Daily Clips June 28, 2017

Transcription

1 Daily Clips June 28, 2017

2 LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2017 DODGERS.COM Joc, Kenta KO Halos, knot Freeway Series Ken Gurnick and Kaelen Jones Maeda makes most of spot start, stifles Halos Joshua Thornton Seager (hamstring) moves well in agility tests Joshua Thornton Puig's one-game suspension rescinded Ken Gurnick Urias undergoes season-ending surgery Ken Gurnick Ryu, Meyer meet as Halos host Freeway Series- Joshua Thornton LA TIMES Dodgers even Freeway Series with 4-0 win over Angels Andy McCullough Why don't the red-hot Dodgers have any sure starters in the All-Star Game? Blame it on the TV blackout Bill Plaschke Still without Corey Seager, Dodgers give an ailing Yasiel Puig the day off Andy McCullough OC REGISTER Whicker: Cody Bellinger takes what Angels give him in Dodgers 4-0 win- Mark Whicker Kenta Maeda stifles Angels in Dodgers 4-0 win J.P. Hoornstra Dodgers Notes: Cody Bellinger s sneaky speed a surprising asset J.P. Hoornstra Miller: Ruinous Dodgers front office wrecks writer s rep- Jeff Miller Angels vs. Dodgers: Wednesday s game, TV channels and starting pitchers- Elliott Teaford ESPN Maeda dominates in spot start, Dodgers beat Angels 4-0 The Associated Press Yasiel Puig's suspension for obscene gesture rescinded ESPN.com News Services TRUE BLUE LA Joc Pederson home run backs Kenta Maeda gem in Dodgers win Eric Stephen Christian Santana goes 3-for-4 in Raptors 14-5 win Craig Minami Dodgers complete one of their best homestands ever Eric Stephen Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig out of Dodgers lineup - Eric Stephen DODGER INSIDER Maeda tosses seven scoreless to put Dodgers back in win column Rowan Kavner Puig out Tuesday with hamstring/knee flare-up, is available off bench Rowan Kavner NBC LA Dodgers Even Freeway Series With Angels After Joc Pederson's Home Run Michael Duarte Dodgers' Julio Urias in Good Spirits After Shoulder Surgery- Michael Duarte SPORTING NEWS Yasiel Puig suspension dropped on day knee problem benches Dodgers RF- Bob Hille SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Report: Yasiel Puig has suspension for obsence gesture rescinded- Scooby Axson

3 LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2017 Joc, Kenta KO Halos, knot Freeway Series By Ken Gurnick and Kaelen Jones DODGERS.COM LOS ANGELES -- Kenta Maeda fired seven scoreless innings and Joc Pederson slugged a three-run homer in a four-run sixth inning as the Dodgers beat the Angels Tuesday night, 4-0, for a split of the Dodger Stadium portion of the Freeway Series, which continues Wednesday night in Anaheim. Maeda, making a spot start after being sent to the bullpen, allowed four hits, struck out six without a walk and improved his record to 6-3. This was Maeda's best start since taking a shutout into in the ninth inning against Pittsburgh on May 10. He's 5-1 in his last eight starts. "The last few outings, he's been aggressive and filling the strike zone," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Maeda. "With his mix, putting hitters on the defensive, there just weren't many good swings they got off him." With Brandon McCarthy on the disabled list and encountering control issues again, Maeda will probably make a few more starts after outdueling former teammate Jesse Chavez (5-8). "He was getting to the corners pretty good, he changed speeds well," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Maeda. "I think he used all of his pitches and kept us off-balance. We didn't have too many good looks at him, and he pitched a good seven innings for them." The Dodgers broke a scoreless tie in the sixth. Chase Utley legged out a double to left-center, Logan Forsythe walked and Chris Taylor flied to center with Utley tagging to third. Left-hander Jose Alvarez was brought in to face Cody Bellinger, who defeated the shift by punching an RBI single to left. "Left on left and we needed a base hit there to keep the line moving," Roberts said of Bellinger's 56th RBI in his 59th game. "Cody is not just the guy that can slug. He can barrel hit, hit it flat for a base hit when he needs to, take a walk when he needs to. There's a lot of things he can do to help us win and tonight it wasn't the homer, it was the base hit to left." After Austin Barnes bounced out, Pederson homered to dead center, his seventh of the season, fifth since returning June 13 from a concussion caused by a collision with Yasiel Puig and first off a lefty. "Maybe it knocked some sense into me, I don't know," Pederson joked of the collision. But he also noted that while on a brief rehab assignment, hitting instructor Shawn Wooten spotted a flaw and the result is a better swing. "He definitely found something in my swing that I was doing last year and wasn't doing this year, and it's definitely paying off," said Pederson. "It sort of clicked right away and things have been going well with

