Daily Clips

June 25, 2015

LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPSTHURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

LA TIMES:Pair of Dodgers draft picks clash in College World Series – Greg HadleyDodgers beat Chicago Cubs, 5-2 – Dylan HernandezDodgers win, and they're still looking for pitching – Dylan HernandezDodgers return to the home run to lift offense, down Cubs, 5-2 –Steve DilbeckYasiel Puig scratched from Dodgers lineup – Dylan HernandezTaking a closer look at the Dodgers' offensive slump – Steve DilbeckJason Tingley aims to hit a few food home runs at Dodger Stadium – Jenn Harris

DODGERS.COM:Turner's blast keys Dodgers' win over Cubs – Ken Gurnick and Carrie MuskatTorn callus again keeps Puig out of lineup – Ken GurnickTurner making strong case to be NL All-Star – Ken GurnickFrias draws matchup with Lester in series finale – Ken GurnickFriedman: Pitching depth focus for Dodgers – Ken GurnickLeague adds 2 scoreless IP to rehab totals – Ken GurnickSeager rips two homers for Oklahoma City – Alex M. Smith

OC REGISTER:Justin Turner remains Dodgers' unexpected (and cost-effective) MVP – Bill PlunkettFor Andrew Friedman and Dodgers, worries over offense still at a minimum – Bill PlunkettOn deck: Dodgers at Cubs, Thursday, 11:20 a.m. – Bill PlunkettFinal: Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner homer as Dodgers' offense shows some life in 5-2 win over Cubs – Bill Plunkett

LA DAILY NEWS:L.A. Dodgers have an eye on starting pitching as deadline approaches – JP HoornstraNew number-three hitter Justin Turner homers in Dodgers’ win over Cubs – JP Hoornstra

ESPN LA:Slump easing, focus turns to pitching – Mark SaxonJoe Maddon: Deficiency in replay 'screams for independent group' – Jesse RogersTurner helps Dodgers beat Cubs 5-2 – Associated PressRapid Reaction: Dodgers 5, Cubs 2 – Mark SaxonDodgers' Yasiel Puig out vs. Cubs with callus on nonthrowing hand – Mark SaxonDespite hitting slump, Andrew Friedman focused on adding pitching – Mark Saxon

TRUEBLUELA.COM:Yasiel Puig scratched again from Dodgers lineup vs. Cubs – Eric StephenCorey Seager homers twice for Oklahoma City – David HoodStingy Kenley Jansen off to great start – Eric StephenDodgers draftee Josh Sborz named Most Outstanding Player of College World Series – Eric StephenJustin Turner, Adrian Gonzalez power Dodgers over Cubs – Eric StephenYasiel Puig scratched from Dodgers lineup – Eric StephenHowie Kendrick gets day off, Yasiel Puig bats 5th for Dodgers vs. Cubs – Eric StephenDodgers have 5 players with 10+ home runs before All-Star break – Eric Stephen

DODGER INSIDER:Confidence is scary, don’t you think? – Jon WeismanSpecial 60th anniversaries for Sandy Koufax and Jaime Jarrin – Mark Langill

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:Warriors Co-Owner Peter Guber Talks Hollywood vs. Sports, Says Obama "Didn't Understand" Sony Hack – Andy Lewis

LA OBSERVED:How Jon SooHoo got the Dodgers shot of the year – Kevin Roderick

KTLA NEWS:Los Angeles Dodgers Summer Events – Nancy Cruz

FOX SPORTS:Dodgers' Alex Guerrero realizes a trade might be good for him – Fox Sports

NBC LA:Red Dream: Justin Turner's Homer Powers Dodgers Over Cubs 5-2 – Michael Duarte

LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPS

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015

LA TIMES

Pair of Dodgers draft picks clash in College World Series

By Greg Hadley

Well, they certainly know each other. Here's hoping two of the Dodgers' top draft picks don't hold

grudges.

Virginia’s 4-2 victory over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night to clinch the College World Series was full of

future Dodgers. Top pick Walker Buehler started on Vanderbilt's side, and second-round selection Josh

Sborz was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament.

Buehler only lasted three innings Wednesday, surrendering two runs on three hits to go with four walks.

He did not take the loss, however. That went to sophomore John Kilichowski, who gave up one run in

one and a third innings.

Before that, Buehler had pitched just four days ago against TCU, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing four

hits. The turnaround was shorter than Buehler is used to, which caused Vanderbilt head coach Tim

Corbin to not immediately declare him the starter following game two.

Sborz, on the other hand, had a sterling series, coming in the fifth inning of a scoreless tie in game two

and pitching four shutout innings to force a decisive rubber match. The appearance capped a trip to

Omaha in which he pitched more like the hard-throwing righty the Dodgers were hoping for than the

inconsistent hurler Virginia dealt with in the regular season. He threw 19 innings in the tourney and

allowed just one unearned run, collecting four wins and three saves.

