-for-5 performance for Triple-A Durham in a 10-6 win over Norfolk. The switch-hitting first baseman has gone deep four times in 33 games since being promoted from Double-A Montgomery, where he had 11 home runs in 85 games. • Red Sox No. 21 prospect Bobby Dalbec fell a double shy of the cycle but extended his hitting streak to seven games with a 3-for-5 performance for Class A Short Season Lowell. The 2016 fourth-rounder's home run was his sixth of the season, while his three RBIs give him 25 through 23 games. • Rockies No. 8 prospect Kyle Freeland held Reno to just one hit over seven innings in his second straight scoreless start for Triple-A Albuquerque. The 2014 first-rounder struck out four without issuing a walk and generated another 10 outs on the ground before departing the game after 91 pitches (59 strikes). • With his pair of doubles for Class A Asheville, Rockies No. 29 prospect Brian Mundell is now tied for the South Atlantic League record with 55. The 22-year-old first baseman is having an impressive full-season debut, with a .322 average, 70 extra-base hits and 78 RBIs through 124 games. • Yankees No. 13 prospect Dustin Fowler's bat proved to be the difference in Double-A Trenton's 5-2 win over Bowie as he finished a double short of hitting for the cycle. The 21-year-old outfielder notched his 10th home run, a solo shot in the first inning, as well as his 13th triple. He's hit 29 doubles and swiped 22 bags in 121 games. Kazmir slated to have exam on Tuesday By Cody Pace CINCINNATI -- Coming into Monday's game against the Reds, four of the Dodgers' last eight starters had gone fewer than four innings. After giving up four runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings in an 18-9 win, Scott Kazmir made it five out of nine. "Scott is fighting some physical things with his body," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He's doing what he can, but when your body doesn't feel right, mechanically, it affects mechanics. He knows he wants to go out there and go deeper in a game. When you've got a 6-1 lead, he wants the decision, for himself, for the team. When you're physically limited and you can't execute, he's frustrated." Kazmir is dealing with some stiffness in his neck and his back, something he said that he's been dealing with "for years." The problem with his neck in particular has messed with Kazmir's mechanics, not allowing him to get his head toward the catcher properly and resulting in him flying open. While the problem was described by Kazmir as "fatigue," he's going to have an exam on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

"No matter what happens, we've gotten this far," Kazmir said. "I know how my body works. If we have some type of imaging, whatever happens, I'll strengthen it up and I'll continue to do what I do." Neither Kazmir nor Roberts seemed to believe that Kazmir could be forced to miss a start due to the injury, which is good news for a beleaguered pitching corps that could end up putting Brett Anderson on the DL and bringing Ross Stripling back to pitch out of the bullpen. If Anderson goes on the DL, it would be the seventh Dodgers' starter on the DL, excluding Rich Hill, who will be activated prior to his start Wednesday. "Right now, we're not thinking about the DL," Roberts said. "But that is a decision, if he's not going to be 100 percent. We have to think about what's best for the ballclub right now, so we'll make that decision in the days coming." Roberts also revealed that Norris was dealing with a little bit of a tight back. Norris pitched out of the bullpen as one of six relievers used Monday. However, that will not affect his eligibility to potentially take Anderson's turn on Thursday, because Monday was Norris' scheduled throw day between starts. The back, which brought trainers to the mound during Monday's outing, shouldn't keep Norris out either. "After a couple throws, I saw a little wincing and it didn't seem right," Roberts said. "I didn't see the warmups, and when I saw him get out there, something just didn't look right. So his back was tight. I would think that he'd be fine and I didn't want to extend him anymore." Sizing up Dodgers, Giants ahead of key series By Phil Rogers This is the way the Dodgers should send Vin Scully out. They're fighting with the Giants for a title, just like they did in their great race in 1951. That was Scully's second year working alongside Red Barber in Brooklyn, and it ended with heartbreak for the Dodgers when Bobby Thomson hit "The Shot Heard Round the World" off Ralph Branca. Who knows what this year's back-and-forth race for the National League West holds. With six weeks left in the season, Los Angeles is one game ahead of San Francisco in the division, and the two rivals meet nine times, beginning with a three-game series at Dodger Stadium from Tuesday-Thursday. This is an even-numbered year, of course, and that means the Giants are expecting to find a way to battle their way to the World Series, no matter who stands in their way. Yet it's the Dodgers who have a chance to win their fourth consecutive division title, this time under rookie manager Dave Roberts. Scully's 67-year career in the broadcast booth will end when Los Angeles' season is over. Here's a look at how the teams match up: Rotation

While the Dodgers were seriously improvising since long before Clayton Kershaw's back started acting up, the Giants haven't had much about which to complain. They not only have had Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija lined up since Opening Day, but they added lefty Matt Moore at the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline. This feels like a big advantage for San Francisco, but it hasn't really been due to the work of Los Angeles starters Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir. Both teams have depth issues, but Deadline acquisition Rich Hill will finally make his first start for the Dodgers on Wednesday. Kershaw, the ultimate trump card, is also working his way back toward the mound, and he is fully capable of making a handful of difference-making starts. Edge: Giants, but not by as much as you'd think. Bullpen You know the old narrative? The one about Los Angeles not being able to get leads to Kenley Jansen? That isn't really holding. Joe Blanton, Pedro Baez and Adam Liberatore have turned the bullpen into a strength for Roberts. All bets are off if Jansen bolts as a free agent after the season, but that's beside the point. Unfortunately for San Francisco, another narrative not holding is the one about the strength of its 'pen. It has been a mess all season, with only the Marlins and the White Sox having more blown saves. Bruce Bochy has gone to Jake Peavy in some big spots, and that's not a great sign. Hunter Strickland and Derek Law both have great stuff, but can they be trusted? Edge: Dodgers, surprisingly by a lot. Getting runners on base There's not a lot of difference between these lineups when you look with a long view, but looking since the All-Star break, it's clear the Giants are in trouble. They've slowed down scoring runs (3.9 per game in their past 34 games), in large part because they haven't been getting runners on. Brandon Belt, Hunter Pence and Buster Posey were all in the NL's top 30 in on-base percentage before the break, but only Posey has remained. The hamstring injury that forced Pence to have surgery stopped the good thing that the club had going, and it hasn't gotten it back. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have been creating more traffic on the bases recently. Joc Pederson, Yasmani Grandal, Howie Kendrick and Corey Seager are combining to get on base about 40 percent of the time since the All-Star break. Driving 'em in Where have you gone, Willie McCovey? The Giants have hit more home runs (101) than only the Braves this season (85), with only 26 since the break.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers mashed seven homers on Monday -- the most by any team in a game this season -- to bring their season total to 143. After a slow start, Justin Turner has hit 20 of his 23 homers since June 1, and Seager walloped his 22nd homer on Monday, tying Glenn Wright's 1930 mark for the most homers in a season by a Dodgers shortstop. Edge: Dodgers, and again, it's big. Picking it Both teams are very solid in the field. But the metrics say the Dodgers are the better team, with fielding that trends toward the exception. Only the Cubs and Blue Jays are better in defensive efficiency, as measured by Baseball Prospectus. Believe it or not, the supposedly one-dimensional Turner is the Dodgers' best fielder, when measured in terms of Defensive Runs Saved. He's played more innings this year than in 2015, which has helped, but the club's biggest improvement lies in getting full seasons from a middle infield of Seager and Utley after going primarily with Jimmy Rollins and Kendrick (now a left fielder) a year ago. Pederson has been an asset in center too. Brandon Crawford and Posey are both NL Gold Glove Award-caliber defenders for the Giants at critical positions (at +17 DRS, Crawford is second in the Majors to White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton). Edge: Dodgers, who are one of only a handful of MLB teams who would get this edge over the Giants. Remaining schedule Neither team has a tough schedule left, which could help the eventual division runner-up advance to the NL Wild Card Game. San Francisco gets to play Atlanta for three games, but also has to go to Wrigley Field for four against Chicago (which goes to Dodger Stadium for three games this weekend). The Dodgers have two more games left against the D-backs than the Giants, and they will be the host for two of the three remaining head-to-head series between the NL West leaders. That said, if the race comes down to the season-ending Los Angeles-San Francisco series, that one will be at AT&T Park. Edge: None. Fatigue factor Both of these are among the oldest teams in the Major Leagues, so you know the trainers and conditioning guys will be busy in September. One unknown is how Maeda will handle the end of his first season in a five-man rotation. But credit Roberts for doing a good job in limiting his workload, as the 28-year-old Maeda projects to work fewer than 200 innings, a level he reached four times for the Hiroshima Carp. Edge: Giants, because they have Bumgarner (and many others who know the drill), along with Bochy's understanding of how to wring the most from his roster. Overall Our analysis calls it for the Dodgers, but you know the Giants will keep it close until the end.

LA TIMES

Adrian Gonzalez hits three home runs in Dodgers' 18-9 victory over Reds By Andy McCullough A few steps away from the Dodgers dugout, moments after his third home run of the afternoon cleared the outfield fence, Adrian Gonzalez revealed his affection for this bandbox along the banks of the Ohio River. “I love this ballpark,” Gonzalez shouted as he thumped biceps with Joc Pederson, repeating a common sentiment for hitters since Great American Ball Park opened in 2003. In an 18-9 trouncing of the Cincinnati Reds, the Dodgers’ final act before a three-night clash with San Francisco this week at Dodger Stadium, the offense launched seven home runs, including a four-homer barrage in the fifth inning alone. The long-ball party obscured a troubling effort from starter Scott Kazmir and a game that dragged beyond the four-hour mark. Manager Dave Roberts looked drained afterward, heartened by the offense but fretful by the ongoing issues of his starting rotation. Kazmir will undergo an examination on his neck and back in Los Angeles this week. A bout of stiffness in his neck has prevented him from finishing his delivery, which explained his 78-pitch, eight-out performance on Monday. The situation leaves the team potentially forced to fill two spots in the rotation, as Brett Anderson deals with a blister. “Very excited,” Roberts said afterward, “for our offense.” The players did not share Roberts’ angst. The victory pulled the Dodgers (69-55) a full game ahead of the Giants in the National League West. Kenta Maeda will duel with left-handed ace Madison Bumgarner on Tuesday. Consider Maeda the luckiest man on the Dodgers roster: He flew home on Sunday evening and was not forced to rot in the dugout for Monday’s rollercoaster. As the group packed for a return home, the hitters found so many reasons for happiness. Each homer in the fifth-inning quartet featured a note of trivia or a reason for optimism. Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin became the first players in Dodgers history to hit their first major league homers in back-to-back at-bats. Corey Seager tied a franchise record for homers by a shortstop with 22. And Gonzalez provided even more evidence of his second-half resurgence, setting a career high with eight runs batted in. The Dodgers hit seven homers in a game and four in one inning for the first time since Sept. 18, 2006, when the club accomplished both milestones in a game against San Diego. Roberts remembered that night. He watched those homers fly out of the park while playing left field for the Padres. “It feels much better on this side of things,” Roberts said.

The lineup pelted Reds starter Homer Bailey and bounced him from the game in the third inning. Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in the first. Toles lofted a sacrifice fly in the first and cracked an RBI single in the third. Segedin contributed a sacrifice fly in third. A six-run tally in three innings tends to be enough for a starting pitcher. But Kazmir managed to collect fewer outs than Bud Norris on Friday (11) and Brett Anderson on Saturday (nine). And Toles misplayed a pair of flyballs into run-scoring triples. So the Dodgers only held a one-run lead when the fifth inning began. After a walk by Howie Kendrick, Toles stepped to the plate. A couple hours before the game, Roberts sauntered through the room, offering a greeting and a nickname for each man in his path, from third base coach Chris Woodward (“Woody”) to catcher A.J. Ellis (“Andrew”) to outfielder Joc Pederson (“Young Joc”). Roberts settled his gaze upon Toles, who was napping by his locker, his ears plugged by buds. “What’s up, Tolesy, how’s The Show?” Roberts said. “Sleep at night, Tolesy.” Roberts cackled as he left the room. The team would need Toles to wake up soon after, when Josh Reddick informed the training staff he had jammed the middle finger on his right hand. The Dodgers scratched Reddick and inserted Toles into the lineup. In the fifth, Toles lashed a slider from reliever Justin Smith into the netting strung up above the Dodgers bullpen beyond the right-field fence. His teammates mobbed him inside the dugout. The Dodgers were able to retrieve the baseball and give it to Toles. He stashed it in his bag. He expected to give it to his mother, “if I don’t lose it,” he said. “I lose a lot of stuff. It’s a problem.” Segedin received a different reaction in the dugout. After he shipped a curveball over the fence in left, he stood alone at the bat rack, as his teammates held firm on the bench. After a few moments, the group converged on him, too. “They like Toles,” Segedin said. “They don’t like me.” The two homers removed some tension from the contest. But they did not slow down the Dodgers offense. Three batters later, Seager crushed a two-run shot. The Reds removed Smith from the mound, but Gonzalez greeted new pitcher Jumbo Diaz with a homer on his first pitch of the game. The afternoon did not require an exclamation point. But the offense kept churning. Gonzalez supplied a three-run blast in the seventh. Yasmani Grandal followed with a solo shot. Seager added an RBI single in the eighth. Gonzalez drove in his eighth run with a groundout in the next at-bat. “It was a great ending for the road trip,” Gonzalez said. “Happy to fly back home, and we’ll focus on the series tomorrow, tomorrow.”

Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir to have neck and back examined By Andy McCullough The Dodgers medical staff will examine the neck and back of pitcher Scott Kazmir when the team returns to Los Angeles on Tuesday. Kazmir described the condition as stiffness on the right side of his neck, which prevents him from completing his delivery properly. “We’re going to address it to see what’s going on,” Kazmir said after the Dodgers’ 18-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. “It’s something that I’ve been dealing with for, honestly, years now. I’m a little stubborn. But we’ll see what’s going on.” The issue manifested during an abbreviated but excruciating outing for Kazmir on Monday. He required 78 pitches to record only eight outs. Due to the stiffness, he could not turn his head to the right side and look at the plate without his right shoulder drooping and hampering his delivery. Kazmir (10-6, 4.59 earned-run average) felt a recurrence in the condition in between his outing last week in Philadelphia. He has never undergone an MRI exam for his neck, he said. That may change this week. The injury would create another hole in a Dodgers rotation that requires a potential plug for Thursday. Due to a blister on Brett Anderson’s left index finger, the team flew in rookie Ross Stripling to Cincinnati before Monday’s game. The team would need to place a player on the disabled list to activate Stripling, who was optioned to the minors last week. “If Brett doesn’t respond to treatment, then that would probably be the corresponding move,” Manager Dave Roberts said. Anderson has pitched in two games this season. Both classify as disasters. He lasted one inning in his debut. The blister bothered him midway through a three-inning nightmare on Saturday night here. Anderson has a 24.75 ERA thus far. Anderson played catch with Clayton Kershaw on Monday morning. He was not cleared to throw any breaking balls, Roberts said. Roberts listed Stripling and Bud Norris as potential replacements for Thursday. But Norris tweaked his back while pitching in emergency relief on Monday. And the team may need another pitcher for Kazmir’s spot this weekend against the Chicago Cubs. Kazmir insisted he will be fine. But Roberts acknowledged the team may go another route. “We’re going to do what’s best for the ballcub,” Roberts said. Josh Reddick scratched with finger issue Josh Reddick’s difficult early tenure as a Dodger took a comical but painful turn on Sunday evening, when he injured his finger when his hand got caught in a hotel door. Reddick was trying to hold the door open for a room-service cart.