4 it. Just getting back to something I wasn't doing before, I was hitting a lot of balls really hard on the ground and he showed me something I wasn't doing that was causing it." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Picking up a teammate I: With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Angels outfielder Eric Young Jr. lost sight of Taylor's apparent routine fly ball to center field and it dropped 30 feet in front of Young for a gift double. Chavez pitched around and walked Bellinger to bring up Barnes, who struck out on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat. Taylor's double was the only Dodgers hit in the first five innings. "Tough sky at center field," Scioscia said of the play. "We couldn't even see the ball [from the dugout]. Sometimes the ball blends right in with the background." Picking up a teammate, Part II: With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Cliff Pennington hit a rocket one-hopper that caromed off second baseman Utley for a double. That came after a spectacular diving stop and throw from his knees by shortstop Enrique Hernandez to rob Martin Maldonado of a hit. But Maeda struck out Chavez for the third out to keep the game scoreless. QUOTABLE "That was as good a play as you're going to see this year. Difficulty, athleticism, arm strength to make it over there. A lot of players on our club get a lot of praise. But to have him fill in for an MVP candidate and play that type of defense it doesn't go undervalued for us." -- Roberts on Corey Seager's fill-in at shortstop, Hernandez, diving to stop Martin Maldonado's bid for a hit and throwing him out from his knees on the outfield grass SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS At 19-6 in June, the Dodgers have the best record in MLB this month. WHAT'S NEXT Angels: The Halos will start Alex Meyer (3-4, 4.20 ERA) on Wednesday night as the Freeway Series turns to Angel Stadium. In five starts at home, Meyer is 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. PT. Dodgers: The Freeway Series shifts to Anaheim on Wednesday and Hyun-Jin Ryu gets the 7:10 p.m. PT start for the Dodgers. Ryu has won only three of 12 starts in his comeback season with 14 homers allowed in 67 innings. Maeda makes most of spot start, stifles Halos By Joshua Thornton LOS ANGELES -- Making spot starts has become a new adjustment for Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda.

5 Manager Dave Roberts decided to move Maeda from the bullpen into the rotation Tuesday night to give the starters an extra day of rest, and Maeda delivered with a four-hit, six-strikeout shutout over seven innings in the Dodgers' 4-0 win over the Angels. Maeda tossed his longest outing since May 10, while improving his record to 6-3. "The last three or four outings, he's been aggressive," Roberts said. "Attacking, filling up the strike zone... putting hitters on the defensive, and the fastball was really good. The command was good. He and I had a great repertoire tonight. Slider, the curveball was sharp. Really, there weren't any good swings they got off on him. To be efficient and give us seven innings, it's what we needed to start a new winning streak." Maeda made his second spot start of the month after a five-inning, three-hit win against Cincinnati on June 18. Going from starter to middle reliever has come with new challenges. His mentality has changed when he enters games, giving him a different approach. "I think there's definitely a sense of urgency overall," Maeda said through an interpreter. "I didn't start off the year on a good note. Regardless, whether I'm in the bullpen or starting, there's definitely a sense of urgency that I feel to produce results." Maeda, who threw 92 pitches, 64 for strikes, said his cutter, which was used to record five outs, was an effective tool. "It's a very important weapon," Maeda said. "It's something I can [use to] get Major League hitters out and it increases my repertoire of pitching in general." Roberts said he's unsure when Maeda could start again, but it could come soon, depending on how long it takes starter Brandon McCarthy to get back to form. "It's a performance game," Roberts said. "We do have depth in starting pitching. But I think that Kenta understands what he can control and he's taking charge of it and making good results." Seager (hamstring) moves well in agility tests By Joshua Thornton LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was still not ready to return to the lineup, but manager Dave Roberts said Seager moved "really well" during pregame tests before Tuesday night's 4-0 win over the Angels at Dodger Stadium. Seager has not played since injuring his right hamstring during the Dodgers' 6-1 win against the Rockies on Friday, but he has been available to pinch-hit if needed. Roberts and team trainers watched Seager go through agility tests and field ground balls on Tuesday. "There's really no drop-dead decision we have to make on Corey yet," Roberts said. "It's tougher playing shorthanded, but with the extra position player that we do have, essentially we've been playing with

6 four all year, and now we have four not counting Corey, but right now I think we do have some flexibility." After the Dodgers' 4-0 win over the Angels, Roberts said the club would monitor Seager, but ultimately he doesn't think he will need to go on the DL. "The way guys have pitched and started, our bullpen, we're in a good state," Roberts said. "I don't think right now we need to make a move." The 23-year-old is batting.298 with 12 homers, 39 RBIs and a team-leading 56 runs scored. He was second on the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot for National League shortstops behind the Reds' Zack Cozart. Dodgers not worried about McCarthy After throwing three wild pitches against the Rockies on Sunday, Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy showed signs of the "yips," which caused him to go on the DL last season. But Roberts said last year was different. "Last year, there was a lot more, it was bigger," Roberts said of McCarthy, who was placed on the DL Monday with right knee patella tendinitis. "There were multiple conversations and trying to figure it out. This year... I think that was a handful of pitches that he had no command of. I think that for us this year, we understand what happened, and we're looking to kind of not really delve into what was the cause of it." Roberts expects McCarthy to be ready for his next start when he's available to come off the DL and doesn't see anything carrying over. "With Brandon, he's very forthright," Roberts said. "I think he can see what everyone else sees. When you're misfiring that much as a Major League pitcher, it's a cause for pause, I think that right now we're not too concerned about it." Puig dealing with knee flareup After being bothered by a tight hamstring in recent games, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig now is having knee troubles, Roberts said. Puig hurt his knee during the Dodgers' 4-0 loss to the Angels on Monday and Roberts decided to give him a day off on Tuesday, but he was available to pinch-hit. Puig's one-game suspension rescinded By Ken Gurnick LOS ANGELES -- In a negotiated settlement, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig's one-game suspension has been rescinded and he instead will make a charitable donation.