With Virginia's win, Sborz and Buehler can at least say they’re even. Last year, it was the Commodores

who topped the Cavaliers in three games for the NCAA title.

Before the series, Dodgers director of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino indicated all draftees who

played in Omaha would have a few weeks off before reporting for assignment.

Dodgers beat Chicago Cubs, 5-2

By Dylan Hernandez

KEY MOMENT: Justin Turner blasted a three-run home run in the third inning off Cubs starter Kyle

Hendricks to increase the Dodgers' advantage to 4-0. The home run was the 10th of the season for

Turner, who joined the Dodgers last spring on a minor league contract. Now the Dodgers' No. 3 hitter

and primary third baseman, Turner is batting .323 with 35 runs batted in. Asked where the Dodgers

would be without Turner, Manager Don Mattingly replied, "I don't want to think about it."

AT THE PLATE: Turner's home run was preceded by a solo shot from Adrian Gonzalez an inning earlier.

The homer was Gonzalez's 13th. Joc Pederson drove in an insurance run in the eighth inning when his

single to right field scored Scott Van Slyke from second. Hendricks, the Cubs' starter, lasted only five

innings and was charged with four runs and four hits.

ON THE MOUND: Mike Bolsinger lasted only 42/3 innings, as Mattingly removed him from the game

after he gave up two runs in the fifth. Five Dodgers relievers held the Cubs scoreless over the remainder

of the game, including closer Kenley Jansen, who recorded his 10th save. The game ended when Chris

Denorfia singled to left field and was thrown out by Van Slyke trying to stretch the hit into a double. The

play was reviewed, but the call on the field was upheld. J.P. Howell (3-1) was credited with the victory.

EXTRA BASES: Yasiel Puig was a late scratch from the Dodgers' lineup. A callous on Puig's left hand tore

open in the series opener Monday, and Puig had been playing with his hand heavily bandaged. In the

lineup that was originally posted in the clubhouse, Puig was batting fifth and starting in right field. Puig

batted leadoff in each of the team's last five games. Mattingly said he wanted Puig to be in a position to

potentially drive in runs for the run-starved team, which has scored two or fewer runs in 21 of its last 37

games. Alex Guerrero replaced Puig as the Dodgers' No. 5 hitter and started in left field. Andre Ethier,

who was originally slated to start in left field, replaced Puig in right. Mattingly said he was uncertain if

Puig would play in the series finale Thursday. … Sidelined reliever Brandon League pitched two scoreless

innings for triple-A Oklahoma City as part of a minor league rehabilitation assignment.

UP NEXT: Carlos Frias (4-5, 4.68 ERA) will face the Cubs and Jon Lester (4-5, 3.80) at Wrigley Field on

Thursday at 11:15 a.m. PDT. TV: SportsNet LA. Radio: 570, 1020.

Dodgers win, and they're still looking for pitching

By Dylan Hernandez

A six-week offensive slump hasn't changed the Dodgers' priorities heading into the July 31 non-waiver

trade deadline, the team's president of baseball operations said Wednesday.

Speaking before the Dodgers' 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Andrew Friedman said

his front office remains focused on bolstering a starting rotation that has lost Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon

McCarthy to season-ending operations.

Adding an offensive reinforcement is "a lower priority," Friedman said.

The Dodgers have scored two or fewer runs in 21 of their last 38 games, but Friedman said he was

confident the first-place team would start hitting again.

"As we assess things and look under the hood and dig on things, you're evaluating the quality of at-bats,

the quality of contact, the work ethic, how guys are getting after it," Friedman said. "All of it suggests

our guys are going to get going again and this will be kind of a small blip on the radar."

Friedman described the Dodgers' first 35 games as something of an anomaly, as they averaged a league-

high 5.3 runs per game in that period. But if that wasn't an accurate measure of their ability, neither are

the most recent 38 games, he said.

"In the first six weeks we were fortunate in that, one through eight, our bats were performing really

well," he said. "They were all kind of hot at the same time. In this last little mini-funk, a number of guys

have been struggling relative to themselves all at the same time. Usually, you have two, three guys who

are hot; two, three guys who are performing at expectation; and a few guys who are struggling. It's not

usually that high of a high or that low of a low, and, so, I kind of expect that to smooth out and be more

normal going forward."

So Friedman wasn't ready to concede he did a bad job of constructing this team?

Friedman smiled.

"Not yet," he said in jest.

The Dodgers won for only the third time in 10 games Wednesday, as Adrian Gonzalez launched a solo

home run in the second inning and Justin Turner added a three-run blast in the third.

Starting pitcher Mike Bolsinger lasted only 4 2/3 innings, but five relievers combined to pitch 4 1/3

scoreless innings.