“I’m at rock bottom right now,” Reddick said. “But I will climb out.” The Dodgers scratched him from the lineup on Monday morning when he felt uncomfortable throwing the baseball. He is expected to get Tuesday off, too, with San Francisco left-hander Madison Bumgarner on the mound. Reddick is hitting .149 as a Dodger. With Brett Anderson's next start in jeopardy, Ross Stripling rejoins Dodgers By Andy McCullough Three days after being optioned to the minor leagues, Ross Stripling rejoined the Dodgers as a member of the taxi squad. His presence clarifies the severity of the blister on Brett Anderson’s left index finger. With Anderson uncertain to make his start on Thursday at Dodger Stadium, Stripling looms as a potential replacement. The Dodgers did not add Stripling to the roster for Monday’s game. Roberts listed both Stripling and Bud Norris as options for Thursday, if Anderson’s blister forces him out of action. Because Stripling was optioned less than 10 days ago, the Dodgers would need to place a player on the disabled list in order to activate him. “If Brett doesn’t respond to treatment, then that would probably be the corresponding move,” Roberts said. Anderson has pitched in two games this season. Both classify as disasters. He lasted one inning in his debut. The blister bothered him midway through a three-inning nightmare on Saturday night here. Anderson has a 24.75 earned-run average thus far. Anderson played catch with Clayton Kershaw on Monday morning. He was not cleared to throw any breaking balls, Roberts said. All three options for Thursday trigger alarms. In his return from the disabled list on Friday, Norris gave up six runs and could not finish the fourth inning. Stripling has experienced difficulty in lasting deep into games – a trait that does not make him much different than his teammates, of course. And Anderson may be physically unable to perform. “If a pitcher is not feeling 100%, whether it be a blister or any other health thing, it’s a concern,” Roberts said. “But I do believe that if Brett is right, and feeling well, he can get major-league hitters out consistently. He’s shown that. But, obviously, yeah, his first two times coming back from the disabled list haven’t been something he wants to hang his hat on.” The Dodgers scratched struggling outfielder Josh Reddick from the lineup Monday morning due to a jammed middle finger on his right hand. Reddick felt uncomfortable throwing the baseball, and so the team put rookie Andrew Toles into the lineup. With Giants left-handed pitcher Madison Bumgarner scheduled to start on Tuesday, Reddick will likely receive two days off to rest.

OC REGISTER

Dodgers hit seven home runs, including three by Adrian Gonzalez, in 18-9 rout of Reds By Bill Plunkett CINCINNATI – The space between “Ball” and “Park” in the officially named Great American Ball Park is just making room for a baseball to pass through. The most homer-happy stadium in the majors – yes, more so even than Coors Field – played it coy with the Dodgers for three days before letting them go fifty shades of deep Monday afternoon. The Dodgers hit seven home runs including four in the fifth inning of their biggest offensive output since 2006 in an 18-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers also had 14 hits that weren’t home runs, giving them a season-high 21 hits in all. The 18 runs were the most they have scored in a game since a 19-run frolic at Coors Field on Sept. 28, 2006. The win sends the Dodgers into their crucial series with the San Francisco Giants starting Tuesday at Dodger Stadium leading the division by a full game. Monday’s barrage tied the record for the most home runs hit in a game at Great American Ball Park. The Dodgers are the first visiting team to do it. The Reds have done it three times since the stadium opened in 2003. The seven home runs and four in one inning were also the most by a Dodgers team since Sept. 18, 2006 – the game that featured four consecutive home runs in the bottom of the ninth inning by the Dodgers against the San Diego Padres. “Doesn’t ring a bell,” joked Dodgers manager Dave Roberts – the Padres’ left fielder that night. “Chavez Ravine. Marlon Anderson, Nomar (Garciaparra). Me in left field. I was in left field watching one go over my head, a couple to right center. Yeah, I remember.” So does Adrian Gonzalez. He was the Padres’ first baseman that night. “Who won?” Gonzalez joked. (The Dodgers won, 11-10, when Garciaparra hit the seventh and final home run of the night in the 10th inning.) Boarding started early for the frequent flights Monday. Gonzalez hit the first of his three home runs – a three-run shot – just four pitches into the game. He added a solo home run in the four-homer fifth and another three-run shot in the seventh, part of a career-high eight-RBI day for him and his second multi-homer game on this trip. After one of his home runs, the SportsNet LA cameras caught Gonzalez trotting back to the dugout with a wide smile, saying, “I love this ballpark.” “It’s tiny, the ball flies,” Gonzalez said. “Right field’s really short. Left field plays short.

“I hit two fly balls for home runs today. It could easily have been a 1-for-6 game with five outs. It ends up being a pretty good day.” Gonzalez has had a lot of those recently, including an ongoing 15-game hitting streak. Since being held out of the lineup for two days in late June, Gonzalez is hitting .355 with a 1.013 OPS, nine home runs and 37 RBI in 46 games. Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin hit back-to-back home runs during the fifth inning. Each was the first home run of their major league careers. It was the first time in franchise history players had hit their first major league home runs in consecutive at-bats. Corey Seager hit the other home run during the six-run fifth inning, going back-to-back with Gonzalez. It was his 22nd of the season, tying Glenn Wright’s franchise record for a shortstop (set in 1930 with the Brooklyn Dodgers) and one of his four hits in the game to match his career high. Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning. It was the first time in Dodgers history they had three separate incidents of back-to-back home runs in the same game, excluding the four consecutive home runs on Sept. 18, 2006. Even with all that offense, the Dodgers couldn’t get out of town without another issue in their starting rotation. Starter Scott Kazmir couldn’t make it through three innings, retiring just eight of the 17 batters he faced. Afterward, Roberts and Kazmir revealed that he has been “fighting through” neck and back issues that make it difficult for him to maintain his mechanics on the mound. “Where he’s at right now, consistently trying to execute pitches obviously is tough for him. He’s out of rhythm,” Roberts said. “I think part of it is that neck issue on the right side, trying to get his head to the target. So he’s flying open, trying to create arm speed and all these things. When your front side flies open, it’s tough.” The 32-year-old Kazmir said he has had the issue “for years.” “A little stubborn,” he said. “I’m like, ‘I can fight through and get it done.’ That’s just the competitor in me. But when you’re putting up numbers like that and leaving that much for the bullpen to do ...” Kazmir said, “I fully intend to make my next start” but acknowledged that he will likely undergo an MRI and meet with the Dodgers’ medical staff when the team returns to Los Angeles on Tuesday. “Obviously where these games are so important, the bullpen has been taxed – we have to make those decisions that are best for the ballclub that day,” Roberts said. “Right now, we’re not thinking about the DL. We just want to get home and get our docs on him. But that is a decision. If he’s not going to be 100 percent – we have to make the decision that’s best for the ballclub.” Dodgers, Giants come into key series heading in opposite directions

By Bill Plunkett CINCINNATI – You could see this coming miles – and months – away. “It was some time in January, February,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked about looking at the 2016 schedule. “I worked back from the last series of the year. Felt that was probably going to be significant.” The Dodgers and San Francisco Giants will play nine times in the final 38 games of the regular season, including the next three days in Los Angeles and those final three days of the season in San Francisco – games that will be significant for more than just the standings. Vin Scully is expected to make the trip to San Francisco and broadcast all three games, likely the final three of his Hall of Fame career. Scully will likely be calling the games that decide this year’s National League West title as well as one of the wild-card spots in the NL playoffs. The Dodgers enter this week’s series one game up on the Giants. But they have swapped the lead three times in the past week, leapfrogging a half-game up or down each time, and have been separated by fewer than two games in the standings for more than two weeks now. “Definitely when the schedule comes out, you circle those dates,” Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. “The rivalry is intense from a historical and fan perspective. But in our clubhouse, it’s more about a respect for them, knowing they’re the class of the National League and a team we have to beat in order to get where we want to go. Just the track record they have, the way they play the game, the quality of players they have, it’s always a fun test, a measure of what you have. It’s going to be exciting.” The Giants were definitely the class of the National League in the first half. In fact, they reached the All-Star break with the best record in baseball (57-33) and the Dodgers were 61/2 games in their rear-view mirror. Since the break, however, the Giants have fallen to earth – and into the Dodgers’ laps. They are 11-23 since the All-Star break, the worst record in baseball during that time, with just two wins in their past eight games. Their 132 runs scored since the break are the fewest in the NL and 28th in the majors. “Shoot, that’s baseball,” Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen said of the Giants’ reversal of fortune. “We went through that – when was it back in April or May? (The Dodgers had a season-high six-game losing streak at the end of April.) “Hopefully, we can continue to keep them down because we know they can catch fire.” If the Dodgers don’t have any sympathy for the Giants’ struggles over the past five weeks, maybe they should have some gratitude. The Dodgers have played well enough since the All-Star break (18-15) – but not so well that they could have made a 61/2-game lead disappear without some help. “There’s no sympathy. Maybe a little gratitude,” Roberts said to that with a laugh. “We’ve played well since the break. They’ve kind of scuffled to make this thing a lot tighter,” Ellis said. “When Clayton went down late in June and we were down eight games at the time, the mindset was, ‘Let’s scratch and claw and hopefully by September we’ll be close enough to make a good run.’

“I know personally I didn’t expect them to come out of the gates in the second half the way they did. But for whatever reason, this is where we’re at. … We’ve gotta rise to meet the challenge because they’re not going to play like that the rest of the year. They’re going to get hot again.” Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t. Maybe the Dodgers will. Maybe they won’t. Either way, the most likely outcome is the team that gets the better of the best-of-9, head-to-head series that will start playing out at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night – basically a quarter of their remaining schedules – will finish atop the division. “It would make it a lot easier if we play well head-to-head,” Roberts said. “It’s tricky to think that,” said Jansen – who admits this renewal of the Giants rivalry has been “in my head a long time” after he gave up four consecutive hits in a walk-off loss at San Francisco on June 11. “We still have to play those other 29 games and teams that are out of it can really get up for games when they know they have a chance to mess you up. You definitely want to win the series (against the Giants). I feel if we win those series against them we’ll be in pretty good shape.” NOTES Outfielder Josh Reddick was scratched from Monday’s starting lineup due to a jammed middle finger on his right hand. The struggling Reddick is not likely to start Tuesday either against Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner. After popping out as a pinch-hitter Monday, Reddick is 10 for 67 (.149) without an RBI in 16 games since he was acquired by the Dodgers in a trade-deadline deal with the Oakland A’s. … Right-hander Ross Stripling joined the Dodgers in Cincinnati but has not been activated yet. The Dodgers are hedging their bets in case the blister on Brett Anderson’s index finger prevents him from making his scheduled start Thursday against the Giants. Stripling was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday and can only be recalled to replace a player who goes on the DL. … The Dodgers’ first-round pick in 2015, right-hander Walker Buehler, will make his professional debut by pitching in an Arizona Summer League game Tuesday. Buehler had Tommy John surgery shortly after last year’s draft. On deck: Giants at Dodgers, Tuesday, 7 p.m. By Bill Plunkett Where: Dodger Stadium TV: SNLA, 7 p.m. Did you know? The Giants have won six of the first 10 games against the Dodgers this season and have lost the season series just once in the previous six years (9-10 in 2014). THE PITCHERS DODGERS RHP KENTA MAEDA (12-7, 3.29)

Vs. Giants: 1-0, 1.29 At Dodger Stadium: 4-5, 3.33 Hates to face: Joe Panik, 1 for 2 (.500), HR Loves to face: Angel Pagan, 0 for 2, 2 Ks GIANTS LHP MADISON BUMGARNER (12-7, 2.25) Vs. Dodgers: 13-8, 2.57 At Dodger Stadium: 8-5, 2.40 Hates to face: Kiké Hernandez, 10 for 16 (.625), 4 2B, 3 HR Loves to face: Corey Seager, 0 for 3, 2 Ks UPCOMING MATCHUPS Wednesday: Giants RHP Johnny Cueto (14-3, 2.90) at Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (9-3, 2.25), 7 p.m., SNLA Thursday: Giants LHP Matt Moore (7-10, 4.18) at Dodgers (TBA), 7 p.m., SNLA

DODGER INSIDER

The battle for first place: Dodgers-Giants preview By Jon Weisman So, did you hear the Giants are coming to town? Though we’re more than a month removed from the All-Star Break and more than 75 percent through the 2016 regular season, tonight marks the start of the second half of Dodgers-Giants 2016: nine games, split over three series, across the next 30 days. Mike Axisa of CBSSports.com, Phil Rogers of MLB.com and Sarah Langs and Mark Simon of ESPN.com have put together a pretty good collection of trends leading into this week’s series, to which I’ll add these items: Madison Bumgarner: The Giants’ ace, who starts tonight, hasn’t exactly been unhittable since the All-Star Break, allowing four earned runs in three of his seven starts, including five days ago (in five innings) against the Mets. His ERA is 3.13 in that stretch, averaging 6.6 innings per start. He’s also gotten mixed support from the bullpen and offense, so that San Francisco has won only two out of the seven games.

Madison Bumgarner, hitter: Perhaps the most feared pitcher-batsman in the land, Bumgarner hit his third homer of the season last week, giving him six extra-base hits to go with his six singles and, perhaps most ridiculously given his .179 batting average, eight walks. Keep in mind that Bumgarner has struck out in 42 percent of his plate appearances this year – the Dodgers should pitch him smart but not scared. Johnny Cueto: Wednesday’s starting pitcher had a 5.59 ERA in his first three starts this month, although he had struck 19 in 19 1/3 innings while walking three. Somewhat weirdly, he had his best outing of August last week against the Mets — seven innings, one run — despite striking out only two. Matt Moore: Acquired from Tampa Bay at the non-waiver trade deadline, Moore had nearly identical (and wild) results in his first two starts: six innings, three hits, two runs and seven strikeouts, walking six in the first, five in the second. Since then, he has allowed eight runs in 11 innings, giving him a 4.70 ERA as a Giant with 34 baserunners in 23 innings. Moore will be the second lefty in the series to go against the Dodgers, whose OPS against southpaws (.657) is more than 100 points lower than northpaws (.764). San Francisco offense: Since the All-Star Break, the Giants have two regulars with an OPS above .800: Angel Pagan (.865) and Denard Span (.808). On the cold side are Joe Panik (.604) and Hunter Pence (.594). Head to head: Over the past two seasons of this rivalry, the Giants won the head-to-head series in the first half, then lost in the second half. 2014: Dodgers started 3-7, then 7-2. 2015: Dodgers started 2-7, then 6-4. 2016: Dodgers started 4-6, then … One-run games: The Dodgers past three losses to San Francisco this year have been by one run. In 2015, when the Dodgers swept an August 31-September 2 series against the Giants, Los Angeles won all three games by one run. Lead changes: Out of 10 Dodger-Giant games this season, six have seen the lead change hands. Two others were tied up mid-game. Walkoffs and extra innings: San Francisco has two walkoff wins this year against Los Angeles, both in the 10th inning (April 8 and June 11). For their part, the Dodgers won a 10-inning game April 9 in San Francisco, after trailing 2-1 entering the top of the ninth. Top Dodger pitchers against San Francisco: Hard to beat Ross Stripling, who allowed no hits and four walks among the 25 batters he faced. Then there’s Clayton Kershaw (2.35 ERA in 23 innings), who allowed three home runs (one to Bumgarner) but struck out 24 while walking one. But among those guaranteed to pitch in this series, there’s tonight’s starter, Kenta Maeda, who allowed one run on seven baserunners in seven innings with seven strikeouts April 17. Top Dodger hitters against San Francisco: The Dodger offense was still in the process of kicking in during the first-half games against the Giants, but Joc Pederson has hit three homers in 33 plate appearances, with a .959 OPS.