7 Puig had appealed the one-game suspension he received for directing an obscene gesture at fans during the Dodgers' June 13 game in Cleveland. But an agreement was reached between MLB and the MLB Players Association for Puig to make the donation in lieu of proceeding with the appeal process. The incident happened after Puig homered. He later said fans in seats near the on-deck circle were heckling him and continued after he hit the home run. After that game, Puig apologized, saying he "stooped to their level." Urias undergoes season-ending surgery By Ken Gurnick LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias underwent season-ending anterior capsule surgery on his left shoulder Tuesday. The estimated recovery time is months. "The surgery was a success," manager Dave Roberts said. "I don't know in medical terms; all I know is in seeing the [ ] thread from Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache, he's a lot more optimistic than he was when he was first going to do the surgery. "It was very clean. There was some debridement he had to clean up. There was an attachment of some sort. All I know is that we as an organization, and Julio -- it's a very positive outcome." The 20-year-old Urias was injured on one specific pitch in a game for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said last week. Friedman said Urias felt the "tugging" in his last Triple-A outing on June 10 and that the lefty pitched two more innings, hitting 96 and 97 mph, but he was "really stiff" the next morning. Urias was 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA last year as a rookie. Unlike Tommy John elbow reconstructions, from which pitchers routinely return to their previous performance level, serious shoulder operations have a significantly lower success rate. But the Dodgers believe Urias could be an exception because of his age and relative soundness of the shoulder. Ryu, Meyer meet as Halos host Freeway Series By Joshua Thornton The Freeway Series moves to Anaheim on Wednesday night, with Angels righty Alex Meyer looking to shake off his last start opposite the Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu. Meyer allowed five earned runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Red Sox last Friday, snapping his streak of seven consecutive starts allowing three or fewer runs. Meyer is 3-4 on the year, sporting a 4.20 ERA in 10 starts.

8 Meyer, however, has put together strong performances at Angel Stadium. In five starts at home, Meyer is 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA over 26 2/3 innings. Ryu will look to get back on track after he allowed two home runs and five hits against the Mets in his last start. The lefty owns a 3-6 record with a 4.30 ERA and has given up 14 home runs this season. Things to know about this game Ryu last pitched at Angel Stadium on Aug. 7, 2014, allowing just two hits in seven scoreless innings in the Dodgers' 7-0 victory, striking out four against one walk on 100 pitches. Meyer has never faced the Dodgers, but in three career Interleague games (one start), he is 0-1 with a ERA. Ryu has allowed just a.167 slugging percentage with his curveball and slider this season. Among starters who have ended at least 50 at-bats with breaking balls, only Max Scherzer has done better. LA TIMES Dodgers even Freeway Series with 4-0 win over Angels By Andy McCullough The drought if it can be called a drought ended in the sixth inning of a 4-0 Dodgers victory over the Angels on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. A day before, for the first time in 18 games, the Dodgers played a game and did not hit a home run. Joc Pederson would not allow the streak to reach a second game. Pederson unloaded on a hanging curveball from Angels reliever Jose Alvarez and unleashed a three-run homer to dead center. The shot broke the game open for the Dodgers, who had been shut out Monday in the first game of this four-day Freeway Series. The matchup pitted a pair of players trending in opposite directions: Alvarez has given up 10 runs in 72/3 innings this month. Pederson, meanwhile, is surging after returning from the disabled list June 13. Since his recovery from a concussion, Pederson has batted.319 with five home runs. The homer against Alvarez was Pederson s first against a left-handed pitcher in Maybe, Pederson quipped, his outfield collision with Yasiel Puig on May 23 knocked some sense into me. The Dodgers benefited from Pederson s power Tuesday. Kept quiet by Angels starter Jesse Chavez for five innings, they surged ahead in the sixth. The rally made a victor out of Kenta Maeda, who went seven scoreless innings. The Angels managed only four hits. Maeda did not allow an Angel to stand on third base.

9 Maeda was pitching on three days of rest. He threw an inning in relief Friday. His outing was brief because the club wanted him to pitch Tuesday, as the Dodgers traversed a slate of 20 games without a day off. He earned himself another start with his effort, manager Dave Roberts said. There just weren t too many good swings that they got off him, Roberts said. Chavez finished 2016 as a Dodger. The team acquired him at the trade deadline to bolster the bullpen. He never found a role among the relievers, and languished off the postseason roster all October. The Angels offered him a $5.75-mllion deal during the winter to aid their rotation. Both pitchers faced the minimum through three innings. Angels outfielder Eric Young Jr. led off the first inning with a single and was thrown out trying to steal second base. Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger opened the second by taking a walk. Like Young, he was erased trying to swipe second. Why don't the red-hot Dodgers have any sure starters in the All-Star Game? Blame it on the TV blackout In the fourth, Young vexed Maeda by chopping an infield single. Two batters later, a single from Yunel Escobar gave the Angels two runners aboard. Maeda bounced back to strike out Luis Valbuena with a 91-mph fastball. A groundout by shortstop Andrelton Simmons ended the threat. The Dodgers notched their first hit against Chavez thanks to a mistake by Young in center field. On a two-out fly ball from Chris Taylor, Young lost track of the ball, which dropped well in front of him for a double. Bellinger walked to heighten the tension, but Chavez swept aside catcher Austin Barnes with a strikeout to strand the two runners. Angels catcher Martin Maldonado pumped his fist as he jogged off the diamond with Chavez. In the sixth, Chavez hit a snag. He flipped a changeup over the middle to Chase Utley, who led off the inning with a double. Logan Forsythe walked. Utley advanced to third base on a flyout from Taylor. A pair of runners stood on base for Bellinger, who entered the day leading the National League with 24 homers. Angels manager Mike Scioscia had seen enough. Out went Chavez. In came Alvarez. I ran out of gas a little bit at the end, Chavez said. And it was a good matchup. A left-handed reliever who leans on a fastball in the low 90s, Alvarez has proved prone to blowups this month. Four days ago at Fenway Park, Alvarez surrendered two runs on three hits. The Dodgers dinged him in similar fashion. With the infield shifted toward the right side of the diamond, Alvarez fired a fastball up and away from Bellinger. Since arriving in the majors two months ago, Bellinger has made the spectacular look routine. On Tuesday, he showed how spectacular the routine can be. I knew it was either going to be a slider or a fastball away, Bellinger said. I sat on the pitch away. I saw there was a shift as long as I put the ball in play, I knew I could beat out a ground ball as well. Bellinger chopped a grounder toward the area usually covered by the shortstop. Playing closer to second base than usual, Simmons dived, but the ball evaded his grasp. The hit gave Bellinger a team-high 56 RBIs 15 more than any other Dodger.

