In what could easily have been a sweep, the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped the final two games of the weekend series to the Detroit Tigers and limped into the 2024 MLB All-Star break despite still having the best record in the National League West.
In Saturday’s middle game, the Dodgers led by as many as five runs before the bullpen self-imploded. Ricky Vanasco, Evan Phillips and Yohan Ramirez surrendered a total of seven runs over the final two innings, handing Detroit the 11-9 victory.
On Sunday, the Dodgers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning and maintained control of the game until the ninth inning when Ramirez once again faltered, surrendering two runs and allowing the Tigers to walk off on a sacrifice bunt attempt, spearheaded by his own throwing error.
One of the lone bright spots of Sunday’s finale was the Los Angeles debut of 29-year-old swing man Brent Honeywell. The righty went three full innings in an opening role, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out two batters. The Dodgers added Honeywell to the roster after claiming him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Honeywell is out of options, so it’s probably safe to say that he controls his own destiny as far as a roster spot goes. Ramirez and Anthony Banda also don’t have any options remaining on their respective contracts.
The Los Angeles offense has been hit or miss for the most part all season. Despite being near the top of the team leaders in the National League, the Dodgers still struggle with runners in scoring position and are among one of the league’s most inconsistent groups. Even with Mookie Betts and Max Muncy on the injured list, it’s not uncommon to see the Dodgers throttle opponents with double-digit wins, only to dry up with zero offensive output on consecutive days.
With the July 30 MLB trade deadline approaching quickly, it’s tough to say which areas of the roster front-office boss Andrew Friedman will address, if he addresses any at all. Betts will surely come back at some point to boost the offense, but Muncy still has no timetable for a potential return.
Righty reliever Joe Kelly could be close to returning shortly after the All-Star break, but Friedman and his crew may need additional firepower being that half of the current relief crew is made of names like Ramirez, Banda, Michael Petersen and Ryan Yarbrough.
Moreover, while the rotation has been stellar for the most part during for the first half, it has been horrific lately. According to Eric Stephen of True Blue LA, starters over the last 14 games — including Landon Knack’s outing on Thursday — are averaging just 4.4 innings per start with an 8.46 ERA.
Righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Honeywell on Sunday, resumed playing catch this week at Dodger Stadium. The soonest he can return is August 15.