Scott Kazmir to see doctor in latest pitching twist By Jon Weisman After retiring only seven batters in the Dodgers’ 18-9 victory today at Cincinnati, Scott Kazmir is scheduled to see a doctor on Tuesday, though the initial report of an MRI, as Cody Pace of MLB.com described, has been revised. “Scott is fighting some physical things with his body,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s doing what he can, but when your body doesn’t feel right, mechanically, it affects mechanics. He knows he wants to go out there and go deeper in a game. When you’ve got a 6-1 lead, he wants the decision, for himself, for the team. When you’re physically limited and you can’t execute, he’s frustrated.” Kazmir is dealing with some stiffness in his neck and his back, something he said that he’s been dealing with “for years.” The problem with his neck in particular has messed with Kazmir’s mechanics, not allowing him to get his head toward the catcher properly and resulting in him flying open. … … “No matter what happens, we’ve gotten this far,” Kazmir said. “I know how my body works. If we have some type of imaging, whatever happens, I’ll strengthen it up and I’ll continue to do what I do.” Kazmir’s next start would theoretically be Saturday against the Cubs. Between now and then, about the only sure thing for the Dodgers is that Kenta Maeda will take the mound Tuesday against the Giants. Rich Hill remains on track to start Wednesday, and then the bigger question marks arise. Thursday would be Brett Anderson’s turn, but the Dodgers have Ross Stripling traveling with the team — though not officially recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City — in case Anderson (who played catch with Clayton Kershaw today) needs to go on the disabled list with a blister on his left index finger. Another candidate for that start would be Bud Norris, who pitched in relief on his throw day in today’s slugfest, after an abbreviated start August 19. Norris himself showed signs of back tightness. “After a couple throws, I saw a little wincing and it didn’t seem right,” Roberts said, according to Pace. “I didn’t see the warmups, and when I saw him get out there, something just didn’t look right. So his back was tight. I would think that he’d be fine and I didn’t want to extend him anymore.” Lurking in the minor leagues are Brock Stewart and Jose De Leon. In August, Stewart has eight scoreless innings for Oklahoma City, while De Leon took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his start tonight and struck out 10. In his past five starts, De Leon has pitched 34 innings with a 1.59 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and four walks and 33 strikeouts. To promote De Leon, the Dodgers would need to make a 40-man roster move — which is possible, but must take into account anyone they hope to add to activate from the 60-day disabled list between now and the end of the season. González blasts three HR, Dodgers seven in 18-9 romp

By Jon Weisman An offensive onslaught unlike any by the Dodgers in 10 years was unleashed in Cincinnati today, and Adrián González was at the forefront. González not only hit three homers in a game for the second consecutive year, he had a career-high eight RBI in the Dodgers’ 18-9 victory over the Reds. The Dodgers crossed the plate more times than they had in any game since September 28, 2006, when James Loney had nine RBI in a 19-11 win at Colorado. They homered seven times, their most since the 4+1 Game on September 18, 2006, and also had their first four-homer inning since that date. That included shots by Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin, who became the first Dodgers ever to hit their first Major League home runs, back-to-back, according to Elias Sports. It was also the first game in Dodger history with three separate instances of back-to-back homers. One of the seven homers was hit by Corey Seager, who tied the all-time Dodger record for shortstops with his 22nd — all in a 4-for-5 (plus a walk) afternoon that put Seager on pace for more than 200 hits this year. Seager has now hit in 13 consecutive games. Since the swing-destroying Home Run Derby, the 22-year-old rookie is hitting .388/.424/.592. For his part, González has hit in 15 straight, and is at .320/.365/.570 since the All-Star Break. González had a three-run homer with none out in the first inning, followed Seager’s homer in the fifth with a solo drive, hit his second three-run homer in the seventh and added an RBI groundout in the eighth. The only one of the Reds’ six pitchers today not to allow a run was outfielder Tyler Holt, who retired the site in order on five pitches in his big-league pitching debut. The downside for the Dodgers was a beleaguered day for their pitching staff, particularly Scott Kazmir, whose 2 1/3-inning start was a season low. Kazmir was victimized by an RBI triple lost in the sun by Toles in the first and two sub-75 mph bloop singles for runs in the third, but he was never sharp, allowing nine baserunners among his 17 batters faced. At one point, Cincinnati cut a 6-1 Dodger lead down to 6-5, before the four-homer fifth inning boosted it back to 12-5 at the game’s halfway point. At 4:02, today’s game is tied for the eighth-longest nine-inning game in Dodger history. The Dodgers will take a one-game lead in the National League West into their three-game series against the Giants that starts Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers Sports Accelerator taps five companies in ’16 By Jon Weisman

Five budding businesses have been chosen by the Dodgers and R/GA Ventures for the second Dodgers Sports Accelerator, which launches today. The Accelerator focuses on growth-stage companies and immediate business opportunities designed to create a path to category leadership and scale — i.e., being great with the potential to be greater. The companies will receive in-depth engagement with the Dodger leadership, business units and industry network, as well as with R/GA’s award-winning strategic marketing, branding, design and technology services. The companies: Greenfly transforms the relationships of organizations into powerful networks for content creation and distribution. Keemotion enables broadcast partners, professional leagues and universities from around the world to produce, customize, stream and share professional-quality HD video content live with the push of a button. ShotTracker, with its innovative “ShotTracker TEAM” solution, affordably captures real-time stats for basketball teams, yielding powerful analytics for coaches, players and fans. Renegade creates next-generation, “Sweat X” branded sports detergent, stain and odor technologies, specifically engineered to meet the needs of today’s high-performance sports apparel and gear, used at the professional, collegiate and youth sports levels. WSC Technologies has developed a platform that creates personalized sports videos automatically and in real-time, helping sports leagues and broadcasters to engage fans and monetize their content. The program will conclude in early November with invite-only demo events, at which each startup will present to industry leaders, partners, and customers in the sports, technology and entertainment communities. For more information, visit www.dodgersaccelerator.com and follow @dodgersaccel and @rgaventures. No, you shouldn’t give up on Josh Reddick By Jon Weisman Josh Reddick was a late scratch from today’s early game at Cincinnati, and the reason instantly came across like a taunt to his detractors — a jammed right middle finger. Reddick is available off the bench, according to Dave Roberts, though it could be until at least Wednesday when he starts next, considering that lefty ace Madison Bumgarner is starting Tuesday for the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

But in the meantime, it’s another setback in what has been anything but a storybook chapter in Los Angeles for Reddick. Three weeks into his Dodger career, Reddick has one extra-base hit and a .211 on-base percentage. Combined with the absence of fellow former Oaklander Rich Hill from the starting rotation, judgment has rained down on the trade that sent Grant Holmes, Jharel Cotton and Frankie Montas to the A’s for the pair. It’s reasonable to expect more immediate impact from a trade specifically designed to boost the Dodgers’ pennant chances, particularly when the two players are free agents at the end of the year, than the Dodgers have gotten. But consider these counterpoints: The trade isn’t over after three weeks. No, really: It’s not. This isn’t me being Pollyanna. There are still six weeks of baseball left in the regular season, plus whatever’s to come in October. There is more than enough time for both Reddick and Hill to become big contributors. If you gave up on a player after three unproductive weeks, there is maybe one starter on the first-place Dodgers that would have survived the cut, and even Corey Seager had a sub-.600 OPS on April 21. Every other Dodger position player has had a prolonged slump. Reddick has been an above-average hitter since 2011 and had an .816 OPS this season when he arrived in Los Angeles. Why that wouldn’t count when evaluating his potential for the remainder of the season, I can’t imagine. The fact that Reddick has made solid contact during his three weeks as a Dodger is of limited comfort when the demand for results is immediate, especially when nothing’s gone out of the park, but it’s nevertheless another sign that, like Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal et al, the results are likely to come. With Hill, there’s no Dodger track record to discuss, but just give the pitcher with a 2.25 ERA a chance to get some starts in, and there’s every possibility his value will soon speak for itself. Without a doubt, some of the distress and anger over Reddick is tied into the demotion of Yasiel Puig, who is hitting .419/.479/.721 with Oklahoma City. How relevant that is, I can’t say, given that there’s no doubt that Reddick could rake in the Pacific Coast League, and I don’t think anyone should be surprised that Puig can dominate Triple-A pitching. At any rate, whether you like it or not, there’s been sufficient documentation that Puig’s trip to the minors was about more than statistics, and I say that as someone who has always been in Puig’s corner. Josh Reddick is more than a .152 hitter. Rich Hill is more than another statistic on the disabled list. Don’t be close-minded. While it’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day successes and struggles of individual players, especially when the National League West lead is changing hands almost on a daily basis, we are not down to the wire. There is a quarter of the season left, and a long game still to be played. The reason the Dodgers acquired Reddick and Hill is because they believe in them, and unless much more evidence comes in against them, they’re right to do so.

TRUEBLUELA.COM

2016 MLB postseason schedule: NLDS begins Friday, Oct. 7 By Eric Stephen LOS ANGELES -- Major League Baseball announced the 2016 postseason schedule on Tuesday, and the National League Division Series will begin on Friday, Oct. 7. The National League Wild Card Game will be played on Wednesday, Oct. 5 and be televised by ESPN, one day after the American League Wild Card Game on TBS. Starting the NLDS on Friday allows an NL team to start its Game 1 starter on the final day of the regular season and be ready on regular rest five days later. Heading into their three-game series on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, the Dodgers lead the Giants by one game in the NL West, and San Francisco is in first wild card position, 1½ games ahead of the Cardinals. The Dodgers and Giants end the regular season with three games at AT&T Park in San Francisco from Sept. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 2. The World Series starts on Tuesday, Oct. 25 in the park of the American League pennant winner. Should the series last more than five games, November baseball will be played, with Games 6 and 7 scheduled for Nov. 1-2. Here is the full National League postseason schedule: NL Wild Card Game Wednesday, Oct. 5 (ESPN) NLDS Game 1: Friday, Oct. 7 (Fox Sports 1 or MLB Network) Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 8 (Fox Sports 1 or MLB Network) Game 3: Monday, Oct. 10 (Fox Sports 1 or MLB Network) Game 4*: Tuesday, Oct. 11 (Fox Sports 1) Game 5*: Thursday, Oct. 13 (Fox Sports 1) NLCS Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 15 (Fox or Fox Sports 1) Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 16 (Fox or Fox Sports 1) Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 18 (Fox or Fox Sports 1) Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 19 (Fox or Fox Sports 1) Game 5*: Thursday, Oct. 20 (Fox or Fox Sports 1) Game 6*: Saturday, Oct. 22 (Fox or Fox Sports 1) Game 7*: Sunday, Oct. 23 (Fox or Fox Sports 1)

World Series Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 25 at AL (Fox) Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 26 at AL (Fox) Game 3: Friday, Oct. 28 at NL (Fox) Game 4: Saturday, Oct. 29 at NL (Fox) Game 5*: Sunday, Oct. 30 at NL (Fox) Game 6*: Tuesday, Nov. 1 at AL (Fox) Game 7*: Wednesday, Nov. 2 at AL (Fox) Omar Estevez and Idandel Isabel key Loons 4-3 comeback win By Craig Minami Oklahoma City and Great Lakes got big wins in their pursuit of the playoffs while only one of the Dodger Rookie affiliates picked up a win on Monday. Player of the day Oklahoma City right-hander Jose De Leon is the Player of the day for his outstanding seven innings of one-hit ball where he also had 10 strikeouts for the second consecutive start. Eric Stephen wrote about his performance here. Also, Oklahoma City right-handed pitcher Trevor Oaks was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week, Eric also wrote about that honor here. Triple-A Oklahoma City The Dodgers got both some much needed scoring and a big pitching performance to shutout the Zephyrs (Marlins) 7-0 on Monday night. Jose De Leon had his second straight seven inning start with ten strikeouts, and he improved upon it by allowing only a seventh inning single and no run. Here's a video of one his strikeouts. The Dodgers got on the board in the first when Yasiel Puig and Chris Taylor scored on a ground out and a walk, respectively. Leading 4-0 in the fifth, Yasiel Puig led off the inning with his fourth home run for the OKC Dodgers. Alex Hassan would later double in Will Venable to make it 6-0. The win lowered the Dodgers magic number to seven. Double-A Tulsa The Drillers were off on Monday night. Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes were off on Monday night. Class-A Great Lakes The Loons were trailing the TinCaps (Padres) 3-2 going to the bottom of eighth but then Idandel Isabel hit a game-tying home run and in the ninth, Omar Estevez singled home the winning run as the Loons beat the TinCaps 4-3. Isabel has now homered in three straight games, in 73 plate appearances at Great Lakes, he is hitting .308/.366/.662 and has six home runs this month. Omar Estevez has had his second straight solid month at the plate, in 83 plate appearances, he is hitting .316/.365/.481. The Loons are a ½ game out of the second half Wild Card spot with two weeks to go in the season. Pioneer - Ogden The Raptors were beaten 5-2 by the Owlz (Angels). Nolan Long gave up all five runs in his five innings of work. Long also gave up ten hits and two walks, he also struck out four. The Loons were held to just four hits and only one extra-base hit, a double. Cody Thomas had a tough day at the plate with three strikeouts. Ogden struck out 13 times against Owlz pitching. Arizona League - AZL Dodgers Trailing by a run, the AZL Angels went on to outscore the AZL Dodgers eleven to one for a 13-4 win. The only performance of note was Dodger right-handed reliever Louis Coleman making a rehab appearance. Coleman "started" and pitched just one inning, he gave up no runs, one hit and struck out two. Dominican Summer League - Dodgers One & Dodgers Two Dodgers One were defeated 3-1 by the Rojos (Reds) and the Dodgers Two beat the Royals 3-2 in 11 innings. Transactions Triple-A: Right-handed pitcher Alfredo Figaro assigned to Oklahoma City from Tulsa. Oklahoma City placed right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling on the reserve list. According to MILB.com, the reserve list is what teams use when they have more players on their roster that can be active for a game, so once that limit is set, the other players are technically on the reserve list. Double-A: Right-handed pitcher Jeremy Kehrt assigned to Tulsa from Oklahoma City. Rookie: Los Angeles sent right-handed pitcher Louis Coleman on a rehab assignment to AZL Dodgers. Monday Scores

Oklahoma City 7, New Orleans 0 Great Lakes 4, Fort Wayne 3 Orem 5, Ogden 2 AZL Angels 13, AZL Dodgers 4 Rojos 3 , Dodgers One 1 Dodgers Two 3, Royals 2 (11) Tuesday Schedule 4:00 p.m. PT - Oklahoma City (Alfredo Figaro) at New Orleans (Asher Wojciechowski) 4:05 p.m. - Fort Wayne (Jean Cosme) at Great Lakes (Leonardo Crawford) 5:00 p.m. - AZL White Sox at AZL Dodgers 5:05 p.m. - Arkansas (Angels) (Jordan Kipper) at Tulsa (Scott Barlow) 6:05 p.m. - Ogden (Willian Soto) at Orem (Sam Pastrone) 7:00 p.m. - AZL Dodgers at AZL White Sox 7:05 p.m. - Lake Elsinore (Padres) (Brett Kennedy) at Rancho Cucamonga (TBD) Corey Seager & Kyle Seager, climbing the brothers home run list By Eric Stephen Corey Seager was 4-for-5 with a home run in the Dodgers’ win earlier on Monday in Cincinnati, hitting his 22nd home run of the season. Not to be outdone, his brother Kyle Seager, the Mariners’ third baseman, hit a three-run home run against the Yankees on Monday night, his 24th of the season. Monday is the third day of the season that Corey and Kyle have homered on the same day, joining May 17 and May 31. I believe the Seager brothers are closing in on the most home runs achieved by two brothers in the same season. I’m not talking about the combined total for both brothers, like say in 1962 when Milwaukee Braves teammates Hank Aaron (45) and Tommie Aaron (8) combined for 53 home runs. I’m looking for a number of home runs in the same season reached by both brothers.