10 Alvarez stayed in the game. He induced Barnes to ground out, and Pederson stepped in with two outs. Alvarez slopped a curveball over the plate, and Pederson insured that Alvarez would not see the baseball again. With a lefty right there, sometimes he has a tendency to do too much, get too big, Roberts said of Pederson. He used the big part of the field. And when he uses the big part of the field, he s pretty good. Why don't the red-hot Dodgers have any sure starters in the All-Star Game? Blame it on the TV blackout By Bill Plaschke The Dodgers have an all-star record. They re been on an all-star winning streak. They play in the middle of an all-star town. They have the most all-star team in baseball, with one curious exception. They probably won t have anyone starting for the National League All-Star team. It doesn t make any sense, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. Believe it. When the fan voting ends Thursday for the July 11 game in Miami, only one Dodger even has a chance to make the starting lineup, and it would take a miracle finish for Corey Seager to make up 258,074 votes on Cincinnati s Zack Cozart. That s right, the best shortstop in the National League plays for a team with the best attendance in the National League and he s second in the fan voting to a guy from... Cincinnati? I like to do things that make sense, I don t like things that make no sense, Roberts said. Justin Turner, who could be leading the league in hitting at the All-Star break if he gets enough plate appearances, has no chance at third base. Cody Bellinger has no chance as a write-in candidate even though Dodgers fans put Steve Garvey into the 1974 starting lineup and then watched him become the game s MVP. Meanwhile, last summer, those darling Chicago Cubs had six starters in the 2016 All-Star game, including the entire infield. The Cubs were the best team last year, they were pretty well-represented; how that is not parallel in any capacity is besides me, Roberts said. Well, there s one difference. Most Cubs fans can actually watch their team on television. Yep, sorry, this is not an All-Star story, it s a TV story. Disguised as a baseball story, it s a blackout story.

11 The four-year stalemate between DirectTV and Charter Communications that has left millions of Los Angeles homes unable to access televised Dodgers games is finally starting to leave deep and noticeable cuts in the Dodgers brand. Shelve the spin, ignore the finger pointing, plow over all the numbers that show the Dodgers losing about half of their viewing audience since the blackout began, and a simple truth emerges. When the majority of households in your market can t watch your games on TV, they lose interest in your team. While the blackout hasn t affected attendance, it s put a huge dent in attitude. The winning is there, but the buzz is not. It s time for the folks upstairs to step to the plate for the Dodgers The Dodgers should be the biggest story in town this month, but doesn t it seem like everybody is talking about the Lakers? Everyone should be fawning over Bellinger, but just as many people are talking Lonzo Ball, and he won t even play in an official game for nearly four months. Don t blame Dodgers fans. Don t dare blame the fans. Chavez Ravine is as loud and crowded as ever, rocking Tuesday night as the Dodgers won for the 17th time in 19 games, 4-0 over the Angels. These are probably some of the same fans who used their little pencils to help Garvey make history. But the computerized All- Star voting can take place anywhere. And for many folks in Los Angeles who once connected with the team through television, the Dodgers are nowhere. They don t hate them, they just don t really know them, and why would you vote for someone you don t really know? Even the great Dodger Stadium cheers are surely coming from those watching the team for one of the first times during the season, and a lack of connection is increasingly obvious. Face it, if Dodgers fans really knew Bellinger, they wouldn t have waited until he hit his 24th homer to give him his first curtain call on Sunday. I don t really know what took so long, Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy said to reporters afterward. He keeps doing this over and over and over again. I feel like he should be three or four curtain calls deep right now. But Bellinger joined the team after the start of the blackout, just like Seager and Turner, and perhaps many fans don t yet feel the bond. Dodgers even Freeway Series with 4-0 win over Angels It works both ways. By most accounts, one of the Dodgers two most popular members is still Andre Ethier, even though he has played but 16 games in two years. He s a pre-blackout player. So is Yasiel Puig, who is still cheered like he was a rookie. When asked about the effect of the blackout, Roberts shook his head and said, I have no idea, all I m trying to do is focus on one game at a time, that s way beyond my pay grade. That was a smart answer, because there is seemingly no answer that wouldn t irk his bosses or alienate the fans. There are no winners here, only villains, but this year s All- Star voting has made one thing clear.