Friedman said he was comfortable with whom the Dodgers have in the bullpen, especially with Pedro

Baez, Paco Rodriguez and Brandon League close to returning from the disabled list.

As for the Dodgers' trade talks involving starting pitchers, Friedman said they were still in preliminary

stages.

The upcoming free-agent class will include some starters on non-contending teams, including Johnny

Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds and Scott Kazmir of the Oakland Athletics. But Friedman said the Dodgers

have also explored potential deals for pitchers with multiple seasons remaining on their contracts. The

team is known to have scouted Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies, who has three years and $70.5

million remaining on his contract after this season.

Offensive additions probably will come from triple-A Oklahoma City, which is where Cuban infielder

Hector Olivera and top prospect Corey Seager are playing.

Olivera is on the disabled list with a strained hamstring and is expected to be sidelined for two or three

weeks.

Friedman implied he wouldn't promote either one of them for the sake of making a change.

"It's just never going to be something knee-jerk," Friedman said.

Friedman also touched on the mounting criticism directed at Manager Don Mattingly from fans on social

media.

"First and foremost, this mini-funk we're in is all our faults — front office, coaching staff, players,"

Friedman said. "But there's no finger pointing. We're all trying to figure out the best way we can get out

of this as quickly as we can. There's absolutely no panic in our group because we appreciate how

talented our roster is.

"And by our group, I mean everyone — the front office, the coaching staff, the players. Everyone

appreciates how much talent is in that room and how much guys care. And by caring, I mean their work

ethic and focus on how to improve.

"Again, I think it's all of our faults. I don't think it's fair to put it on any one person."

Dodgers return to the home run to lift offense, down Cubs, 5-2

By Steve Dilbeck

The Dodgers' offense was built to keep coming at you, with a deep lineup of hitters who know how to

grind out at-bats.

Or they could just hit the ball over the fence.

The Dodgers' struggling offense awoke just enough Wednesday to beat the Cubs, 5-2, at Wrigley Field,

though it could hardly be argued it clicked as designed.

The Dodgers managed only seven hits on the night but two of them were of the home-run variety, an

element to their attack that was never expected to be significant but which they continue to lead the

National League.

Struggling Adrian Gonzalez started the scoring with a solo home run off Kyle Hendricks to lead off the

second inning.

The Dodgers took a more comfortable lead in the third after right-hander Mike Bolsinger collected his

first hit of the season with a double and Joc Pederson walked. That brought up the Dodgers' lone hot

hitter, Justin Turner.

Turner delivered a three-run homer. It was his career-high 10th home run of the season. His previous

high was the seven he hit last season.

The Dodgers have hit 95 home runs this season to lead the N.L., 11 more than the Reds.

The Dodgers added one more run in the eighth when Scott Van Slyke doubled and scored on a Pederson

single.

Bolsinger was pitching fairly well until running into trouble in the fifth. He gave up a leadoff single to

pinch-hitter Mike Baxter and a run-scoring double to Addison Russell. Chris Denorfia singled Russell to

third.

Bolsinger got Anthony Rizzo to hit into a double play, though it scored Russell with the second run.

When Bolsinger then walked Kris Bryant, Manager Don Mattingly went to the bullpen.

J.P. Howell started a strong night for the bullpen, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Joel Peralta, who

loaded the bases without recording an out Tuesday in his first appearance in two months, came right

back and got the only two batters he faced out.

Adam Liberatore walked his only batter on four pitches, but Juan Nicasio bridged the gap to closer

Kenley Jansen with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Jansen shut the Cubs down in the ninth for his 10th save.

Denofria singled into the left-field corner on the game's final play, but Van Slyke threw a bullet to throw

him out at second for the third out.

Yasiel Puig scratched from Dodgers lineup

By Dylan Hernandez

Yasiel Puig was scratched from the Dodgers lineup Wednesday.

A callus on Puig's left hand tore open in the series opener Monday. Since then, Puig has played with the

hand heavily bandaged.

Puig has played in 16 games since he was activated from the 15-day disabled list on June 6. In that span,

he has batted .333 with a home run and six runs batted in.

In the lineup that was originally posted in the Dodgers clubhouse, Puig was batting fifth and starting in

right field. Puig batted leadoff in each of the team's last five games.

Manager Don Mattingly said he wanted Puig to be in a position to potentially drive in runs for the run-

starved team, which has scored two or fewer times in 21 of its last 37 games. Mattingly said he was also

thinking of moving Joc Pederson toward the middle of the lineup for the same reason.

Alex Guerrero replaced Puig on Wednesday as the Dodgers' No. 5 hitter.

Guerrero started in left field. Andre Ethier, who was originally started in left field, replaced Puig in right.

