The final series of the first half is here, and wow, did it fly by quickly. The Dodgers and Angels will play a two-game Freeway series before the All-Star break, with a rare off-day on Sunday.
The Dodgers lead the season series two games to none, with Tyler Anderson pitching a no-hitter into the ninth in one of those games. If the Dodgers can sweep these next two games, they’ll finish with 60 wins in the first half, which is quite remarkable due to the team’s injuries.
In the NL West, the Dodgers have now built up a 9 ½ game lead on the second-place Padres and a 13-game lead on the Giants. With a current record of 58-30, the Dodgers have the best record in the National League and are tied for the second best record in the MLB. The Blue Crew is 9-1 in their last ten games and 13-2 in their 15 games.
The team also may make a move at the trade deadline for the postseason stretch. Andrew Freidman and company are always busy, which was the case today. The Dodgers signed right-handed reliever Hansel Robles to a minor league deal; he was recently with the Red Sox and was DFA’d.
Pitching in the Freeway Series for the Dodgers will be Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urias. They will face Angels left-handers Patrick Sandoval and Jose Suarez.
Kershaw, who made the All-Star team for the ninth time in his career this season, is 6-2 with a 2.40 ERA. Urias, who was roughed up a bit in his last start against the Cubs, has posted a 3.01 ERA and a 7-6 record.
Sandoval is 3-4 with a 2.95 ERA, while Suarez is 1-3 with a 4.79 ERA. After the All-Star break, the Dodgers will play the Giants in a four-game series.
Reflecting on the first half of the season, a lot occurred that many Dodger fans may not have expected, especially Anderson and Tony Gonsolin pitching exceptionally well and being the best pitchers for the Dodgers rotation amid all the injuries.
Gavin Lux has emerged for the Dodgers quite nicely, with a .299 batting average and an OPS of .798. Then there’s Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner, who have been the most consistent hitters all year. The top three of the batting order, Mookie Betts, Freeman, and Turner, account for much of the Dodger offense.
Freeman can’t miss right now as he’s 14 for his last 16 but was snubbed from the All-Star game, and you could make a case for a lot of guys on the team.
The Dodgers are finishing the first half on their best stretch this season and hope they can win another series against their crosstown rivals.
Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:38 p.m. Pacific.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
It never hurts to stockpile relievers, as long as you can put them on the OKC (or Tulsa) roster. We don’t exactly have a lot of room to play with on the 26 or 40 man rosters, but the Robles signing doesn’t cause those kind of problems.
He had a couple of decent seasons for the Angels in 2018-19 but hasn’t been all that great since then. Maybe the Dodgers can help him re-discover some of the old magic.
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I have been impressed with Phillips and Almonte both throwing strikes with controlled velocity and movement. Almonte was up to 98 with great control the other day. If Treinen returns a bullpen with him, Phillips, Almonte, Vesia, and others will be effective. I think they will use May as they did Urias as a pitcher that can come in and give them a couple of innings every few days. If May is back to being the same shutdown guy as before he might be on the mound at the end of the WS as was Urias. We can hope. Any pitcher that can grind some innings is needed until they get everyone back. This AS break comes at a good time even if the team is hot.
The emergence of Lux makes the signing of T Turner more up in the air. If the Dodgers do not win the WS I do not think they will sign T Turner. I think they do what the club has stated recently and that is to use the Farm Team guys in the near future. The Dodgers only have a few players under contracts in 23. Betts, Freeman, Barnes. The young players are still under team control Bellinger will be in his last year. But if the rotation is Urias, Buehler, Gonsolin, and May the team saves a lot of money. I would not sign J Turner unless it was a very team-friendly amount. I think Kershaw’s decision will depend on health and Family. Do they re-sign Anderson? Bring up Pepiot? If they need a shutdown guy I would bring up Miller for the playoffs in relief. If the kid is on he is almost unhittable.
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Vintage Kershaw last night and for once, the offense went off. Smith and Freeman both belong on the All-Star team. Smith has ribbies in 7 straight games. Garrett Cooper over Freeman? Are you kidding me?
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Heaven forbid if kc, Oakland,, Washington etc didn’t have a player on this team. It’s not a all star team bear, don’t get excited. Lol
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