12 No matter who is technically to blame, it is Dodgers ownership that will shoulder the damaged legacy. It is Dodgers players who are feeling the long-term effects. It is the Dodgers who are left to explain why a brilliant young shortstop from Los Angeles who is coming off a rookie-of-the-year season can t get more votes than some dude from Cincinnati even though Corey Seager has more homers, RBIs, runs and doubles and fewer errors than Zack Cozart. I honestly don t know how that all shakes out, said a bewildered Roberts. The Dodgers could have as many as six All-Stars on the squad once the players and managers votes for reserves Seager, Turner, Bellinger, Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and Alex Wood. But if Kershaw is not the starting pitcher and right now, the game would fall between his usual starts they will all begin the game in shadows the approximate color of a darkened TV. Still without Corey Seager, Dodgers give an ailing Yasiel Puig the day off By Andy McCullough Yasiel Puig added another leg issue to his list of maladies. Already nursing a tight right hamstring, Puig is also dealing with soreness in a knee, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday s game against the Angels. The Dodgers gave Puig the day off to rest and inserted Trayce Thompson into right field. Puig felt his knee flare up on Monday, Roberts said. The injury affects him when he decelerates after running. The team did not want to risk aggravating his condition. With his injury history, just to give him a day [off], when we ve got Trayce available, makes sense, Roberts said. Puig is in the midst of his most successful month in He was hitting.306 in June heading into Tuesday with five home runs, five doubles and a.990 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Puig will not need a league-mandated day off, at least. He won his appeal of the one-game suspension he received for making an obscene gesture to fans in Cleveland earlier this month. The suspension was rescinded, and Puig agreed to make a charitable donation as a penalty. The team also played without Corey Seager in the lineup on Tuesday. Seager has not appeared in a game since straining his hamstring on Friday against Colorado. The Dodgers have yet to place him on the 10- day disabled list. Seager completed a series of agility drills before Tuesday s game. He also tested his hamstring in the batter s box, where he initially injured himself last week. We haven t ruled out [putting him on the disabled list] yet, Roberts said. Take a knee

13 Brandon McCarthy was succinct when asked when the tendinitis in his right knee flared up. Never, he said. Placed on the disabled list with the condition on Monday, McCarthy has been managing soreness in his knee for most of the season. He indicated his knee did not cause his loss of command in Sunday s second inning, when he issued two walks and threw three wild pitches. McCarthy dealt with the yips in 2016, and is focusing on avoiding a recurrence. I can pitch through [the knee issue], he said, but it s just making sure that the pitching is right. Short hop Julio Urias underwent surgery on the anterior capsule in his left shoulder on Tuesday. Team doctor Neal ElAttrache performed the procedure. Roberts described the operation as a success, and said ElAttrache expressed confidence in Urias ability to recover. ElAttrache also removed some damaged tissue during the procedure, Roberts said. OC REGISTER Whicker: Cody Bellinger takes what Angels give him in Dodgers 4-0 win By Mark Whicker LOS ANGELES And then we come to the part where Cody Bellinger makes something easy look easy. Or at least it looks that way every night in baseball, when a defense creates its own yawning hole and dares you to hit a ball through it. Bellinger had Dodger teammates on first and third Tuesday night with one out in the sixth. It was tied, 0-0. In fact, the Angels had held the Dodgers scoreless for 14-1/3 innings, just after the Dodgers had held a week-long sprint-relay across home plate. Angels manager Mike Scioscia lifted Jesse Chavez from the two-hitter he was pitching and went with lefty reliever Jose Alvarez, a by-the-book decision that would get kindled by the Dodgers. Bellinger slapped a single through the vacated shortstop position to bring in one run. Joc Pederson skied a home run over the center field fence to bring in three more. The Dodgers didn t score any more, but Kenta Maeda and Brandon Morrow finished off the five-hitter for a 4-0 win, with the next two Freeway Series games in Anaheim on Wednesday and Thursday. And, again, you asked, how hard can this be? It s not as easy as it looks, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Some guys don t have the ability to manipulate the barrel. Cody does. I keep saying, every night it seems like he does something different to help us win.

14 Bellinger understood exactly what he was doing. He knew anything to the left side would be a problem for the Angels, since Chase Utley was on third, and Bellinger has shown the ability to beat out mediumhit grounders. It s a matter of being comfortable in my load, he said. Sometimes I get in a situation when I can load early and then just be pre-set. That s what the situation called for. Freed from their miniature drought, the Dodgers did what they ve been doing for weeks. They cleaned up the leftovers. Pederson hit his fifth home run since he returned to the Dodgers on June 13. He was out with a concussion, administered in the outfield by Yasiel Puig. It must have knocked some sense into me, he said. Actually Pederson credited a couple of sessions with roving batting coach Shawn Wooten, when Pederson was doing rehab games at Rancho Cucamonga. I had been hitting a lot of ground balls before, and he reminded me of some things I used to do but hadn t been doing, he said. The first day I got there he showed me something that clicked a little bit. Pederson s OPS was.607 on June 13. He raised it to.808 with that home run. On Tuesday, he took part of his batting practice from his left-handed manager. When you see the lefty vs. lefty, some hitters like that because it keeps your front side closed, Roberts said. Anything I can do to help. Joc knows his power, but sometimes he tries to do too much. When he uses the big part of the park he s better off. Roberts also toyed with pinch-hitting Justin Turner against Alvarez, but figured Scioscia would walk Turner and then bring in a right-hander for Enrique Hernandez. Besides, Alvarez has given up a.262 batting average this season. Pederson is still somewhat helpless against lefty pitching, and he hasn t yet shown he ll be a day-to-day producer. But his hot streaks can burn the skin. He also was the first of three homegrown left hand-hitting position players who have visited the Dodgers varsity in three years, followed by Corey Seager last year and now Bellinger. In each case, the L.A. and national media fell hard. In Pederson s case there was a little more blowback because he wound up hitting.210 as 2015 went on. But he s still a 25-year-old with rare gifts, including the rare power gene. I don t think I was as exciting as Cody, Pederson said. He s really fun to watch. When you re in that situation you have to just be yourself. I struggled with my confidence for a while that year, and I was extremely bad. You just have to experience it for yourself.