Taking a closer look at the Dodgers' offensive slump

By Steve Dilbeck

The Dodgers can't score! They couldn't sell General Manager Farhan Zaidi's signed copy of Oasis'

"(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?" for a run. Hits have become as rare as a rainy day in L.A.

The Dodgers have gone 2-7 in their last nine games, averaging 2.9 runs per game -- and that includes the

10 they scored Sunday against the San Francisco Giants. For the first two months of the season, the

Dodgers were an unexpected offensive machine. Now they’re a collection of broken parts.

The Dodgers have been held to two runs or fewer in 21 of their last 37 games. They look like a very

different offensive team and the frustration only grows as the slump deepens.

How does this happen? How does a team go from leading the National League in most offensive

categories to one that was shut out for 10 innings Tuesday?

Hey, it's a team sport. And most everyone in the lineup not named Justin Turner has contributed to this

offensive drought. Here’s a look at the normal starting lineup’s production the past nine games

(average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, followed by homers and runs batted in:

Yasiel Puig | .194/.256/.366 | 0 | 2

Joc Pederson | .250/.400/.536 | 2 | 3

Adrian Gonzalez | .194/.243/.278 | 1 | 2

Howie Kendrick | .222/.243/.222 | 0 | 0

Yasmani Grandal | .269/.387/.615 | 3 | 4

Andre Ethier | .091/.167/.091 | 0 | 0

Jimmy Rollins | .280/.308/.360 | 0 | 0

That' s right, it takes a village. The most expensive team in sports history is pretty much going through a

lineup-wide slump. Kendrick, Ethier and Rollins have combined to drive in zero runs in this stretch, and

Gonzalez -- still their most important hitter -- has driven in one and hit .205/.275/.313 in his last 22

games.

As the Dodgers keep saying, they’re too good a team to continue down this offensive path. But as the

offensive struggles continue, they have allowed the rest of the National League West to close in on their

lead.

For now, Manager Don Mattingly tries juggling the pieces -- Wednesday he has Enrique Hernandez

playing second and leading off against the Cubs -- but the results seldom vary. Knowing that something

similar happens to every team during the course of the season doesn’t make it any more palatable now.

Jason Tingley aims to hit a few food home runs at Dodger Stadium

By Jenn Harris

The next time you're devouring a Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium, you can thank Jason Tingley. He's the

executive chef of the stadium, and you can usually spot him walking around the different levels, wearing

a chef's hat and coat. With his background in fine dining (Patina, L'Orangerie, Water Grill), Tingley has

his sights on more than just hot dogs. He's making slow-cooked barbecued brisket, basil aioli and

roasted heirloom tomato hot dog toppings and vegan nachos, and he's developing a Dodger Dog pizza, a

16-inch pizza with a Dodger Dog crust. He also has a special power when it comes to hot dogs. Tingley

claims he can walk around the stadium, taste hot dogs from each vendor and tell the difference among

them. During the Dodgers' recent clobbering of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tingley took a break from

the game to talk hot dogs, his first job in the kitchen and Polish kishka.

What do you put on your hot dog? I like mustard and onions. We're thinking about doing some

sauerkraut at a couple stands. My favorite dogs are the Brooklyn Dodger Dogs with deli-style mustard.

And my real favorite hot dog is in the Stadium Club. It's a ripper we drop into the deep fryer and top

with cornichons, basil aioli, a little bit of mustard and some roasted baby heirloom tomatoes.

First job in the kitchen? After high school I was fortunate enough to get a job at the Ritz Carlton [now

Langham Hotel] in Pasadena. My dad was friends with the general manager. I was terribly green. I was

so green that when I was put on the salad station, I went to the bar to get red wine because I had to

make red wine vinaigrette. I actually poured red wine into it. The chef let me do it like four times, then

finally told me it was red wine vinegar I had to use.

Most challenging part of being the Dodger Stadium executive chef? I really want to knock things up a

notch, and I kind of get a little carried away with some of the food. Maybe it just needs to be a bit

simpler. Making sure I hit food cost scares me. When you make a mistake, it's not just one small

restaurant. We're talking big dollars.

If you could have dinner with anyone, whom would it be and what would you eat? Someone like Andrew

Zimmern, who has eaten the weirdest things ever. Or Martin Luther King Jr. — someone who has really

set history and this country in motion for a good thing. Food-wise, honest to God, I'm a mama's boy.

She's 100% Polish, so it's kishka and her stuffed cabbage.

Absolute favorite thing to eat, ever? For some reason, people think I have a refined palate. I don't. The

taco truck to me is the pinnacle of what comfort and great food is. It would be the taco truck on Fair

Oaks Avenue in Pasadena. I've been going to that place since 1986, ordering the al pastor and lengua

tacos.

DODGERS.COM

Turner's blast keys Dodgers' win over Cubs

By Ken Gurnick and Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- Adrian Gonzalez led off the second inning with his 13th home run and Justin Turner added a

three-run shot in the third to power the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory Wednesday night over the Cubs and

snap Chicago's winning streak at four.