The Seagers are at 22 at the moment, with six weeks remaining in the season. They stack up pretty well with the best brother duos I could find, ranked here by minimum home runs: 1) Aaron (26) & Bret (24) Boone, 2002 1) Bret (35) & Aaron (24) Boone, 2003 3) Justin (31) & B.J. (23) Upton, 2011 4) Kyle (24) & Corey (22) Seager, 2016 5) Bob (33) & Emil (21) Meusel, 1925 5) Joe (30) & Vince (21) DiMaggio, 1941 7) Lee (28) & Carlos (20) May, 1973 7) Jason (41) & Jeremy (20) Giambi, 2002 7) Marcus (21) & Brian (20) Giles, 2003 10) Stephen (21) & J.D. (19) Drew, 2008 11) Ken (24) & Clete (18) Boyer, 1962 11) Tony (36) & Billy (18) Conigliaro, 1970 Thanks to Bob Harkins for the Boone numbers, and thanks to Newk’s Pocket Square for Giles & Conigliaro. I’m sure I am missing some set of brothers. Please let me know in the comments below if there is another power-hitting brother duo not seen here. But it seems the Seagers are poised to do some damage on this list for a few years. Dodgers sign Dan Johnson as pitcher By Eric Stephen The Dodgers have signed former major league first baseman and now converted pitcher Dan Johnson to a minor league contract, the independent St. Paul Saints announced on Monday. A club source has confirmed the deal. Johnson will report to Double-A Tulsa.

Johnson, who turned 37 on Aug. 10, is likely most known for his game-tying home run in the ninth inning on the final day of the 2011 regular season, helping to secure the American League wild card for the Rays. Drafted by the A’s in 2001, Johnson played his first six major league seasons in organizations with either Farhan Zaidi (in Oakland) or Andrew Friedman (in Tampa Bay), now both in the Dodgers front office. In parts of 10 seasons, Johnson hit .234/.335/.405 with 57 home runs in 443 games for six times, including the Cardinals in 2015. The Rays signed Johnson to a minor league contract in March as a knuckleball pitcher, but he was released at the end of spring training. Johnson has played for three independent teams in 2016 — the Bridgeport Bluefish, the Long Island Ducks, followed by St. Paul — though he only played on offense for Long Island. Between the Ducks and the Saints, Johnson put up 5.92 ERA in 17 games, including 15 starts, with 55 strikeouts and 50 walks in 76 innings. Here is a video of Johnson talking in June about making the switch from position player to pitcher. Tulsa already has another converted pitcher who played in the majors as a position player as recently as 2015, in Jordan Schafer. The 29-year-old more traditional left-hander this season has a 4.17 ERA in 36 games between Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, with 51 strikeouts and 17 walks in 45⅓ innings. The last knuckleballer to pitch for the Dodgers was Charlie Haeger, who had a 6.43 ERA in 15 games, including nine starts, in 2009-2010, with 45 strikeouts and 33 walks in 49 innings. Jose De Leon takes no-hitter into 7th, strikes out 10 By Eric Stephen Dodgers pitching prospect Jose De Leon is doing his best to kick down that proverbial door to the major leagues, pitching arguably his best game of the season on Monday night for Triple-A Oklahoma City in New Orleans. De Leon struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings, and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Monday. He threw 88 pitches. He walked none. Oklahoma City led 7-0 when De Leon was removed from the game. The only runner to reach base in the first six innings against De Leon did so via error in the second inning, then De Leon retired his next 13 batters faced before Zehpyrs (Marlins) shortstop J.T. Riddle lined a single to center field to open the seventh. De Leon has lasted at least seven innings in three straight starts and in four of his last five outings, and he has two straight games with double-digit strikeouts and four such starts on the season.

The right-hander has a 2.86 ERA in 15 starts for Oklahoma City this season, with 98 strikeouts and 20 walks in 79⅔ innings. De Leon, who turned 24 on Aug. 7, was rated the No. 25 prospect in baseball in Baseball America’s midseason rankings, ranked 38th at midseason by Baseball Prospectus, and rated No. 39 by MLB.com. The Dodgers rotation is currently full of question marks in both health and performance, especially with Brett Anderson (dealing with a blister) and Scott Kazmir (neck and back issues). Bud Norris, just one start off the disabled list with back tightness, pitched in relief on Monday. Rich Hill, who has dealt with his own blisters since early July, is scheduled to make his Dodgers debut on Wednesday. Dodgers starting pitchers have a 6.45 ERA in August and have averaged 4.40 innings per start in 19 games this month. Kazmir pitched earlier on Monday, so if the Dodgers were so inclined De Leon lines up in his spot should it become open. The club would need to make a corresponding move to add De Leon to the 40-man roster.

ESPN LA

Giants-Dodgers a matchup of slumping, scoring and great pitch-framing By Sarah Langs & Mark Simon The last time the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers met was June 10-12. The Giants left that series with a five-game division lead over the Dodgers. The Giants were the fourth-best team in baseball behind only the Cubs, Rangers and Nationals. The Dodgers were 33-31. But a lot has changed since then. Since then, the Dodgers are 36-24, tied with the Indians for the best winning percentage in baseball, and that’s with Clayton Kershaw having pitched only three times since. The Giants are 30-30 since that last meeting and are 11-23 since the All-Star break, worst in the majors. What’s there to know from a statistical standpoint heading into their series that starts Tuesday? Dodgers hitters hot, Giants hitters not The Dodgers have made up much of the ground on the strength of their bats, and we’re not even counting Adrián González, who had three home runs in a win over the Reds on Monday.

Shortstop Corey Seager looks headed toward Rookie of the Year honors. He’s hitting .385 since the All-Star Break, second-best in the National League. Justin Turner is batting .320 and leads the NL with 23 extra-base hits since the break. Catcher Yasmani Grandal (more on him in a moment) has the third-highest home run rate since the All-Star break (7.7 percent) and has a 1.191 OPS (second in the NL) since July 31. The Dodgers have also gotten timely hits. They’re batting .272 with runners in scoring position since the break, they hit .246 prior to the break. A couple of the Giants' best bats before the break have gone cold. Brandon Belt is hitting .213 with a .714 OPS since the All-Star break. Buster Posey is hitting .288, but his power has disappeared. He slugged .478 prior to the break, but is at .387 since. The Giants are not getting timely hits. Their .216 batting average with runners in scoring position ranks third-worst in the majors since the All-Star break (they hit .263 prior). Had the Giants' starting pitching held up, this might not have been an issue. But the ERAs of their top starters have jumped. Madison Bumgarner (1.94 to 3.13), Johnny Cueto (2.47 to 4.25) and Jeff Samardzija (3.91 to 4.89) have all had issues. --Sarah Langs What to watch for: Battle of the pitch framers Last week, we referenced Posey’s value as a pitch-framer and to reiterate, he rates best in baseball, getting his pitchers 160.5 extra called strikes above what the average catcher would have gotten on the same collection of taken pitches. The two pitchers who have benefited the most pitch the first two games of the series – Bumgarner and Cueto. They rank first and second in the majors in that stat for pitchers (39.1 extra strikes for Bumgarner, 33.5 for Cueto). In other words, when they pitch, home plate seems to be a little larger for them. Grandal doesn’t rate far behind Posey. He’s second in the majors with 134.8 called strikes above average. In fact, over the last three seasons, Posey and Grandal rank first and second in the majors in this stat and are separated by just over one extra called strike (Posey 435.5, Grandal 434.1). They are the standard-setters for the rest of the sport. Grandal’s strength is getting the high strike against hitters from both sides, and getting a few extra inches on the outside corner against right-handed batters, as this image shows. The biggest beneficiary of Grandal’s work is Tuesday’s starter, Kenta Maeda. He’s eighth in the majors in strikes looking above average. Coincidentally, Bumgarner, Cueto and Maeda rank back-to-back-to-back (ninth through 11th) in the NL in how often they get called strikes (minimum 100 innings).

First place the prize as Dodgers clash with Giants By Doug Padilla LOS ANGELES -- It will be the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants this week with first place on the line. Of course, it is. Plenty has changed in the 72 days since the West Coast rivals last met, but with 41 days remaining until the end of the season, just one game separates the teams in the National League West standings. For the Dodgers, playing host to the Giants in a three-game series is only half of the challenge ahead this week. Another three games follow against the Chicago Cubs, owners of the best record in baseball. Despite an avalanche of injuries, including the devastating one to Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers have not only kept themselves in contention, they have moved atop their division. They already have placed a National League-record 26 players on the disabled list this season, yet sit in first place with six weeks to go before the start of the postseason. The next six days at home will be a test of the Dodgers’ playoff worthiness, at least for the current roster. The Dodgers still expect Kershaw to return at some point in September, with others expected to provide a boost at some point, including Trayce Thompson, Louis Coleman, Scott Van Slyke and possibly Alex Wood to give some innings in relief. The Dodgers, though, have to be pleased with the team they have morphed into. Where Kershaw was a one-man band in April and May, the bullpen and offense have grown considerably. The Dodgers haven’t quite figured out the starting pitching recipe without Kershaw, but they still have a 28-19 record since he last participated in a game. The Dodgers were eight games behind the Giants in the NL West when Kershaw went down with a back injury after his June 26 start at Pittsburgh. At the All-Star break, they were 5½ back, lifted by a 7-3 homestand to close out the first half. And while the Dodgers have not necessarily played red-hot baseball after the break, a downturn by the Giants helped them make up ground. The Giants went 2-11 at the start of the second half, losing the first six games after the break. The Dodgers went just 7-6 over their first 13 games of the second half, but still made up ground in the standings. To illustrate just how bad things have been going for the Giants of late, their 11-23 record in the second half is the worst in baseball, and they are just 5-12 on the road since the break. The Dodgers are coming off a 4-3 road trip to Philadelphia and Cincinnati, punctuating the winning excursion Monday with an 18-9 victory over the Reds, their first 18-run game since 2006. The Dodgers hit four home runs in the fifth inning Monday, their most in an inning since the same 2006 season when they hit four consecutive in the ninth inning of a game against the San Diego Padres.

Adrian Gonzalez not only hit three of the Dodgers’ seven home runs Monday, he extended his hit streak to 15 games. The large margin of victory helped erase the memory of a three-game losing streak on the trip, and also provided momentum for the Giants series. The Dodgers lead the NL in slugging percentage since the break (.457), and that was before their hugely productive game Monday. But the Giants enter the series having won six of the 10 games the teams have played this season, with a 43-38 run-scoring advantage in those games. Tuesday’s series opener, which will match the Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda against the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner, will be the first of nine meetings between the teams before the season ends. The teams close out the regular season with three games at San Francisco. Lasers in the outfield: New-age defense moves beyond the infield By Wallace Matthews As each opposing batter steps to the plate, you might notice New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner do something you would not expect: He often removes and repositions his cap as if to adjust it, a curious move for a player who shaves his head almost daily. So does Jacoby Ellsbury, who has a full head of hair, and so does Aaron Hicks, who like Gardner, has taken a blade to complete the job that Mother Nature started. But Gardner is not repositioning that cap for comfort, or checking to see if his long-departed hair has miraculously returned. "Everyone notices the infield shifts because you've got guys playing completely out of position. But what people don't realize is that we're doing a lot of similar things in the outfield, too, these days. It may not look as radical, but we've been doing it for the last year, year-and-a-half now." Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner He, like the others, is checking to be sure he is standing where he is supposed to be standing -- a hidden aspect of big league defense that goes beyond the infield and is finally getting some of the spotlight. When it comes to positioning their outfielders, the Yankees literally keep the information under their hats. Before each game, bench coach Rob Thomson, responsible for the outfield defense, gives Gardner, center fielder Ellsbury, right fielder Hicks and rookie outfielder Aaron Judge an index card with precise locations for each opposing hitter. Those locations are determined by a proprietary computer program developed by the Yankees' analytic squad, headed by David Grabiner. It takes a multitude of factors -- among them the hitter's power, his tendency to pull or not pull the ball, and his career history against the Yankees' pitcher that night -- and spits out a spray chart which places the outfielder in the optimal position to make a play.