15 And, again, the Dodgers were doing it with a bare quorum. Puig was out, which meant Trayce Thompson could make his season debut. Yasmani Grandal was off, which meant Austin Barnes could handle Maeda s mastery. Seager was also out with his hamstring tweak. So Enrique Hernandez was able to slide deep into the shortstop hole to handle a screamer by the Angels Martin Maldonado, and throw him out at first from his knees. I don t think you re going to see a play better than that this year, Roberts said. The way things are going, he held out the possibility that you might. Kenta Maeda stifles Angels in Dodgers 4-0 win By J.P. Hoornstra LOS ANGELES Kenta Maeda is technically the Dodgers sixth starter. One year after finishing third in National League Rookie of the Year voting, Maeda hasn t pitched as often as he d like. And yet, in five June appearances, Maeda has allowed only four runs. The right-hander continued his resurgence in the Dodgers 4-0 win over the Angels on Tuesday before the announced crowd of 47,245 at Dodger Stadium. Making a spot start to give the Dodgers other starters an extra day of rest, Maeda (6-3) scattered four hits all singles in seven shutout innings. He didn t walk a batter and struck out six. Asked how important it was to have a strong game, Maeda smiled broadly. Very important, he said through his interpreter. Cody Bellinger broke up a scoreless game with an RBI single against Angels reliever Jose Alvarez, a run that was charged to starter Jesse Chavez (5-8). Two batters later, Joc Pederson hit a three-run home run to cap a four-run inning. It was Pederson s first home run against a left-handed pitcher this season. The Dodgers (52-27) snapped the Angels (41-40) winning streak at three games. They have won 17 of their last 19 games overall. Bouncing between the bullpen and the rotation all month, Maeda s rise has quietly mirrored his team s. On June 9, his first relief appearance in nine years, Maeda allowed one run in four innings to record his first career save. Nine days later, Maeda started against the Cincinnati Reds. He allowed one run in five innings. Friday, Maeda threw a scoreless relief inning against the Cincinnati Reds.

16 It was all a mere prelude to Tuesday, when Maeda threw 92 pitches without allowing any semblance of hard contact. The one time the Angels squared up a baseball, Kiké Hernandez smothered a grounder by Martin Maldonado ranging to his right, then threw out the Angels catcher from his knees. Attacking hitters, not wasting pitches that s something I ve been trying to carry over as a starter, Maeda said through his interpreter. It s something that is a positive from that experience of pitching in relief. Maeda has also added a cut fastball to his repertoire, effectively giving him six pitches to choose from as needed. All of them were working Tuesday, Maeda said. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Maeda will start again, though he didn t know when. With Brandon McCarthy on the 10-day disabled list, Maeda might not miss a turn. And why should he? Maeda s earned-run average has fallen every month 6.58 in April, 3.63 in May, and 1.71 in June despite having no semblance of a routine. A lot of times, major league players feel that they have to have a certain routine to have success, Roberts said. Talking to (Dodgers pitching coach) Rick Honeycutt, when he made the move from a starter to the pen, and what it did for his career, he realized what he didn t need to get ready to make an outing. Kenta has shown I think himself that there s different ways to prepare and still have success at the major league level. For a while, it looked as if Maeda s best might not be enough. Chavez took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, spoiled when Eric Young Jr. lost a ball in the lights in center field. Chris Taylor s routine pop-up was officially recorded as a double. Chavez allowed only one other hit, a double by Chase Utley, over 5⅓ innings. He walked four batters and struck out five. Utley s double kicked off the Dodgers rally in the sixth inning. He tagged up and went to third base on a sacrifice fly. With runners on first and third and one out, Angels manager Mike Scioscia called on Alvarez to face Bellinger. It was more of a matchup and also (Chavez) is getting to a point where he s getting stretched a bit and we wanted to give some hitters a different look, Scioscia said. But outside of the walks, I thought (Chavez) pitched a good game. Chavez, the former Dodger, was charged with two runs, both of whom scored with Alvarez on the mound. Alvarez has allowed runs in each of his last two appearances. His ERA has risen from 4.43 at the beginning of June to Both teams played without some of their star hitters. Scioscia gave Cameron Maybin and Albert Pujols a day off. The Dodgers rested Corey Seager, Justin Turner and Yasiel Puig.