The Cubs beat Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in back-to-back games to start the series, but had

trouble against Wednesday's starter, Mike Bolsinger, who grew up in suburban Gurnee, Ill., north of

Chicago. The right-hander struck out six in the first four innings, but the Cubs knocked him out in the

fifth after Addison Russell hit an RBI double and later scored when Anthony Rizzo grounded into a

double play.

Joc Pederson's RBI single in the eighth provided an insurance run, while Kenley Jansen pitched a

scoreless ninth for his 10th save.

The Dodgers were without Yasiel Puig, who was scratched at game time because of an open callus on his

left hand.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Helping himself: You knew the Dodgers' offense might break out when Bolsinger doubled in the second

inning, a prelim to Turner's three-run shot. It was Bolsinger's first hit of the season, coming in his 21st at-

bat, and third of his career in 41 plate appearances.

Needed relief: It took three relievers, but the Dodgers escaped a seventh-inning jam. Joel Peralta got

two quick outs, Adam Liberatore walked his only batter, Juan Nicasio allowed a single to Kris Bryant and

then got Miguel Montero to fly out after Montero swung and missed at a 3-0 pitch.

Home is not where wins are: Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks remained winless in six starts at Wrigley Field

this season. The right-hander served up two home runs in a game for the first time this season, and was

lifted after giving up four runs on four hits over five innings. Hendricks now has been charged with 10

earned runs over 10 innings in his last two starts.

Heads-up play: The Dodgers' Andre Ethier was at first with one out in the fourth when Yasmani Grandal

hit a grounder toward right field. Cubs first baseman Rizzo fielded the ball between first and second, and

tagged Ethier as the right fielder headed toward second base. Rizzo then threw to Hendricks, who was

covering at first, to get Grandal and end the inning. More >

CHALLENGE

The Dodgers lost a manager's challenge in the top of the fifth inning, when second-base umpire Jordan

Baker ruled that Cubs left fielder Chris Coghlan made a diving catch of Jimmy Rollins' sinking line drive. A

replay official confirmed the call.

The Cubs challenged the final out of the game, as Joe Maddon contested a call that Chris Denorfia was

out at second trying to stretch his two-out hit into a double. After review, it was ruled that the call

would stand, and the game was over.

WHAT'S NEXT

Dodgers: Starting pitcher Carlos Frias is coming off a loss to the Giants on Sunday, when he allowed six

runs in 5 1/3 innings. Thursday's 11:10 a.m. PT series finale will be the fifth start since his last win, May

30 at St. Louis. It's his first career start against the Cubs.

Cubs: Jon Lester makes his 15th start of the season on Thursday in the Cubs' series finale against the

Dodgers, and the lefty is looking for his first win since May 16. He's 0-3 in six starts since then. Lester

posted a quality start in his last outing against the Twins, giving up three hits over 6 1/3 innings, but did

not get a decision. This will be his second career start against the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for

1:20 p.m. CT.

Torn callus again keeps Puig out of lineup

By Ken Gurnick

CHICAGO -- Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig, who reopened a callus on the palm of his left hand earlier

this week, was scratched from the lineup for the second time in as many days prior to Thursday's game

against the Cubs.

Puig was a game-time scratch prior to Wednesday night's 5-2 win in Chicago.

"He broke it back open today and it's tender," manager Don Mattingly said on Wednesday.

Puig initially tore the callus in his first at-bat Monday night, but played the entire game with it taped,

and also played Tuesday night.

But just before the first pitch Wednesday night, Alex Guerrero was inserted into Puig's fifth spot in the

order and left field, while Andre Ethier moved from left field to right field.

Turner making strong case to be NL All-Star

By Ken Gurnick

CHICAGO -- The list of Dodgers No. 3 hitters over the years includes names like Duke Snider and Reggie

Smith, Kirk Gibson and Mike Piazza, Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp. Even Manny Ramirez.

On Wednesday night, Justin Turner again showed why he's snuck into that group this year with a three-

run homer that at least for one night ended an offense's frustration in a 5-2 win over the Cubs.

Gonzalez also homered, Joc Pederson added an insurance RBI single and five relievers followed Mike

Bolsinger's 4 2/3 innings in a win that made sure there would be no four-game Cubs sweep at Wrigley

Field.

For Turner, Wednesday was just more of the same. He's been hitting all year. All last year, too. His hot

start in 2015 led to the trade of Juan Uribe to open up third base. He now has a career-high 10 homers,

all off right-handed pitching, four in the last six games. Of his 35 RBIs, 16 have come this month. At .323,

he has the highest average on the club. His .967 OPS is higher than Pederson's or Yasiel Puig's.