"We have analytical assessments that show specifically where guys hit the ball," a Yankees staffer told ESPN.com. "I mean, it shows us exactly where guys hit the ball just about every time. And it's hitter/pitcher specific, based on pitch velocity and location. Positioning is based on a lot of factors, including the speed of the defender." Those positions are notated as plus or minus numbers, in feet, from the "default" position the Yankees' coaching staff plots out on the field. There are numbers for the depth at which the outfielder should be playing, and how far he should shade to the right or left. For example, for a strong right-handed hitter such as the Baltimore Orioles' Mark Trumbo, the card might read "+15" for distance and "+10" for side-to-side positioning, indicating the player should play 15 feet deeper than the default position and 10 feet closer to the line. "Everyone notices the infield shifts, because you've got guys playing completely out of position," Gardner said. "But what people don't realize is that we're doing a lot of similar things in the outfield, too, these days. It may not look as radical, but we've been doing it for the last year, year-and-a-half now." Over the past decade, infield shifts, once thought to be a novelty indulged in by "eccentrics" like Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, have become as commonplace as the strikeout. Five years ago, teams employed 2,464 shifts; this year, it's projected to be 28,117 -- a number high enough that MLB is now looking into a series of rule changes, including restricting shifts. Since 2006, the number of runs scored in Major League Baseball has plummeted from 23,599 to 19,761, and among the insiders ESPN.com spoke to for this story, there is the belief that it is partly due to base hits being taken away by the shift. In fact, one Yankees executive predicted baseball would never see another .400 hitter because of the shift. Outfield positioning, on the other hand, is often overlooked. That is, until early June, when it was revealed that the Los Angeles Dodgers had requested, and been refused, permission by the New York Mets to position their outfielders with the help of laser range finders, and to mark those positions on the outfield grass with spray paint. In the wake of that story, it's becoming more evident that outfield shifting is perhaps just as complicated and as crucial as it is in the infield -- and lately it has been pushing the boundaries of baseball. It's far from science fiction Using a laser to locate the depth of outfielders may seem extreme -- the Yankees, for example, have pinpointed their default position as 30 feet in from the outfield wall in all fields without the help of a laser, merely the judgment of their fielders -- but there is really nothing all that radical about it. Although it may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, and raise the specter of a construction site, with tripods and laser levels set up all over the field, the reality is a lot simpler. Teams that use lasers to position their outfielders -- and while the practice is not commonplace, MLB executives say the Dodgers are by no means alone in using them, listing the Texas Rangers as another example (the Yankees, too, have used lasers to determine the distance to the outfield walls at their spring training complex in Tampa) -- generally use the type of handheld range finders used by golfers to measure the length of their tee shots, which usually sell for less than $200.

There are even apps available for as little as 99 cents, although their accuracy and ease of use can't compare to the higher-priced models. But whatever type a team chooses to use, the procedure is the same: The device is held by hand by a team staffer from behind home plate during batting practice and aimed at a player standing in the outfield. The staffer keeps moving the player until he is standing in the position the team wants, at which point he either must remember that precise location or, as the Dodgers requested, mark the spot in some way in the outfield. That is where the Mets' objections came in. They asked for a ruling from MLB, which announced that deliberately marking the field was a violation of league rules. "Technically, you're not allowed to purposely damage the field in any way," a league executive told ESPN.com. "That includes spray paint, or leaving golf tees in the outfield, or even kicking a divot into the grass with your heel." The executive admitted, however, that it was difficult to enforce such a rule when it is routine for pitchers to dig up the area around the rubber with their spikes and for hitters to "groom" the batter's box before each at-bat. He also acknowledged that the Dodgers were probably not the only team to use laser technology to position outfielders, and that there was nothing in the rulebook prohibiting a team from using them before the game, either at home or in a visiting park. And according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, other teams had asked for, and been granted, permission to mark the outfield in Dodger Stadium. "Every team has different priorities," Roberts said at the time. "There have been various teams that have asked to make a mark on our field. We've been OK with it." A baseball source with knowledge of the Dodgers' position methods told ESPN.com the original request -- to use the laser to pinpoint a spot and mark it with an easily-removable shot of spray paint -- was approved by Citi Field's groundskeepers. It was then vetoed by Mets manager Terry Collins. "It's not that big a deal, but TC totally overreacted to the whole thing," the source said. "Ninety percent of the time we've asked, the other team was OK with it, and [the Dodgers] have allowed other teams to do the same." Mets GM Sandy Alderson said the Dodgers did not ask permission. "We observed some members of the Dodgers organization using technology to establish defensive positions, presumably to use during the game," Alderson said at a news conference. "We weren't sure that was appropriate." MLB's objection to the use of laser range finders during the game is an extension of its policy disallowing electronics of any kind in the dugouts during a game -- a rule designed to prevent sign stealing. Of course, the most famous example of sign stealing in baseball history was decidedly low-tech, when New York Giants catcher Sal Yvars revealed that, by using a telescope mounted in the center-field bleachers at the Polo Grounds, Bobby Thomson was tipped off that Ralph Branca was about to throw

him a fastball in the rubber game of a 1951 playoff series with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Thomson subsequently hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," propelling the Giants to the World Series. Recently, baseball relaxed that rule to allow managers the use of Wi-Fi-disabled computer tablets preloaded with statistical information, spray chart, and video of previously-recorded at-bats between hitters and pitchers playing in that night's game. But allowing NFL-type espionage from the owner's box, including aerial photographs, wireless communications between coaches in the stands and on the field, and photos faxed to the sideline, isn't coming to baseball anytime soon. "We observed some members of the Dodgers organization using technology to establish defensive positions, presumably to use during the game. We weren't sure that was appropriate." "Baseball has been kind of slow to adopt that kind of technology," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. "Look at how long it took to get replay." As a result, outfield positioning, in spite of the sophisticated computer algorithms designed to pinpoint them with precision, is often as low-tech as a coach simply waving a player over from the dugout, the way it's done in Little League or in Sunday morning softball games across the country. It is customary in a visiting park for a coach to walk the field with the team's analytics expert before a game to map out outfield positions, but once the game starts, it often comes down to educated guesswork. "Outfield positioning has always lagged behind infield positioning," Mets assistant GM John Ricco said. "Industrywide, this is still kind of a work in progress." Landmarks, lines of sight and other low-tech approaches The Yankees take a simple approach to determining the "straight-up" position for their outfielders. Thomson merely draws a visual straight line from first base through second base and all the way to the outfield wall to determine the default position for his left fielder, and a line from third base through second base for his right fielder. The center fielder playing straightaway stands on the axis of a line drawn between home plate, second base and the center-field fence. All position themselves 30 feet straight in from the wall as a starting point. From that starting point, the outfielders tip their caps to consult the cards that pinpoint the precise location for each opposing hitter. To ensure his fielders are in the right spot, Thomson said he sits in exactly the same seat in the Yankees' dugout every night, from where he can see the players in relation to reference points on the outfield wall. In left field, his reference point is the first "S" in the first State Farm sign; in right, it's the "P" in Pepsi. Center is the "4" in the 408-foot marker. In a visiting park, Thomson uses the same system, choosing a spot in the dugout from which he can see the reference points he determined from his pregame walk-through in the outfield.

But Thomson admits it is difficult to tell if a player is in precisely the right spot from the vantage point of a dugout, especially regarding depth. And many other factors can cause an outfielder to have to adjust his position significantly from where the computer has told him to play. That's because outfielders must be able to see the hitting zone, and that view is often obstructed. Part of that is due to the infield shifts, which often cause an infielder to move into an outfielder's line of sight. Part of it is due to umpires, who also must shift their positions when the infielders shift. Sometimes, the position of the sun or the looming of shadows can force an outfielder to move. "We try to be exact out there, but you've still got to read swings," Gardner said. "And to do that, sometimes you can't stay in the middle. I have to decide whether to choose the left fork in the road or the right fork in the road. So you might not be standing exactly where the computer tells you to." Still, Gardner said, "When you're trying to cover 2½ acres of ground [the size of the Yankee Stadium outfield], I don't think 10 or 15 feet makes that much of a difference." "If our pitcher makes a mistake, all that other stuff goes out the window." Others in the organization, however, might beg to differ. "Our infield shifts do very well, but our outfield positioning is a problem," a Yankees staffer said. "It does not match up with the recommendations." The Yankees say they are "plus-30" with infield shifts, meaning they have converted 30 balls in play into outs that would have been hits with a conventional infield alignment. They say their shifts are especially effective when Masahiro Tanaka is pitching, because the consistency of the location of his pitches within the strike zone makes it easier to position their infielders with precision. Leaguewide, players are hitting .264 when not facing a shift, and just .232 against full shifts of three or more fielders on one side of the infield, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Against the Yankees, those numbers are .259 no-shift and .241 full-shift. The Yankees' outfield positioning, however, is a different story. The team's "out rate" -- the number of fly balls converted into outs by their outfielders -- has actually decreased since 2010, when they converted 69.2 percent -- a number that would put them second in the majors in 2016 -- according to ESPN Stats & Information. But over the past five years, including the two seasons in which they have used their computer algorithm, the Yankees out rate has hovered at a decidedly middle-of-the-road 65 percent. That can be due to several factors, including the age of the Yankees' primary starting outfielders, whose average age was 34.3 before Carlos Beltran was traded to Texas, and the effectiveness of their pitchers. The Yankees pitching staff's hard-hit rate -- on fly balls and outfield line drives -- this year is 34.6 percent, 23rd in baseball. By contrast, the Cubs, with outfielders who average 26.5 years old and a staff with a hard-hit rate of 30.4 percent (fourth best in baseball), have converted 69.1 percent of their outfield chances which is second in the majors. The Kansas City Royals, with Alex Gordon in their outfield, lead the majors at 69.9

percent; the Tampa Bay Rays, with Kevin Kiermaier, are third at 68.4. The Dodgers, whose outfielders also average 26.5 years old, have converted just 66.6 percent -- 12th in baseball -- though, to be fair, their 30.3 percent hard-hit rate clips the Cubs for third best in the bigs. So it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what determines the defensive efficiency of an outfield, but common sense tells you that precision positioning can't compensate for slow or aging outfielders or a poor pitching staff. As Ricco said, "If our pitcher makes a mistake, all that other stuff goes out the window." Will Kershaw and Stanton return? Each contender's biggest injury question By Jerry Crasnick As Major League Baseball's award competitions gain clarity and the game's pennant races grind toward a resolution, health will be a significant factor in how the next six weeks unfold. Sorting through the list of players trying to survive assorted dings (or worse) is an undertaking of massive proportions. Which injuries are the most impactful, suspenseful and worthy of monitoring for contending clubs? For the purposes of this exercise, we excluded Prince Fielder, Matt Harvey and other players who are absolutely positively done for the rest of the season. And we assessed the disabled lists and injury reports for 18 clubs that are either leading their divisions or lurking within five games in the wild-card races, because health could play a major role in whether they make it to October. For teams with even a glimmer of hope of reaching the playoffs, here are the pivotal injuries worth watching between now and Game No. 162. 1. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers Few injury vigils in recent years have unfolded with the sense of urgency surrounding Kershaw, who continues to lead all big-league pitchers with a 5.5 FanGraphs WAR even though he has missed almost two months. The Dodgers were 41-36 and eight games behind San Francisco when Kershaw went on the disabled list with a herniated disc on June 26. They're 28-19 since, but that's more a tribute to a potent offense than a rotation that has picked up the slack for its injured ace. Kershaw joined the Dodgers for a series in Cincinnati this week because he missed being around the team. He threw a 22-pitch bullpen sessions Saturday, and the Dodgers say they expect him to be back on the mound by mid-September. The sense of urgency will be even more acute if the Dodgers make the playoffs as a wild-card team. Critics can harp on Kershaw's 2-6 record and 4.59 ERA in the postseason, but other than Madison Bumgarner, is there a pitcher you'd rather have on the mound in a winner-moves-on scenario? 2. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins

Stanton's season was considered over when he suffered a groin injury on a game-ending slide against the White Sox nine days ago, but the forecast out of Miami has taken a more optimistic turn of late. On Sunday, president of baseball operations Michael Hill expressed confidence that Stanton will return by the end of the regular season. "He's going to be back," Hill told reporters. "He's told me he's going to be back. He's going to help this team get into October and help us get through October.'' The Marlins are a resilient team, as evidenced by their response to Dee Gordon's 80-game PED suspension and their 15-6 record with Stanton out of the lineup. But Stanton provides the quick-strike capability the Marlins lack as the 13th ranked home run hitting team in the National League. He changes the tenor of games when he steps in the batter's box, and it would be a personal crusher for him if the team made it to the postseason and he weren't able to contribute. Although Stanton's desire to play again in 2016 is admirable, it's worth noting that he pledged to come back from a Mike Fiers fastball to the face in 2014 and a broken hamate bone last season and simply couldn't make it back either time. Pardon Stanton if he speaks more with his heart than his head. 3. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals The Nationals say they're being pro-active and that Strasburg's elbow problems aren't structural. Still, there's reason for concern in light of Strasburg's injury history (he had Tommy John surgery in 2010), his new $175 million contract and his three straight clunkers against Atlanta, San Francisco and Colorado. The Nationals could benefit from a return to action soon by Joe Ross, who has been out since July with a shoulder injury. If Ross can come back for a few starts in September, he'll have an opportunity to compete with Gio Gonzalez for the No. 4 spot in the October rotation beyond Mark Scherzer, Strasburg and under-the-radar Cy Young candidate Tanner Roark. 4. Danny Salazar, Cleveland Indians Salazar came off the disabled list from an elbow injury Friday, but it's hard to declare him "back'' at this point. He was ineffective in an inning of work against the White Sox, and manager Terry Francona mercifully pulled him after 34 pitches. The Indians attributed the performance to rust, but until Salazar regains the dominant form he showed in the first half of the season, scouts, opponents and media members are bound to have their doubts. To add to the anxiety in Cleveland, Josh Tomlin has been a home run dispenser of late and looks like a guy who's badly in need of a rest. FanGraphs gives the Indians a 95.5 percent chance to win the division, so they have the luxury of picking their spots with Salazar. He has the kind of stuff that can neutralize the best lineups in October, so the Indians will proceed with enough caution to make sure he still has something left in the tank. 5. Chris Tillman, Baltimore Orioles The Orioles are 20-6 in Tillman's outings this season, and 48-50 behind their other starters. So it was an obvious concern when manager Buck Showalter had to push Tillman back three days because of shoulder discomfort before his last outing. Tillman's velocity was down as he allowed 11 baserunners in

two innings in a blowout loss to Houston. He needs to do better against Max Scherzer on Thursday night to make a statement that the injury was just a blip in his season. Wade Miley has been dreadful since his arrival from Seattle, Yovani Gallardo has a 5.08 ERA for the season (although he's pitched better of late) and Dylan Bundy has already pitched more innings than the Orioles had a right to expect, so any kind of physical setback for Tillman would be devastating for Baltimore's postseason hopes. 6. Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays Bautista has missed 44 games this season, mainly due to a case of turf toe and a sprained left knee, and the Blue Jays have gone 27-17 in his absence. He's working out at Toronto's spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, and expects to begin playing rehab games within a matter of days. Bautista is having a down year by his typical standards, with a slash line of .222/.349/.444. But the prospect of having him back in the lineup must seem awfully appealing to Toronto manager John Gibbons when he's running out a starting outfield of Melvin Upton Jr., Ezequiel Carrera and Darrell Ceciliani. The Jays need Joey Bats to return to fastball-punishing, bat-flipping mode down the stretch if they want to outlast Boston and Baltimore in the AL East. 7. Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals The Royals have climbed back into contention behind terrific starting pitching, a reawakening by Alex Gordon at the plate and some nice work from Kelvin Herrera, who has converted seven straight save opportunities as Kansas City's temporary closer. They've also given America a handy entomology lesson with their care and feeding of the "Rally Mantis,'' the team's new mascot. Davis, out since July 28 with a right forearm strain, will give the defending champs a lift when he returns from the disabled list. He traveled to Arizona to begin throwing over the weekend, so he's gradually moving closer to a return. Once he's healthy, Royals manager Ned Yost will be back in his comfort zone with an ultra-deep pen, and the Royals will have yet another reason to think they're poised for a run at a third straight postseason appearance. 8. Matt Holliday and Aledmys Diaz, St. Louis Cardinals Holliday, who has logged 371 of his 380 at-bats this season out of the third and fourth spots in the batting order, and Diaz, a strong early rookie of the year candidate, both are out with thumb injuries. In addition, first baseman Matt Adams is nearing the end of a 15-day DL visit caused by shoulder problems. The Cardinals have survived thanks to some big power production from unexpected sources. Brandon Moss and Jedd Gyorko have combined for 43 homers in 562 at-bats, and Jeremy Hazelbaker has provided a nice feel-good story with 11 bombs in 170 at-bats. St. Louis leads the National League with 173 home runs. Holliday has a $17 million club option for 2017 with a $1 million buyout, so it's possible he might have played his final game as a Cardinal. Can he defy the early expectations and contribute down the stretch and in the postseason.