17 For a night, the gap in roster depth between the rivals was exposed. The Angels batted only three times with runners in scoring position and went 0 for 3. Young led off the game with a single and stole second base. At least he appeared to. Umpire Tom Woodring called Young out on the tag. Young immediately signaled to the Angels dugout to review the play and didn t leave the base. Ultimately, Scioscia chose not to challenge the call, forcing Young to jog back belatedly in defeat. That was the Angels best chance against Maeda for a while. They didn t get another runner until Young bunted for a hit in the fourth inning. But with runners on first and second and one out, Luis Valbuena swung and missed at a fastball, and Andrelton Simmons grounded out to end the inning. There weren t too many good swings that they got off on him, Roberts said of Maeda. To be efficient, give us seven innings it s what we needed to start a new winning streak. Dodgers Notes: Cody Bellinger s sneaky speed a surprising asset By J.P. Hoornstra LOS ANGELES The Dodgers fastest baserunner also has more home runs than anyone in the National League. Cody Bellinger s unusual combination of power and speed came into sharper focus Tuesday, when Major League Baseball published baserunning data for the entire league on its Statcast website. According to the data, Bellinger entered play Tuesday with a top sprinting speed of 28.7 feet per second. Only 21 players in baseball were faster. Utility player Chris Taylor (28.5 ft/second) and injured outfielder Andrew Toles (28.4) were the secondand third-fastest Dodgers according to the Statcast metric. Speed was measured in a player s fastest one-second window, an attempt to capture a player s maximum effort on the basepaths. Funny thing is, Bellinger had no idea he was that fast. He guessed Toles was faster. Me? No, he said. I ve got some sneaky speed in there. Bellinger, 21, hit 24 home runs in his first 59 games to seize the NL lead. He was not considered a power hitter coming out of high school, when the Dodgers selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. Bellinger hit only one home run as a senior at Hamilton High in Chandler, Ariz., though he did steal 13 bases in 28 games. Before his senior year, Bellinger said he always had average speed. I grew tall my junior year. I was really uncoordinated, he said. That year to senior year, I really worked on my athleticism. It kind of took off from there. Bellinger entered Tuesday s game against the Angels with five stolen bases in five attempts. He was 36 for 46 in stolen base attempts in the minors.

18 Sneaky fast. I can definitely see that, Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal said of Bellinger. The data had some bad news for Grandal: he s officially the slowest player on the team. The 28-year-old catcher guessed the dubious distinction either belonged to him or 35-year-old first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Grandal s 24.3 feet per second trailed Gonzalez s We always talk about it, Grandal said. INJURY UPDATES Shortstop Corey Seager was held out of the starting lineup for a fourth consecutive game because of a strained right hamstring. Seager fielded ground balls at shortstop and hit in the batting cage in the afternoon. Batting practice might have been more important. Seager initially sustained the injury swinging at a curveball Friday. Corey turns his toe on his front side in a lot, Roberts explained. When he swings there s a lot of torque created. Now when you ve got cleats dug into the ground, there s a rotation, and there s a lot of strain put on the hamstring. I have heard (of the injury occurring) on the back end because of the torque, but the front hamstring I haven t heard. Corey is a big strong guy and really aggressive that, along with coming out of the box, is where he initially felt it. Roberts said the Dodgers had not ruled out placing Seager on the 10-day DL retroactive to Saturday. Outfielder Yasiel Puig is dealing with injuries to his right hamstring and knee, Roberts said. Trayce Thompson got his first start of the season in right field. Pitcher Chris Hatcher, on the disabled list since Friday with thoracic inflammation, is expected to be activated once he s eligible on Monday or shortly thereafter, Roberts said. Scott Kazmir will make his second rehab start for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, Roberts said. Kazmir touched 91 mph with his fastball in a three-inning, 40-pitch rehab start for Rancho Cucamonga on Monday. He allowed a solo home run, four singles and hit a batter. Julio Urías remains on track for a 12- to 14-month rehab after undergoing surgery to repair a tear in the anterior capsule of his left shoulder. Team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache also performed a debridement during the surgery, Roberts said. ALSO Puig will not be suspended by Major League Baseball. The outfielder was originally banned one game by the league for making an obscene gesture June 13 during the Dodgers game against the Cleveland Indians. Puig will instead donate to a charitable organization agreed upon by MLB and the MLB Players Association.

19 Miller: Ruinous Dodgers front office wrecks writer s rep By Jeff Miller LOS ANGELES They were ruining the Dodgers, the once-proud franchise likened to a burning car careening off a cliff, the listless future best represented by the image of a deflating balloon. The conclusion was this team was drowning in a pit of smoldering, putrid negativity. Strong and biting was the opinion delivered in mid-december of Strong and biting and oh so wretchedly wrong. I just wish I wasn t the one who had delivered it. Believe it or not, folks, I was wrong. Yeah, wrong, like putting a wedding dress on a walrus would be wrong. Putrid instead described my performance 18 months ago when I mocked Dodgers executives Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, my listless effort best represented by the sound of a deflating whoopee cushion. The Dodgers had just won 92 games, lost the NL Division Series to the Mets and replaced the successful Don Mattingly with the unproven Dave Roberts. Zack Greinke had been permitted to leave for Arizona, the absolute no-brainer of a decision to re-sign him somehow eluding the brains running the Dodgers. At that point, Friedman and Zaidi had done nothing to boost the roster, the signing of Kenta Maeda still three weeks away, the addition of Joe Blanton a month from happening. So, with the subtlety of a blowtorch-welding chimp, I fried the Dodgers front office for allowing something good, something with life to inexplicably go bad, to die in the approaching winter chill. Entering Tuesday, since that column appeared, the Dodgers were , a winning percentage of.591, their victory total equaled only by the reigning World Series champion Cubs. Those would be the same Cubs who knocked the Dodgers out of the National League Championship Series last fall, meaning they might have been the only obstacle between the Dodgers and winning the title. On the occasion of this team putting together a just-snapped 10-game winning streak and a 16-1 overall stretch, I figured today would be as wise a time as any to expose my ignorance. Some writers and commentators never admit when they re wrong, and that s just fine. It is a matter of personal choice, after all, my personal choice always being that, if I were so smart about sports, rather than reporting on these games, I d be betting on them.