Signed to a Minor League contract on the eve of 2014 Spring Training, Turner is not even on the All-Star

ballot, but a case can be made that he should be on the National League team.

Why the Mets non-tendered him after he hit .280 in 2013, Turner says he can't answer, but what

followed was "probably the most difficult offseason I ever had, going nuts, not knowing where or if I'd

be playing."

Out of work, Turner rebuilt his swing working out with Marlon Byrd and his hitting guru, Doug Latta, in

Los Angeles; training at L.A. Fitness and taking batting practice at his alma mater, Cal State Fullerton. He

beat out Chone Figgins, Justin Sellers and Alex Guerrero for a bench role that spring, then led the

Dodgers in batting average, played more games than Uribe and had a higher OPS than Matt Kemp.

Turner was the first Dodgers non-roster position player to stick the entire season, bat at least .340 and

play more than 100 games in 35 years. Ten of his 43 RBIs came as a pinch-hitter.

Turner did all of that and, admittedly, wasn't nearly in the shape he's in now after dedicated workouts

over the winter at Dodger Stadium with strength and conditioning coach Brandon McDaniel in order to

minimize chances of his balky knee getting in the way.

Turner downplays his spot in the batting order, while crediting batting behind Gonzalez for getting

better pitches to hit and Latta for mechanical tweaks that added lift to his swing.

Where would the Dodgers be without him?

"Obviously, I don't want to think about it," said manager Don Mattingly. "I'd hate to think about where

we'd be without Gonzalez and Joc and a few guys."

"He's solidified himself as an everyday player," Gonzalez said of Turner.

Frias draws matchup with Lester in series finale

By Ken Gurnick

The series finale pits fill-in Dodgers fifth starter Carlos Frias against Cubs ace Jon Lester, with both

pitchers coming in at 4-5 this season.

Frias is coming off a loss to the Giants on Sunday, when he allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings. This will be

his fifth start since his last win, May 30 at St. Louis.

Lester is winless over his last six starts, his most recent win coming May 16 against the Pirates. Four of

his six outings since then have been quality starts, the last two resulting in no-decisions.

Things to watch for in this game

• Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said his lineup will change for Thursday's day game because of the

left-handed Lester, even though lefties are batting .319 against him while righties are at .258. With

Yasiel Puig's availability a question, Scott Van Slyke and Alex Guerrero could be in the lineup, as well as

Kiké Hernandez for shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Mattingly also might use A.J. Ellis behind the plate instead

of bringing Yasmani Grandal back for a day game. Grandal and Ellis are both 5-for-24 against left-handed

pitching.

• Elias reports that Tuesday night was the Cubs' first 1-0 extra-inning win over the Dodgers since Sept.

15, 1915.

• These two teams play again in Los Angeles from Aug. 28-30.

Friedman: Pitching depth focus for Dodgers

By Ken Gurnick

CHICAGO -- While the offense stagnates, the Dodgers on Wednesday were scouting Phillies starting

pitcher Cole Hamels, which left plenty of questions for club president of baseball operations Andrew

Friedman to answer.

The club had Galen Carr watching Hamels, but Friedman said in a wide-ranging pregame interview with

AM570 that the team is watching a number of starting pitchers in the five weeks leading up to the July

31 non-waiver Trade Deadline.

"Usually after the Draft, teams pick up conversations, and we've been getting a sense of what they look

to do," Friedman said. "In our minds, we plan to be opportunistic. I wouldn't say it has to be one area or

another, it could be an area of strength. But more starter depth, we placed a great deal of emphasis on

that last offseason, and we will again this season and next offseason."

Friedman said he is "frustrated, as we all are" with the Dodgers' recent play.

"But the effort level is there, the energy is good," he said. "We believe we are a much better team than

we're playing like right now. Each day we're waiting for us to break out of it and get this thing rolling. It's

just a matter of consistency. We've had really high peaks, fairly low lows. We just need to reach a level

of consistency and let our true talent come out, and we feel we'll be in a good position to compete long

into October."

Friedman discounted the significance of the Dodgers' 6-19 record against clubs with records above .500

heading into play Wednesday.

"No question, for me, it's an anomaly," he said. "A lot of it is how we're playing at a certain time. We

could have the same record if the teams were below .500. It's about playing consistently. When we

compare our team to other teams, we'll take our chances. We feel we rank up there near the very top."

Friedman said he had dinner after Tuesday night's loss with Cubs manager Joe Maddon, as they did

often when Friedman ran the Rays and Maddon was his manager.

"We have a great relationship, we're very good friends," he said. "We were at each other's wedding. We

text a lot. He's loving Chicago, I love L.A. I wish him nothing but the best. The Cubs are in good hands.

He's incredibly good, especially with helping young players come up and thrive and feel comfortable and

not have to look over their shoulder. He's a really good communicator, he gets to know what motivates

players, and you see them play over there with a looseness and confidence that definitely comes from

Joe."