"The procedure went well," Matheny said. "He's one of the toughest guys I know. He's relentless in how he works. His pain tolerance is high. So all those are reasons to believe it will be sooner for him than it might be for somebody else. But I'm always cautious to give a time even if the medical team says it to me. If a guy has a date set in his mind and he bumps into something and he's not ready, it could be counterproductive." 9. Steven Matz, New York Mets Yoenis Cespedes is back and cranking home runs after missing time with a quadriceps injury, and David Wright and Matt Harvey are already lost for the season. The requisite Citi Field drama currently revolves around Matz, who's pitched with a bone spur in his left elbow and is now dealing with shoulder discomfort that prompted the Mets to send him to the disabled list on Monday. Seth Lugo is expected to fill in for Matz, who is 9-8 with a 3.40 ERA in his rookie season. An extended absence by Matz would put yet another crimp in the Mets' quest to get on a roll and make the playoffs for a second straight season. 10. Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox Uehara has been out since mid-July with a strained right pectoral muscle. He has been throwing off flat ground, but there's no timetable set for his return. In his absence, Boston manager John Farrell has been forced to mix-and-match and use Brad Ziegler, Matt Barnes, Junichi Tazawa and Robbie Ross in late-inning setup roles in front of closer Craig Kimbrel. Fernando Abad, acquired in a deadline deal with Minnesota, has a 2.00 WHIP since coming to Boston and has not performed to expectations. The Red Sox considered bringing in Jonathan Papelbon for the stretch run, but that ship has apparently sailed. Starter Steven Wright, on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, could return to the rotation Friday against Kansas City. He has made only one start this month, but David Price, Rick Porcello, Drew Pomeranz, Eduardo Rodriguez (who is dealing with his own injury issue) and the much-maligned Clay Buchholz have picked up their games in August and given the Red Sox some welcome stability in the rotation. 11. Jordan Zimmermann, Detroit Tigers Zimmermann, out since early July with a neck injury, will begin a rehab outing with Class A Toledo on Friday. If it consists of three starts, as expected, he'll rejoin manager Brad Ausmus' rotation sometime in mid-September. The Tigers have done a nice job replacing Zimmermann with Matt Boyd and Daniel Norris. In addition, Anibal Sanchez has pitched better of late after a horrendous first three months. But the Tigers gave Zimmermann $110 million for a reason, and they'll take comfort sending him to the mound when every game matters in September. The Tigers have actually been more challenged replacing the production of third baseman Nick Castellanos, who suffered a broken hand two weeks ago and probably won't return until mid-September at the earliest. The four players other than Castellanos who've played third base for Detroit this season

(Casey McGehee, Mike Aviles, Andrew Romine and Miguel Cabrera, in a one-game cameo) have hit a combined .221 with one homer in 86 at-bats at the position. 12. Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs John Lackey just landed on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain, and he's hoping to return in early September. At the moment, any concerns about Chicago's rotation are outweighed by an array of bullpen issues. Rondon, Chicago's closer before Aroldis Chapman came to town, is on the DL with a right triceps strain and expected to return next month when the rosters expand. Strop, who underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, should also be back sometime in early September. In the absence of Rondon, Strop and veteran sidearmer Joe Smith, Cubs manager Joe Maddon is tinkering in search of bullpen stability. Chicago's brief flirtation with Papelbon went nowhere, and on Friday the Cubs summoned rookies Felix Pena and Rob Zastryzny from Triple-A Iowa. The good news: The Cubs lead St. Louis by 12.5 games in the NL Central, so Maddon has ample time to let pitchers proceed at their own pace and enter the postseason fresh and ready to go. Chapman has a 17-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first 11 innings with the Cubs, so the ninth inning appears to be in capable hands. 13. Lance McCullers, Houston Astros McCullers missed his first seven starts with shoulder soreness and went on the disabled list with elbow issues in early August. Although the Astros have yet to declare him out for the season, they plan to exercise caution with him. Houston is on the fringe of the wild-card race at 64-60, so a few games either way could bring more clarity to the situation. "It's all guesswork at this point," manager A.J. Hinch told reporters last week. Once McCullers returns to throwing sometime this week, the Astros should have a better handle on precisely where they're headed with him. McCullers' ratio of 11.78 strikeouts per nine innings places him second in the majors to Miami's Jose Fernandez among pitchers with 80 innings or more. His mid-90s fastball and power curve provide a different look to a Houston staff made up primarily of finesse types. 14. Colby Lewis, Texas Rangers Now that Derek Holland is off the disabled list and scheduled to start Tuesday in Cincinnati, the Rangers have one more item to check off their list to give the rotation some depth behind Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. After missing two months with a torn muscle in the back of his shoulder, Lewis is scheduled to make a three-inning rehab appearance for Double-A Frisco on Wednesday. He'll make one more start after that before the Rangers decide if he's ready to make the jump to the big leagues.

Lewis is strictly a pitch-to-contact guy (61 strikeouts in 98 innings), but his teammates have a lot of faith in him and he usually finds a way to keep games close through five or six innings. Lewis' 1.02 WHIP in 15 starts this season is the best of any starter in the Texas rotation. 15. Jung Ho Kang, Pittsburgh Pirates Kang injured his left shoulder sliding into second base against the Marlins on Friday. He's expected to miss 2-4 weeks, which puts him on track somewhere to return in the heart of September. David Freese, hitting a respectable .276/.355/.437 with a 1.6 WAR in 107 games, slides back in as the everyday third baseman with Kang out. The Pirates summoned prospect Josh Bell to fill Kang's place on the 25-man roster. Bell is likely to see playing time at first base and could give the Pirates a defensive upgrade over John Jaso at the position. 16. James Paxton, Seattle Mariners The Mariners are healthy as they try to fend off Houston and take a wild-card spot, but their rotation took a hit when Paxton suffered a bruised left elbow on a comebacker by the Angels' Andrelton Simmons two weeks ago. Paxton threw three innings in a minor-league rehab appearance Saturday and is poised to rejoin the rotation later this week against the Chicago White Sox. "It felt really good," Paxton told Shannon Drayer of ESPN710 radio after his outing. "No pain, no tightness. That was awesome. It was really good to go out there and get back to throwing the ball 100 percent." The Mariners hope Paxton can pick up where he left off in his previous two starts, when he spun back-to-back eight-inning gems against the Angels and Red Sox. It will be hard for him to surpass his performance on Aug. 7, when he struck out Mike Trout four straight times. 17. Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants The Giants haven't played well, but it's not because of injuries. Hunter Pence has recovered from his hamstring problems, and Joe Panik is back from concussion issues. Matt Cain is on the disabled list with a lower-back strain, but opponents are batting .302 against him in his 17 starts, so it's hard to imagine Bruce Bochy inserting Jake Peavy or someone from the farm system into the rotation and the Giants' experiencing much of a drop-off. Pagan missed two games against the Mets with a groin injury over the weekend. It's day-to-day kind of stuff. But he leads the Giants with a .368 batting average and a .985 OPS in August, and he's been susceptible to leg injuries in the past, so the Giants will keep a close watch on him. 18. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees Teixeira is strictly a bench player after announcing he'll retire at the end of the 2016 season. But he at least provides a dose of sentimentality for a Yankees team with borderline playoff aspirations. If Teixeira can put the neck and knee injuries behind him and thrill Yankee diehards with a few big moments in September, it will make for a more heartwarming sendoff than the one enjoyed by Alex Rodriguez.

Adrian González leads Dodgers' home run barrage By ESPN Stats and Info The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 18-9 on Monday afternoon on the strength of seven home runs, including three by Adrian González. ESPN Stats & Information takes a look at several impressive feats accomplished by the Dodgers with the long ball: González goes deep three times Adrian González hit three home runs Monday, the second three-homer game of his career (also April 8, 2015), leading to a career-high eight RBIs. Multiple Games with 3 HR Dodgers History FIRST SECOND Adrian Gonzalez 2015 2016 Shawn Green 2001 2002 Duke Snider 1950 1955 *Source: Elias Sports Bureau He is the first Dodgers player with three home runs in a game against the Reds since Hall of Famer Roy Campanella in 1950. González is the third Dodgers player with multiple three-HR games. The others are Shawn Green and Hall of Famer Duke Snider. González is the third Dodgers player with a three-homer game this season (Yasmani Grandal, Corey Seager), tied with the Red Sox for most such games in the majors. Overall, it's the 17th three-HR game this season, the second-most in a single season. There were 22 such games in 2001. González has six home runs in August, including another multi-HR game on Aug. 17, giving him five homers in his last six games. The last time he had as many as five home runs in a single month was in July 2015, when he had eight. Other Dodgers feats The Dodgers' seven home runs on Monday are tied for the most in a game in the majors this season, and it's their most in a game since Sept. 18, 2006. Four of the Dodgers' home runs came in the fifth inning, their most in an inning since that same 2006 game, when they went back-to-back-to-back-to-back in the ninth inning when trailing the Padres by four runs. They would go on to win that game in extra innings and move ahead of the Padres into first place.

The Dodgers had three separate instances of back-to-back home runs on Monday, including two in the fifth inning. It's the first time in Dodgers history they've had two separate pairs of back-to-back homers in the same inning (meaning not as part of a longer three- or four-homer chain). The last team to have three instances of back-to-back home runs in a game was the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 14, 2014, also at Great American Ball Park. On Monday, one pair of back-to-back home runs were by Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin, and for each it was his first career home run. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, they are the first players in Dodgers franchise history to hit their first career home runs back-to-back. Another fifth inning home run was hit by Corey Seager, his 22nd home run of the season. That ties him for most in a season by a Dodgers shortstop with Glenn Wright, who had 22 in 1930. All of these home runs helped the Dodgers score 18 runs, their most in a game since Sept. 28, 2006, when they scored 19 against the Colorado Rockies. The 18 runs are also the most by a team in a game at Great American Ball Park (opened in 2003), as are the 27 combined runs by the two teams. Adrian Gonzalez hits 3 of Dodgers' 7 homers in win over Reds By AP CINCINNATI -- Adrian Gonzalez got the most pleasure out of watching his teammates circle the bases. Nobody made as many trips as he did. Gonzalez hit three of the Dodgers' seven homers _ driving in a career-high eight runs _ and rookie Corey Seager had a noteworthy homer as well on Monday, leading Los Angeles to an 18-9 victory and a split of its four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds. The NL West leaders enjoyed their biggest home run splurge in 10 years. They've won 10 of their last 12 games against Cincinnati. Four of Gonzalez's teammates also homered in the Dodgers' biggest power performance since they hit seven during an 11-10 win over San Diego on Sept. 18, 2006. "That was fun,'' he said. Gonzalez started it with a three-run shot in the first inning off Homer Bailey (2-2), who had his worst showing since returning from Tommy John surgery. Gonzalez also had a solo shot in the fifth, when the Dodgers connected four times overall. His three-run shot in the seventh tied his career high for homers. He drove in another run with a groundout as the Dodgers scored 18 runs for the first time in 10 years. The first baseman attributed it to Great American Ball Park's dimensions.

"It's tiny and the ball flies,'' Gonzalez said. "Right field is short. I hit two fly balls that went out. I could have been 1 for 6 with a homer.'' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts played left field for the Padres in that game 10 years ago when Los Angeles also hit seven. "It feels much better from this side,'' Roberts said. "Yeah, I saw `em. I remember.'' The Dodgers needed the big game offensively. Left-hander Scott Kazmir lasted a season-low 2 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and four runs. Joey Votto singled home a run off reliever Jesse Chavez (1-0), one of his four RBIs. Kazmir said he's been bothered lately by a stiff right side of his neck. He doesn't want to go on the disabled list. He'll be examined in Los Angeles. "I'm pretty stubborn,'' Kazmir said. "I can feel like this and get it done. But when you're putting up numbers like that, it's tough to swallow.'' There were homer notes galore: _ Seager's two-run shot gave him 22 homers, trying Glenn Wright's club record for a shortstop from 1930. He tied his career high with four hits and extended his hitting streak to 13 games. _ The seven homers allowed by Reds pitchers tied the club record. _ Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin hit their first career homers back-to-back in the fifth, becoming the first Dodger duo to accomplish that one. _ The last time the Dodgers hit four homers in an inning was Sept. 28, 2006, against San Diego. Bailey gave up a season-high six runs and nine hits, leaving after 59 pitches. Chase Utley singled on Bailey's first pitch of the game, and Seager singled on the second pitch. Gonzalez homered on the first pitch, leaving him 11 for 25 career against the right-hander with six homers. The homer extended his hitting streak to a season-high 15 games. "We're seeing what we expected to see,'' Reds manager Bryan Price said of Bailey, who has made five starts. "Some days, he's electric and sharp. Some days, there's fatigue and achiness and you're not going to have your grade-A stuff.'' Bud Norris, who started on Friday and lasted 3 2/3 innings, pitched the eighth to help LA's depleted bullpen. He threw 18 pitches, retired two batters, gave up two hits and a walk, and felt some tightness in his back. Reds outfielder Tyler Holt pitched the ninth and retired the three batters he faced. STATS

It was Gonzalez's 21st career multi-homer game. He's the third Dodger to hit three in a game this season, joining Yasmani Grandal and Seager. ... It was the Dodgers' biggest game offensively since a 19-11 win at Colorado in 2006. ... The Reds also gave up seven homers at Colorado on May 31. TRAINER'S ROOM Dodgers: RF Josh Reddick was scratched from the lineup because of a jammed middle finger on his right hand that bothered his throwing. He pinch hit and flied out. Reds: SS Zack Cozart missed a fifth straight game with a sore left Achilles tendon. Price said he'll miss at least one more game. UP NEXT Dodgers: Ken Maeda (12-7) opens a home series against the Giants. He has won his last four decisions _ in five starts _ with a 3.45 ERA. Reds: Dan Straily (9-6) starts the opener of a two-game series against Texas at Great American Ball Park. He's 3-3 career against the Rangers in 10 games. George Lopez, Fernando Valenzuela super-fan, celebrates Julio Urias By One Nacion Pitching legend Fernando Valenzuela was the reason that comedian George Lopez became a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first place, as he recently explained in an ESPN guest column. Valenzuela, who still does color commentary in Spanish for Dodger games, is otherwise far removed from his playing days, but many, like Lopez, remember the days of "Fernandomania" fondly. That might be why some are quick to recognize similar potential in another pitching prodigy from Mexico who is also a southpaw, Julio Urias. The player, who recently turned 20, made his debut in the major leagues earlier this year. Lopez, for one, isn't shy about cheering Urias on, going to social media to praise the pitcher's latest outing, a 4-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds Urias struggled a bit in his first outings with the Dodgers, but has now dropped his ERA to below 4.00 and is continuing to improve. He has proven that his arm is good not just for pitching, but for pickoffs as well. The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently atop the NL West, followed closely by long-time rivals the San Francisco Giants.