20 I also believe you have to keep the proper perspective concerning these things and maintain a sense of humor. That s why I took particular note Tuesday of the knee soreness that kept Yasiel Puig out of the Dodgers starting lineup against the Angels. It gets worse, Roberts explained before the game, when he decelerates. Funny, because the same could be said of Puig s reputation on his home run trots. It gets worse every time he slows down. At any rate, the Dodgers really have made me look bad over the past season and a half, and looking bad is usually something I can do on my own, thank you very much. Honestly, though, in December of 2015, who knew about Andrew Toles? About Charlie Culberson? Trayce Thompson was well known, of course, but as Mychal s son and Klay s brother. Not to make any excuses, but at that point, Cody Bellinger had just spent the season in the California League, hitting home runs against teams nicknamed the Nuts and Rawhide. Today, Bellinger is being mentioned as a candidate for the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game next month in Miami, the stunning reality being that, during the contest, the homer frequency of his rookie season could slow and he still might hit enough to win the thing. Naturally, the regime of Friedman and Zaidi deserves credit for knowing a lot more than the rest of us do, me especially. Sure, that is their job. But they have done it exceptionally well. Their incessant tinkering and unending attempts to upgrade at every level have resulted in a roster good enough to compete for the World Series and deep enough to win the AFC West. It does annoy a little bit, this team using the disabled list out of strategy as much as necessity. But their plan is working, even if someone as important as Clayton Kershaw has taken exception to the Dodgers extremely hands-on approach. Eighteen months ago, Corey Seager had appeared in 27 big-league games. Chris Taylor was coming off a season in which he batted.170 for Seattle. Brandon McCarthy, after starting four games, had a torn elbow ligament. Rich Hill had just spent September with the Boston Red Sox but most of summer with the Long Island Ducks. And look at them now, the Dodgers with the best record in the National League and on their way to another division crown. Maybe you saw this coming way back when. I sure didn t, blinded by my own blowtorch.

21 Angels vs. Dodgers: Wednesday s game, TV channels and starting pitchers By Elliott Teaford On deck: Dodgers at Angels, Wednesday, 7 p.m. Where: Angel Stadium TV: Fox Sports West, SNLA (where available) THE PITCHERS ANGELS RHP ALEX MEYER (3-4, 4.20) Vs. Dodgers: Never faced At Angel Stadium: 3-1, 2.72 Hates to face: None Loves to face: None DODGERS RHP HYUN-JIN RYU (3-6, 4.30) Vs. Angels: 2-0, 0.00 At Angel Stadium: 1-0, 0.00 Hates to face: Ben Revere 6-for-7 (.857) Loves to face: Cameron Maybin, 0-for-7 (.000) UPCOMING Thursday: Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (11-2, 2.47 ERA) at Angels RHP J.C. Ramirez (7-5, 4.38 ERA), 7 p.m., Fox Sports West, SNLA (where available). ESPN Maeda dominates in spot start, Dodgers beat Angels 4-0 By The Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- Kenta Maeda has gone from the rotation to the bullpen to spot starting this month. Maeda, like many baseball players, was built on routine, but his job has become anything but predictable with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

22 No matter. This role seems to suit him just fine. Maeda pitched four-hit ball over seven innings in a spot start, Joc Pederson hit a three-run homer and the Dodgers beat the Angels 4-0 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. Maeda (6-3) was moved to the bullpen earlier this month, but filled in Tuesday to give the rotation an extra day of rest. He dominated the Dodgers' crosstown rival, striking out six with no walks on 92 pitches. His ERA dropped to He'll get another spot start before the All-Star break, too. Why not, with results like this? "I think there's definitely a sense of urgency overall," Maeda said through an interpreter. "I didn't start off the year on a good note. Regardless of if I'm in the bullpen or starting, there's definitely a sense of urgency that I feel to produce results." Maeda was 2-2 with a 6.58 ERA in April. He's allowed just four runs in 21 innings in June. Angels starter Jesse Chavez (5-8) was pulled in the sixth after working into a jam, and Cody Bellinger greeted reliever Jose Alvarez with an RBI single. Bellinger leads the Dodgers with 56 RBI. Pederson hit his seventh home run two batters later. "(Alvarez) made some good pitches to Bellinger and (Austin) Barnes, but just left a slider in the middle of the plate to Pederson and he hit it out of the park," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. The Dodgers, who ended a 10-game winning streak Monday with a 4-0 loss against the Angels, have won 17 of their past 19 games and lead the National League with a record. Pederson has been hitting well since his return from a concussion he got in an outfield collision with Yasiel Puig. "Maybe it knocked some sense into me," Pederson joked. "Shawn Wooten (the hitting coach at Triple-A Oklahoma City) found something in my swing that I was not doing that I was doing last year. It's paying off.... Things have been going well with it." Chavez was charged with two runs over 5 1/3 innings. He didn't allow a hit until his 12th batter, and that was a miscue by Eric Young Jr., who seemingly lost the ball in center field and let it drop. Chavez allowed two hits, struck out five and walked four. Outfielder Trayce Thompson was back in the Dodgers' lineup for the first time since his recent call-up, and he made his mark with a diving catch. He was 0 for 3, but one of those was a flyball to the warning track. TRAINER'S ROOM Angels: OF Mike Trout (thumb) hit soft toss and is expected to take live batting practice soon.... LHP Tyler Skaggs (oblique muscle) will be evaluated again Wednesday to see if he can continue on a throwing program.