League adds 2 scoreless IP to rehab totals

By Ken Gurnick

CHICAGO -- Brandon League pitched two scoreless innings on Wednesday in another rehab appearance

for Triple-A Oklahoma City, and he is one of a trio of injured relievers that could rejoin the Dodgers on

this trip, manager Don Mattingly said at Wrigley Field.

Paco Rodriguez (elbow bone spur) and Pedro Baez (pectoral strain) also could be activated from the

disabled list within the next week, Mattingly said.

League has been out the longest, beginning the season on the disabled list with a right shoulder

impingement. His outing on Wednesday was the eighth appearance of his rehab assignment, during

which he has allowed only one run in 8 2/3 innings. He allowed one hit, had one strikeout and a line-

drive double play.

League is coming off a bounce-back 2014 season, when he posted a 2.57 ERA after a 5.30 ERA in 2013.

He was expected to help provide a late-inning bridge to closer Kenley Jansen this year, which has

become a focal point of concern for the club. The Dodgers have had six relievers on the disabled list this

season.

Mattingly said outfielder Carl Crawford, out nearly two months with a strained oblique, will resume

hitting this week, and the next step for him would be rehab games.

Also in the game for Oklahoma City, shortstop prospect Corey Seager homered twice.

Seager rips two homers for Oklahoma City

By Alex M. Smith

Corey Seager continues to rake for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Dodgers' No. 1 prospect (No. 5 overall) ripped two homers in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to Colorado

Springs, including a line-drive shot to right-center on the first pitch he saw. In the fifth, he launched

another dinger -- this one a two-run blast -- to right-center.

However, Seager's third multi-homer game this year ended on a sour note as he made a poor throw

with two outs in the top of the ninth inning that allowed the game to continue. Brewers No. 21 prospect

Yadiel Rivera promptly smacked a three-run home run to give Colorado Springs a 7-6 victory.

Seager has now made two errors in the past week and seven total since getting promoted to Oklahoma

City on May 1. However, he has been fantastic at the dish. He's hitting .286/.342/.465 with six homers

and 24 RBIs since the promotion.

OC REGISTER

Justin Turner remains Dodgers' unexpected (and cost-effective) MVP

By Bill Plunkett

CHICAGO – Dodgers manager Don Mattingly admits it. If someone told him during spring training that

Justin Turner would wind up batting third on his team, he would have assumed something had gone

very wrong.

“Well, I’d assume we’d had a lot of injuries, honestly, because I don’t think we pictured him with our

club sitting in the 3-hole,” Mattingly said.

No one pictured that on a team with a $270 million payroll. But Turner has emerged as the most

consistently productive offensive player on a team desperately in need of some consistent offense. His

three-run home run in the third inning Wednesday night proved the difference as the Dodgers sparked

back to life with a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.

“He’s been great – but he was great last year,” said Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who got the

Dodgers on the board with a home run in the second inning after they had been shut out over 10 innings

Tuesday night.

“I think we saw what type of hitter he could be last year. He’s solidifying himself as an every-day player.”

That’s not what the Dodgers thought they were getting when they signed an unemployed Turner to a

no-frills $1 million contract two offseasons ago and extended a non-roster invitation to spring training.

For a team that has spent more than a half-billion dollars on players the past two seasons, the Cal State

Fullerton product has been the equivalent of buying a Porsche through a PennySaver ad.

“I had no idea,” Turner said when asked if he could have envisioned this future after the New York Mets

made him a non-tender free agent, essentially cutting him loose. “That caught me off guard. It was

something I wasn’t expecting. I’ll tell you what, that was probably the worst offseason I’ve had – not

knowing where or if I was going to be playing the next year. That was hard. But I’m happy I landed here

with the Dodgers.

“It’s nice to be on a good team that’s motivated by winning from the top on down and is willing to do

whatever it takes to get the pieces to win. That part of it is nice. Obviously you look around at the guys

in here – Adrian and (Clayton) Kershaw and (Zack) Greinke. It’s nice to play with that caliber of player.”

Turner quickly dismisses the idea of a fire for redemption being lit by the Mets’ move, saying “That

chapter’s closed.”

He has written a new chapter with the Dodgers that could land him on the NL All-Star team. Since

joining the Dodgers, his .334 average is the highest in the majors (minimum 350 at-bats) and his 10

home runs this season are a career-high. With nearly every Dodgers hitter mired in June gloom, Turner

has hit .353 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 22 games.

“I don’t view myself any different,” he said. “I just try to play hard, do things the right way. I believe

when you do stuff like that, play the game right, you get rewarded like that.”

Mattingly had to work to reward the Dodgers with only their third win in the past 10 games, wearing a

path to the mound while cycling through six pitchers to protect the early lead.