MLB Rumor Central: Dodgers actively shopping Yasiel Puig? By Doug Mittler Will the Los Angeles Dodgers find a new home for Yasiel Puig before the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline? Rumor CentralAfter failing to deal Puig earlier this month, the Dodgers shipped the enigmatic outfielder to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he is making his case for a return to Los Angeles, hitting .418 with a 1.201 OPS in 55 minor league at-bats. The Dodgers also are hoping the strong Triple-A production is enhancing his trade value before next week's deadline for eligibility on postseason rosters. “The Dodgers are trying to give away Puig, but no luck,” reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. “Puig ... is considered toxic at the moment, but it takes only one team to want him.” ESPN’s Jim Bowden names Puig on his list of players who could be dealt before September arrives: “Although many are saying he will clear trade waivers, a couple of GMs told me they’ll consider claiming him. Teams will be looking to see if he has changed his load on his swing so that he can turn on a good inside fastball again,” Bowden writes. “At the right price he could be a worthwhile gamble; his combination of exciting tools and talent might help someone in need of a good defensive right fielder with raw power.” As for possible destinations for Puig, Cafardo suggests a rebuilding team like the Atlanta Braves could be a good fit. If Puig is not traded, the Dodgers will face a difficult decision when the rosters expand. As ESPN's Buster Olney noted last week, failing to promote Puig could mitigate his trade value over the winter. But the Dodgers also have to think about clubhouse chemistry, given Puig reportedly is far from a popular teammate.

NBC LA

Dodgers Offense Erupts for 7 Home Runs in 18-9 Rout of Reds By Michael Duarte "I love this ballpark!" – Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers offense erupted for a season-high seven home runs, led by Adrian Gonzalez who hit three, and Los Angeles routed the Cincinnati Reds 18-9, to split the four-game series on Monday morning at Great American Ballpark.

Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to a season-high 15 games with home runs in the first, fifth, and seventh innings as he crushed his second mulit-homer game of the road trip, and first three-homer game since he took former Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner deep three times on April 8, 2015. "We definitely came out swinging right off the bat and kept putting pressure on them," Gonzalez told Kelli Tennant of SportsNetLA after the game. "Thank God we're playing at this ballpark and I was able to get two cheap homers because of it." The Dodgers hit back-to-back home runs three separate times on Monday and hit a season-high seven home runs with four coming in the top of the fifth inning. L.A. scored six runs in the top of the fifth, and went back-to-back twice in the inning. Rookies Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin got the home run rally rolling as they each hit the first home runs of their MLB career on back-to-back pitches from Josh Smith. "It's great. I remember my first, we all do," Gonzalez said of the first big league homers for the boys. "That's great for them and it's always a fun environment in the dugout." "Their teammates were very excited for those two guys to get their first career homers," added Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Three batters later, Corey Seager tied the Dodgers all-time franchise record for home runs by a shortstop when he launched his 22nd home run of the season off Smith to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. After a pitching change saw right-handed reliever Jumbo Diaz enter the game, Gonzalez greeted him with his second home run of the day, and the second time the team went back-to-back in the inning. In total, L.A. hit four home runs in the fifth, the first time they've hit four long balls in a single inning since the infamous "four home runs in a row" in the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres on Sept. 18, 2006. That September in 2006 was a memorable one for the Dodgers offense as it was also the last time the team scored at least 18 runs in a game when they defeated the Colorado Rockies, 19-11, on Sept. 28. The Dodgers made it a trifecta for back-to-back home runs when Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal went deep in the top of the seventh off Blake Wood. Gonzalez finished 3-for-6 with three home runs and a career-high eight RBIs to lead Los Angeles. The Reds tried to chip away at the lead throughout the game, but every time they scored, the Dodgers would answer as they left no doubt in the outcome after the six-run fifth inning. Both starting pitchers struggled as Homer Bailey (2-2) couldn't get out of the third inning, allowing six runs on nine hits in just his fifth game back from Tommy John surgery. Scott Kazmir didn't fair much better as the left-hander surrendered four runs on six hits with three walks and one strikeout in 2 and 2/3 innings. "Scott is fighting some physical things with his body, but right now, he hasn't hit his stride," Roberts said. "He's doing what he can, but when your body doesn't feel right, it affects mechanics. When you're physically limited and can't execute, you're frustrated."

Kazmir's short outing marked the 30th different time this season a Dodgers starting pitcher has failed to go at least five innings and the 13th time a starter was unable to complete even four innings. "It's something that's been irritating me a little bit," Kazmir said of the physical things Roberts mentioned. "I've been fighting through it, but when you put up numbers like this, it's something you should address. I've been dealing with it for years now. I'm fully intent on making my next start." Maybe the answer for both teams was a mystery pitcher as position player, Tyler Holt, threw a 1-2-3, four-pitch, ninth inning for the Reds and was easily the best pitcher on the day for either team. The Dodgers seven home runs were the first time a visiting team has hit that many dingers since Great American Ball Park opened in 2003. Los Angeles leads San Francisco by one game as they head into a three-game showdown series at Chavez Ravine on Tuesday night. Players of the Game: Adrian Gonzalez: 3-for-6 with three homers and 8 RBIs. Andrew Toles: 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Corey Seager: 4-for-5 with a home run, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Three Takeaways: 1. Rookie of the Year: Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager tied Glenn Wright (1930) for the all-time franchise record for home runs in a single season with 22. 2. Remember This? The Los Angeles Dodgers hit four home runs in the top of the fifth inning and went back-to-back on two separate occasions during the six-run frame. It was the first time the Dodgers had hit 4 HR in a single inning since the infamous "Four Home Runs in a Row" on Sept. 18, 2006. 3. A-Gone Cubed: Adrian Gonzalez tied a career-high with three home runs and hit is sixth against Homer Bailey--the most he's hit against any pitcher in his career. To put Gonzalez's hot streak in perspective, the slugger homered just four times in the Dodgers first 46 games of the season, but has hit five home runs in his last six games. Up Next: Dodgers (69-55): The showdown for the NL West begins as the Dodgers host the San Francisco Giants for a three-game series starting on Tuesday. Kenta Maeda will start at 7:10 PM PST. Reds (53-71): Cincinnati will host the Texas Rangers in what should be another offensive onslaught. Los Angeles Dodgers Injury Updates: Clayton Kershaw Feels '100 Percent' By Michael Duarte

There's less than 40 games remaining in the regular season and the sprint to the finish between the Los Angeles Dodgers and rival San Francisco Giants is sure to be nothing but edge-of-your-seat exhilaration over the final two months of the season. Can the Dodgers lock up their fourth consecutive NL West title? Or will the Giants—winners of three of the last five titles—win their first division title since 2012? The answer to both of these questions will rely heavily on the health of both teams down the stretch as the Dodgers—the most injury riddled team in the Major Leagues—need to get fully fit in order to make a run at the postseason and beyond. Since we last checked in on L.A.'s DL, pitchers Josh Ravin and Brandon McCarthy, both of whom just recently came off the list, were each placed back on the 15-day DL. Bud Norris and Adam Liberatore were activated off the DL, and Clayton Kershaw has moved closer to a come back. Here's the updates: Clayton Kershaw (herniated disc): Hold on to your Dodger hats, Kershaw could be ready to return to the team soon. The three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 MVP threw off the mound and then flew to Cincinnati to join his team. After a bullpen session on Saturday, Kershaw told reporters that he feels "100 percent." He said there's still no timetable, but he's eligible to come off the disabled list on August 27th. That means he'll miss the series with S.F. but could be ready for the weekend set against the Chicago Cubs. Trayce Thompson (Lower back injury): Thompson has yet to make a rehab appearance after suffering two fractures in his back before the All-Star break. The earliest Thompson can return is Sept. 9th, and the outfielder still believes he's on track to return around that date. Andre Ethier (fractured right tibia): Ethier is still in Arizona, but is progressing nicely as he is now running the bases at 75 percent, according to manager Dave Roberts. The Skipper also mentioned that Ethier has been cleared to face live hitting in a controlled environment at the team's facility at Camelback Ranch. Ethier will stilled need to make a rehab assignment once he's ready to play again, and it's doubtful he returns before mid September. Rich Hill (blister): Hill skipped his rehab assignment and was sent to Camelback Ranch for a simulated game on Thursday. He threw 75 pitches and according to Dave Roberts everything went well. He quickly flew to Cincinnati is could make his Dodger debut on Wednesday against the rival San Francisco Giants. Louis Coleman (right shoulder fatigue): Coleman has still not been activated off the disabled list, but he could be activated as soon as Tuesday when the Dodgers return to L.A. for a three-game series with the rival Giants. Alex Wood (left posterior elbow soreness): Wood underwent surgery to clean up his pitching elbow and is not expected back until mid-September. Dave Roberts announced last week that if Wood is to return, it will be in the bullpen.

Chris Hatcher (strained left oblique): Hatcher was moved to the 60-day disabled list on July 20th and is not expected to pitch again this season. Hyun-Jin Ryu (left elbow tendinitis): After making just one start at the Major League level in almost two years, Ryu was immediately placed on the 15-day disabled list with elbow tendinitis and subsequently moved to the 60-day DL on August 1st to make room on the 40-man roster for the team's newest acquisitions. Dave Roberts confirmed on Thursday that Ryu wont be back this season for the Boys in Blue. Scott Van Slyke (Right Wrist irritation): Van Slyke and the Dodgers are at a crossroads. It's been two weeks since he went on the disabled list and depending on how his wrist feels one of two options are on the table for the right-handed hitter. One, if he feels better he could come off the DL this week. Two, he could undergo arthroscopic surgery on the wrist, likely ending his season. Josh Ravin (Right Triceps Soreness): Ravin landed on the disabled list last Sunday for the second time this season, but his triceps injury isn't considered to be serious. The earliest he can come off the DL is Aug. 29, but it's more probable that he returns to the team when rosters expand after Sept. 1. Brandon McCarthy (Right hip stiffness): McCarthy acknowledged he was headed to the disabled list after a disastrous start last Sunday at Dodger Stadium. Thankfully, there is nothing physically wrong with Mac, but clearly there is something wrong mechanically. McCarthy may make a rehab start or two to try and fix his command issues once he's eligible to return, but there won't be much time before rosters expand. McCarthy's return this season will likely come down to the shape the Dodgers rotation is in heading into September.

USA TODAY SPORTS

For Dodgers and Giants, marathon season about to turn into a sprint By Jorge L. Ortiz Having spent almost his entire career with the Tampa Bay Rays, Matt Moore has never experienced anything like the San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers rivalry. After all, Rays-Boston Red Sox doesn’t evoke quite the same passion among the participants and their fans. Now, three weeks after joining the Giants in a trade, Moore will get a taste of a century-old grudge match that gets even seasoned veterans pumped. “There’s definitely an extra hype around the game, in the clubhouses and even on the field,” said pitcher Matt Cain, a Giant since 2005. “You’re always looking for bragging rights.” And at this stage of the season, something more tangible — separation in the National League West race. Los Angeles holds a one-game lead as the Giants come into town Tuesday for a three-game set with their top three starters lined up.

Moore is scheduled to take the ball in the series finale Thursday, the second left-hander San Francisco is throwing at the lefty-heavy Dodgers lineup after staff ace Madison Bumgarner, with righty Johnny Cueto sandwiched in between. The Dodgers will counter with Japanese rookie Kenta Maeda and lefty Rich Hill in the first two games, with the status of Thursday’s starter in doubt because Brett Anderson is dealing with a blister. Moore’s fifth start in a Giants uniform represents his best chance to ingratiate himself with a fan base and teammates who have yet to see him at his best. Moore is 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA since the trade after closing out his Rays career on a roll, registering a 2.39 ERA in his final nine starts. “The command of my fastball hasn’t been there quite like it had been all year,” said Moore, who has given up 17 walks in 23 innings as a Giant, “so it’s something that could be physical, could be effort-wise trying to get a little bit too much out of each pitch and overthrowing.” Moore was the biggest name among the Giants’ acquisitions around the trade deadline that also included reliever Will Smith and infielder Eduardo Nunez. None has been a difference-maker. For that matter, the Dodgers haven’t benefited much from their deadline pickups, as outfielder Josh Reddick is batting .149 with zero home runs or RBI in his 18 games wearing blue, while Hill will be making his first start Wednesday after a slow recovery from a nagging blister problem. But whereas San Francisco has stumbled with the majors’ worst second-half record at 11-23, Los Angeles has ridden a resurgent offense — best in the NL in slugging since the break — and a surprisingly effective bullpen to the top of the division. That combination has allowed the Dodgers to erase what was an eight-game deficit June 26 — the day Clayton Kershaw reported back problems that have kept him sidelined since then — by going 28-19 in his absence. The gloom-and-doom scenarios that naturally followed with the revelation the three-time Cy Young Award winner would be out for an extended stretch with a herniated disk have not become reality despite the Dodgers setting an NL record with 26 players placed on the disabled list. And they’ve done it with contributions from a variety of sources, among them team home run and RBI leader Justin Turner, a healthier Adrian Gonzalez and odds-on rookie of the year favorite Corey Seager, who has a team-high on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .915. Monday, the Dodgers saw two other rookies — Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin — connect for their first career major league home runs back-to-back as Los Angeles outslugged the Cincinnati Reds 18-9. Gonzalez tied a career high with three homers. “This is the first time I can call the Dodgers grinders,” reliever J.P. Howell, who helped the club win division titles in each of the last three years, told the Los Angeles Times. “We’ll tack runs on. We’ll keep rolling at all times. I can’t say it’s been like that in the past.” Howell is one of the veterans in a revolving-door bullpen that has employed a total of 20 pitchers who somehow have combined to put together the league’s second-best ERA at 3.30.

