Ohtani has 10 strikeouts in nine innings since returning to the mound, allowing just one run. Saturday was his longest pitching outing to date.
With the MLB Draft starting on Sunday and the All-Star Game coming Tuesday, here are some Dodgers-related stories for a morning ahead of the final game before the break (which is on The Roku Channel, don’t forget).
Shohei Ohtani had his longest outing on the mound this season on Saturday, going three scoreless innings with four strikeouts against the Giants, allowing only a single and a walk. Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic wrote about how Ohtani is utilizing his fastball more than usual: “It’s a flex of how good he’s looked in his return from surgery: power at the plate and on the mound.”
Freddie Freeman doubled on Saturday but since the end of May is hitting just .196/.265/.268, and he’s walking less and striking out more than usual of late. Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register wrote about Freeman’s slump, with this analysis from manager Dave Roberts complete with the usual dose of optimism:
“I think the swing-and-miss. I think the chase. I think that when there’s balls in the hitting zone, kind of not squaring it up the way he usually does – those are things that are signs that he’s just not right,” Roberts said. “We all know that. We see it. But he’s just too good of a player not to come out of it.”
Melissa Lockard and Ardaya at The Athletic wrote about Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel and his two sons Brady and Trey, baseball players at Corona High School. Brady is a highly-rated draft prospect this year, while Trey is draft-eligible in 2026.
Dodgers outfield prospect Josue De Paula homered in the Futures Game on Saturday at Truist Park in Atlanta, and won the Larry Doby Award as the game MVP.
De Paula said he learned a lot working out in the offseason with fellow Dominican stars Juan Soto and Elly De la Cruz, noted Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times asked Zyhir Hope, De Paula’s teammate who singled during the Futures Game and scored on the home run, what he liked about De Paula’s game: “Everything … He takes it easily. He’s calm, relaxed and laid back, but he works hard. He’s a great dude.”
With such a sparse crowd in Atlanta, J.J. Cooper at Baseball America had some ideas of how to fix the Futures Game, including playing a full nine innings instead of seven. But Cooper also noted how moving the game to when it wouldn’t be at the same time as major league games presents its own logistical challenge.