Alexander: This is where the Dodgers and Angels face the grind

Cavan Biggio #6 of the Los Angeles Dodgers singles against the Los Angeles Angels in the fourth inning of a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

By Jim Alexander | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise

UPDATED: June 23, 2024 at 12:05 a.m.

Gavin Lux #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers is showered with sunflower seeds by teammate Teoscar Hernandez #37 after hitting a solo hun home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the third inning of a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

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LOS ANGELES – It’s fair, I suppose, to wonder if both of the teams on the field Saturday night in The Ravine might be experiencing their own versions of the dog days.

It’s late June, not even halfway to 162, and the grind might seem to the young Angels like it will never end. They’re 30-46, 13 games out of first place and 11 in arrears of a wild card spot, after Saturday night’s 7-2 loss to the Dodgers. And by now we – and they – know for sure what was never explicitly said at the start of the season but was assumed, and now has been confirmed. They’re playing not for 2024, but maybe ’25 and more likely ’26.

The kids – Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto, Mickey Moniak, Logan O’Hoppe and the rest – are getting a hard education in how this works. This was why Ron Washington was hired as the manager, the idea being that Wash’s tough love – and blunt honesty where necessary – would help keep the process moving.

A sample: Patrick Sandoval went on the injured list Saturday, and thus the Angels will need a starter at some point next week. With Chase Silseth and Reid Detmers both sent down to Salt Lake to get straightened out, Washington was asked before Saturday night’s game if one of them was in line to come back and assume Sandoval’s spot in the rotation.

Some managers may have hemmed and hawed or played the diplomacy card. Washington’s response: “We haven’t yet had that conversation. They haven’t really been performing. … We’re not looking at (Triple-A) results, OK, when you talk about those guys coming back here. But we are looking for a report where you’re ready to come back to the big leagues and perform. We haven’t gotten that yet.”

Meanwhile, Mike Trout is hurt again. And Shohei Ohtani was on the other side of the diamond this weekend, with a club that does have something tangible to play for this season. He is certainly doing his part, as we will discuss.

A big lead at midseason always has the potential to be dangerous, if for no other reason than to dull your competitive senses. The Dodgers moved eight games ahead of the second-place Padres Saturday night, and they’d been a break-even team for a while before getting well this past week against Colorado and the Angels. They’re also in a holding pattern, waiting on Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Brusdar Graterol, Joe Kelly, Ryan Brasier … well, how much time do you have to run down the injured list?

It is easy to assume that the wounded players will come back and fill all the needs, all will be well and the Dodgers will at last be in a position to make October their own. But think too much about the future and the present could get away from you, even in a division with only one other team above .500 as of Saturday night, San Diego at 41-40.

Trust me, Dave Roberts recognizes the possibilities. That day-to-day mantra Roberts’ teams have had since he became manager, of winning a baseball game that day and worrying about the rest later? This is where that attitude comes in handy.

“You sort of have to be mindful of it,” he said before the game, when asked about the possibility of slippage. “I wouldn’t expect that from our guys, as we’ve been through this a lot. We’re focused on each game, and I think that that’s the way to kind of manage (the tendency of) looking too far out. And then it’s my job to manage, you know, the playing time and the workload from position players. But their job is to to be ready to win the game each night.”

(Playing time and workload. Keep that in mind. We’ll circle back to it.)

This is in the Dodgers’ favor: They’ve just won four of six from the under-.500 Rockies and Angels, with Saturday night’s victory finishing a stretch of 12 games without a break. The schedule gets a little more forgiving, especially for the purposes of starting pitchers’ rest, and it starts with three games against the woeful White Sox beginning Monday night in Chicago.

As long as Ohtani is available and able, I like their chances against anyone. He moved into the leadoff spot after Betts suffered broken bones in his hand when hit by a pitch last Sunday. In six games since then, he’s hit .458, with four home runs, 11 RBI and an OPS of 1.566.

At this rate Mookie may have trouble getting the leadoff spot back when he returns.

“You know, it’s actually a good thought once Mookie gets back, which is still going to be down the road,” Roberts said after Saturday’s win. “Just kind of seeing how what’s the best way to construct the lineup. And so knowing that Shohei can hit there (and) feels comfortable … Mookie obviously is our leadoff hitter, but how you can kind of navigate (the lineup construction). It’s a good conversation.

“We’ll see when we get there.”

Could this be the closest thing baseball has to a quarterback controversy?

When Shohei keeps hitting Sho-bombs – and he crushed his fourth 450-foot or better homer in the last seven games Saturday night, a 459-foot missile into the pavilion in right center off the Angels’ Zach Plesac – it provides an opportunity to further redefine the role of a leadoff hitter. Then again, Shohei really is one of a kind.

“Everyone’s reaction is like, ‘wow,’ when he hits one,” Tyler Glasnow said.

Glasnow, who has become the unquestioned ace of the Dodger staff, is drawing some “wows” as well. He provided seven two-hit innings against the Angels – on just 74 pitches – before Roberts decided to save some of those bullets. As scrambled as the Dodgers’ rotation has sometimes looked this season, with pitchers coming and going between the injured list and the roster, the hometown guy has been the most dependable pitcher on the staff.

And even within the parameters of that day’s game taking precedence, it’s smartest to choose discretion over valor and not push your ace when you don’t have to, especially with a 7-2 lead.

“You certainly want to look at the big picture while still, you know, appreciating the here and now,” Roberts said. “But I just think that there’s certain people that really can affect potential postseason odds, and Tyler is one of them.”

The games in June matter, indeed, but the ones in October matter more. The Dodgers know that as well as anyone.

The Angels? They hope to find out someday.

[email protected]

Originally Published: June 22, 2024 at 11:45 p.m.

MLB |
Alexander: This is where the Dodgers and Angels…

MLB |
Alexander: This is where the Dodgers and Angels face the grind

One team has bigger ambitions awaiting them in October, while the other is assembling building blocks

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