They figure to become quite familiarized with the Giants the rest of the way. The teams play nine of their final 38 games — or 24% of their remaining schedule — against each other, including six games in the final two weeks that likely will determine the winner of a division with no other serious contenders. Moore was thrown into the fire of a playoff series as a rookie in 2011 — he had a sensational debut with seven scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers as a 22-year-old — and returned to the postseason two years later, so he knows to keep things in perspective. “I can’t make a concerted effort to try harder, because it would be detrimental to what I do,” Moore said. “If I say, ‘Oh, man, we’re playing the Dodgers, I have to do something special,’ then I might get outside of my capabilities. It might turn into a big hindrance.” For much of the next few weeks, the Giants and the Dodgers will be staring in the face their biggest hindrance to a division crown. The Dodgers’ Josh Reddick hurt his finger while holding the door for room service By Andrew Joseph It’s been a rough go for Josh Reddick in Los Angeles since he was acquired from the Oakland A’s. It’s frustrating enough that he’s hitting .149 as a Dodger after hitting around .300 with Oakland, but that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of Reddick’s fall. He was injured ordering room service in his hotel. According to the Los Angeles Times’ Andy McCullough, Reddick was a late scratch from Monday’s game in Cincinnati because of a finger issue. That finger issue was a room-service related injury, which took place while he was holding the door open for room service. It’s tough not to feel for Reddick. He’s struggling on the field, and room service should be a therapeutic escape — it’s impossible to beat the delightful convenience of food brought straight to your room. To get hurt in the process of opening a door for room service must have been devastating. Indeed, he isn’t taking it well. “I’m at rock bottom right now. But I will climb out.” Luckily, Reddick felt good enough to pinch hit during Monday’s game (he popped out). He will just need to be more careful holding doors for room service in the future. Dodgers rookie Julio Urias already leads the Majors in pickoffs By Ted Berg

Some young pitchers blaze into the big-leagues on the back of electric stuff and figure out the sport’s little particulars once they get there. Others just seem to have the instincts for baseball from Day 1, when they show up in the Majors already crafty as heck. Dodgers lefty Julio Urias is only 20 years old but operates with the guile of a guy twice his age. Specifically, he’s a master at picking runners off and already leads the Majors with five pickoffs despite throwing only 57 innings to date this season. He nabbed his most recent runner on Sunday in the midst of throwing six shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds. The following video, from late June, shows two distinct pickoff moves from the young starter. First, he steps off the mound with his back foot while quickly throwing to first and nearly catches baserunner Jonathan Villar. Next, after a replay review showed that Villar got back to the bag a moment before the tag, Urias uses the move made famous by recent pickoff expert Andy Pettitte: Lifting his front leg as if he’s about to throw home, but stepping instead toward first base and making the throw. Pickoff stats weren’t officially tracked for the early part of baseball’s history, but Hall of Fame lefty Steve Carlton is considered the all-time leader in pickoffs with 146. Carlton pitched much of his career in an era of volume basestealers, before getting thrown out on the basepaths became (appropriately) stigmatized to the extent it is today. Carlton’s personal best in pickoffs for a season was 19, which took him 283 innings in 1977. Urias will likely never throw that many innings in a season in his entire career, but if he somehow did that and maintained his current pickoff rate, he’d pick off 25 guys. Mark Buerhle, who ranks second all-time behind Carlton in career pickoffs (that we know of), never caught more than 11 guys napping in a season, and those came across 210 1/3 innings in 2010. Pettitte, No. 3 on the all-time leaderboard, topped out with 14 pickoffs across 240 1/3 innings in 1997. Urias’ accomplishment, obviously, represents a sample so tiny it could be a fluke. Maybe once the word gets around about his pickoff move, runners start taking much smaller leads and his outstanding rate in the stat drops. But Urias undoubtedly seems apt to control the running game, an important and oft-overlooked aspect of pitching success. Better yet, Urias has pitched well since two shaky starts at the outset of his big-league career. Over his last 11 outings, Urias owns a 3.10 ERA with strong rate stats that suggest he very much belongs in the big leagues. He turned 20 on Aug. 12.

FOX SPORTS

The Dodgers' Josh Reddick just suffered the season's most embarrassing injury By Chris Bahr Josh Reddick is no stranger to injuries, but his latest setback is easily the most bizarre of all.

Reddick hasn’t played since injuring a finger on his right hand when holding open a hotel room door Sunday night, the Los Angeles Times reports. Reddick was holding the door for room service when his finger got caught. “I’m at rock bottom now,” Reddick said. “But I will climb out.” Reddick isn’t exaggerating, either. Since his trade from the A’s to the Dodgers on Aug. 1, Reddick is batting just .149/.208/.164 and has yet to drive in a run in 18 games. Report: Dodgers 'trying to give away Puig,' but no one wants him By Lindsey Foltin It looks like the Dodgers are ready to move on from Yasiel Puig -- if someone will take him off their hands. The Dodgers are willing to practically give away the outfielder but they're having trouble finding a team that wants him, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe: "The Dodgers are trying to give away Puig, but no luck. Puig, with Triple A Oklahoma City, is considered toxic at the moment, but it takes only one team to want him. He doesn’t have too many allies in the Dodgers organization, but as one team official said recently, "At some point, the talent, the maturity is going to take hold. Someone will benefit from it. We hope it’s us, but it’s hard to envision it right now." Despite their aggressive efforts, the Dodgers were unable to move Puig earlier this month, so the struggling slugger was sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Since the demotion, Puig is hitting .419/.479/.721 with three homers in 12 games with the OKC Dodgers. While Puig's minor-league stats suggest that he's turning the corner, maturity and character issues remain an issue, especially with teammates on the big league club. If the Dodgers aren't able to find a suitor for Puig, he'll likely spend the rest of the year in the minors.

FANGRAPHS

All Right, Adrian Gonzalez Is Back By Jeff Sullivan The Reds are bad, and the Dodgers just clobbered them. As a part of that clobbering, Adrian Gonzalez socked three dingers. Here, you can watch them all! Each is impressive in its own way, I suppose. They’re most impressive as a group.

There was a time when Gonzalez’s power was absent. He hit three home runs in April. He hit three home runs, combined, in May and June. The fairly obvious culprit was a back injury, and it takes no imagination at all to figure out how an achy back could affect a swing. Gonzalez got some treatment. He insisted his back felt better. The numbers still didn’t quite show up. Now they’re showing up. From the looks of things, Gonzalez is indeed healthy again, and it simply took him a short stretch to re-find what previously had made him successful. Adrian Gonzalez is looking like Adrian Gonzalez again. The most compelling evidence is probably what follows, as drawn from Baseball Savant. Here are nearly two years of Gonzalez’s batted balls, as tracked by Statcast. This plot shows rolling average launch angles. That dip is impossible to miss, as an injured and compromised Gonzalez plummeted toward 0. He’s reversed that, again successfully putting batted balls in the air. And he’s once more hitting with authority. Here’s a rolling-average plot of hard-hit rate, and this doesn’t include Monday’s game, not that it would make a huge difference: Gonzalez is getting his swing back, and he’s also showing a better ability to hit the ball hard to right. Of course, at his best, he’s been more of an all-fields threat — and Monday, he pulled two homers while sending another the other way. I know it was a day game in Cincinnati against the Reds, but big-league homers are big-league homers. Gonzalez can hit them again, and he can do other things, and suddenly he’s up to a 123 wRC+. That’s in line with where he’s been for a while. The Dodgers are still playing without Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers are still winning without Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers, of course, would love Kershaw back, but since the All-Star break, Gonzalez has been a key part of what’s been the best offense in the National League. Kershaw’s important. He’s pretty far from being everything.

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

LA Dodgers announce next five companies in their accelerator program By Taylor Bloom Last year the Los Angeles Dodgers and R/GA formed a unique accelerator program that took 10 sports technology startups and combined them with the business expertise and networks of the ballclub and international advertising agency. This first program ended on Nov. 10 with the founders of the 10 companies pitching their newly polished ventures on top of home plate at Dodger Stadium in front of investors, media members and sports industry influencers. Now the accelerator is back for its second round, but with a few slight changes. There will only be five companies in this year’s program, and the Dodgers and R/GA focused on selecting companies that are in a growth-stage primed for strategic business development and scale. The five companies are:

• Greenfly transforms the relationships of organizations into powerful networks for content creation and distribution. • Keemotion enables broadcast partners, professional leagues, and universities from around the world to produce, customize, stream and share professional-quality HD video content live with the push of a button. • ShotTracker, with its innovative “ShotTracker TEAM” solution, affordably captures real-time stats for basketball teams, yielding powerful analytics for coaches, players and fans. • Renegade creates next-generation, Sweat X branded sports detergent, stain and odor technologies, specifically engineered to meet the needs of today’s high performance sports apparel and gear, used at the professional, collegiate and youth sports levels. • WSC Technologies has developed a platform that creates personalized sports videos automatically and in real-time, helping sports leagues and broadcasters to engage fans and monetize their content. By narrowing their focus from 10 to 5 companies, this year’s program intends to customize their efforts and incubation with each company. Each of the five companies will receive specific engagement with the Dodgers’ leadership, business units, and industry network as well as with R/GA’s strategic marketing, branding, design and technology services. Additionally, each company will be set up with “high profile external partners” that can help with their specific scaling needs. Rating NBC's Olympics coverage Ford launches VR racing app Vicis pulls helmets from Huskies camp In discussing the difference of this year’s program with last year’s, Tucker Kain, CFO of the Dodgers and managing director at Guggenheim Baseball Management, explained that they focused on casting a wide net in a broad range of verticals and stages in 2015. But this year they narrowed their focus to companies with specific products and market traction that can potentially complement each other as they grow. “Building on the success of the first program, we saw an opportunity to evolve to be even more strategic and targeted in how we impact each of the companies in the program,” he said in a statement. “This year, we’re surrounding each company with a carefully chosen group of strategic partners, advisors, Dodger resources and R/GA services teams to help execute a high impact pilot. The goal for each of these pilots is to accelerate the path to scale.” Kain went on to say, “A key element to the accelerator is lining up proof of concepts with external partners who can help give us line of sight on scale for the business; we are able to do this because these companies are farther along than traditional accel programs. We have a series of partners already on board for this.” As this year’s program will work to be more prescriptive and understand what each company needs, it’s main goal will not be to get each startup to raise another round, but to set them on a path to scale their businesses in a big way. From an R/GA perspective, global COO Stephen Plumlee believes this program is significantly different than any other accelerator programs. ”During the first program we worked with companies at all stages,

from pre-seed to series B,” he said in a statement. “That diversity required a program design that was flexible and customized. In this program, all five of the companies are growth-stage businesses. Reducing the size of the class enables us to engage more intensively and in a targeted manner that will be impactful to their businesses immediately. That structure, as well as the addition of active external partners, makes this program very different than a traditional accelerator.” The program this year will follow the same schedule as last year’s, concluding in early November with invite-only demo events at which each startup will present to industry leaders, partners and customers in the sports, technology and entertainment industries.

LA BIZ

Dodgers Accelerator recruits five new startups By Annlee Ellingson The second season of the L.A. Dodgers Sports Accelerator is in full swing with five new startups, including a local company from Silicon Beach. The businesses in this second class are all growth-stage companies ranging from new platforms for creating real-time data, video and highlights for both amateur and professional sports teams, to community-based content creation tools for brands and organizations, to cleaning technology for sports apparel and gear. The Dodgers Accelerator has made a few changes for its second season, halving the number of companies from 10 to five. The accelerator will once again take place in Los Angeles and be operated and supported by R/GA Ventures. The content creation and distribution platform Greenfly is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with the other businesses hailing from Westchester County, New York; Kansas; Ohio; and Israel. The accelerator will focus on immediate business opportunities to help the companies scale, with the ultimate goal of category leadership. The program will be highly customized to each startup, including curated connections and relevant domain experts, as well as “in-depth engagement” with Dodger leadership, business units and industry networks, and R/GA’s strategic marketing, branding, design and technology services. The Dodgers Accelerator made a few changes in its second season, halving the number of companies from 10 to five. In addition, the three-month program will conclude in early November with demo events for investors, industry leaders, and the sports, technology and entertainment communities in both Los Angeles and New York.

"We are confident that the combination of a smaller class of growth-stage companies, a customized approach, and the engagement of our partners, the Dodgers organization, and R/GA will drive significant results," said Dodgers' CFO Tucker Kain in a statement. "We also see immediate growth opportunities for the program companies through collaboration based on the complementary nature of their businesses." Last year’s class, including L.A. startups Appetize, Doorstat, FieldLevel and FocusMotion, received $20,000, plus an option on a $100,000 convertible debt note, as well as workspace at the R/GA’s office near Marina Del Rey, in addition to mentorship from the Dodgers and R/GA.

SB NATION

Giants vs. Dodgers odds 2016: San Francisco and Los Angeles battle for NL West in pick'em game By OddsShark With two straight wins on the road over the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Dodgers have taken over first place in the NL West from the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers will try to hold on to that top spot in a three-game series at home against the Giants this week. Los Angeles and San Francisco are both going off at -110 on the betting lines for Tuesday's series opener in Los Angeles at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Kenta Maeda will take the mound for the home team against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. The Dodgers took over first place in the NL West in style, crushing seven home runs in an 18-9 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday. Despite a slew of injuries to the pitching staff, including a back injury that has kept Clayton Kershaw out since late June, the Dodgers have stayed afloat with an 18-15 record since the All-Star break and a 9-6 record over the team's last 15 games. Over that 15 game stretch, the offense has helped out the depleted pitching staff with 6.27 runs per game. This rivalry series has been split right down the middle in recent seasons with both teams going 10-10 over the last 20 games between the Dodgers and Giants per the OddsShark MLB Database. The Giants entered the All-Star break as one of the favorites on the odds to win the World Series and looked poised to run away with the NL West with Clayton Kershaw sidelined for the Dodgers. But through the first 34 games of the second half the Giants are just 11-23, including a 5-12 record on the road. The team's latest 2-6 skid has given the Dodgers the opportunity to take over first place in the division, and a bad series this week would be disastrous for San Francisco. Tuesday's total is set at seven runs for the Giants vs Dodgers betting matchup. The UNDER is 6-3 in the last nine games between these two teams.

The series continues on Wednesday with a matchup between Rich Hill and Johnny Cueto and wraps up on Thursday when Brett Anderson squares off against Matt Moore. Rich Hill will be making his first start for the Dodgers after putting up sensational numbers in 14 starts for the Oakland A's this season.

MLB.COM

The Dodgers have started wearing striped socks for first time in nearly 80 years By Michael Clair The Dodgers have one of the best looking uniform sets in baseball. The Dodgers' script on those royal blue-and-white uniforms, the interlocking 'LA' on the caps -- it's an iconic look that's appropriate for any and all situations. The one thing, and perhaps the only thing, they've been lacking though: striped socks. The team has put an end to that this year. After Kiké Hernandez first sported the look on Aug. 13, a handful of players like Joc Pederson joined him in the days after. And on Monday, a number of Dodgers were spotted in the glorious blue-and-gray striped socks that matched their road unis when L.A. beat the Reds, 18-9, in a matinee matchup. While the use of gray in a sock to match the road uniform is somewhat rare, the Dodgers themselves did the same thing when they had a gray road stirrup in 1931. What you might not realize is that the socks the team wore on Monday were the first striped socks that the Dodgers have worn since moving to Los Angeles. In fact, according to the Dressed to the Nines database, the last time the Dodgers wore striped socks was back in 1937, when they were the Brooklyn Dodgers. That was also the lone year that they opted for green uniforms instead of blue. Interestingly enough, the team's road unis weren't gray, but tan. After scrapping the green, the team went with the script "Dodgers" across the chest and have essentially worn the same uniform since. Well, until today's inclusion of the socks, that is.