Starter Mike Bolsinger held the Cubs scoreless through the first four innings but ran into trouble in the

fifth. He allowed three consecutive hits – a bloop single by Mike Baxter, an RBI double by Addison

Russell and a single by Chris Denorfia – to start the inning. Another run scored on a double play and

Mattingly pulled Bolsinger after he walked Kris Bryant.

The baton was passed from J.P. Howell to Joel Peralta, Adam Liberatore, Juan Nicasio and Kenley Jansen.

The quintet allowed just three hits over the final 41/3 innings, the game ending when Denorfia lined a

ball off the outfield wall but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

For Andrew Friedman and Dodgers, worries over offense still at a minimum

By Bill Plunkett

CHICAGO – The most muscular analytics available tell Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew

Friedman one thing about what he calls the “mini-funk” his team has gone through.

This too shall pass.

“For the most part, a lot of our guys have fairly well-established watermarks of production and the only

reason you would think that would change is if there are fundamental changes in the player,” Friedman

said before Wednesday’s game at Wrigley Field. “There’s none of that with any one of our guys (a) and

(b) it’s a very short period of time and right before this guys were performing extremely well. It kind of

speaks to the nature of a season. There are some very high highs and some very low lows and over the

course of 162 games we believe in this group to be there at the end.”

The Dodgers rode a fairly-high high through the first six weeks of the season. In mid-May – before they

went to San Francisco and were shut out in a three-game series – they led the National League in home

runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. Going into Wednesday’s game, however,

the Dodgers had scored two runs or fewer 21 times in a 37-game stretch.

“The first six weeks when things were going so well, it was much more of a team-offense approach of

hunting your pitch and when you didn’t get it, pass the baton and appreciate how deep our lineup is,”

Friedman said. “In the first six weeks, we were fortunate in that 1 through 8 our bats were performing

really well. They were all kind of hot at the same time. In this little mini-funk, a number of guys have

been struggling relative to themselves all at the same time. Usually you have two, three guys who are

hot, two or three guys who are performing at expectations and a few guys who are struggling. It’s not

usually that high of a high or that low of a low. So I kind of expect that to smooth out and be more

normal going forward.

“You look around and it’s team-wide right now. As we assess things and look under the hood and dig on

things, you’re evaluating the quality of at-bats, the quality of contact, work ethic, how guys are getting

after it. All of it suggests our guys are going to get going again and this will be kind of a small blip on the

radar.”

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly got under the hood and did some tinkering of his own, changing the

lineup for Wednesday’s game. Kike Hernandez was moved to leadoff with Justin Turner back in the third

spot and Yasiel Puig dropped to fifth.

Puig was a last-minute scratch because of an open callus and raw blister on the palm of his left hand.

The callus ripped open during an at-bat Monday and Puig had been playing with his hand heavily taped.

Mattingly referred to the lineup changes as “moving the furniture around.” He and bench coach Tim

Wallach discussed the changes after Tuesday’s 1-0, 10-inning loss.

“Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t,” Mattingly said. “But you have a reason for it. It’s not like

you just pick them out of a hat or anything. You’re looking at matchups and things like that.

“I think as long as it’s not working you’ve got to be willing to do some things.”

HOME RUN DERBY

With 19 home runs, Joc Pederson has hit more before the All-Star break than any previous Dodgers

rookie. One more home run before the break and he will become just the third National League rookie

to hit 20 home runs before the All-Star break. Dave Kingman had 21 before the break for the Giants in

1972 and Albert Pujols did the same for the Cardinals in 2001.

Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire holds the major-league record for a rookie with 33 home runs

before the break during his first season in 1987.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, Pederson’s home runs have averaged 429 feet in distance, the highest

estimate in the majors among players with at least eight home runs. Credentials like that could make

Pederson a prime candidate for the Home Run Derby at this year’s All-Star Game in Cincinnati.

Pederson said he has not given the derby any thought.

“No, I’m thinking about tonight’s game,” he said. “If they want me to do it, I’ll think about it then.”

Pederson has thought about it enough to say he wouldn’t travel to Cincinnati just to participate in the

home run-hitting contest. He would only do it if he was also named to the National League All-Star team.

Pederson is sixth in the voting among NL outfielders in the most recent results announced.

ALSO

Mattingly said Carl Crawford is expected to start taking live batting practice in Arizona later this week.

The next step after that would be a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment for Crawford, who has

been out since injuring an oblique muscle on April27. … RHP Brandon League pitched two scoreless

innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday afternoon in his latest rehab appearance. There’s “a

good chance” one or more of the Dodgers’ rehabbing relievers could be ready to join the team before

the end of this trip next week, according to Mattingly. Paco Rodriguez and Pedro Baez are also on rehab

assignments with the OKC Dodgers.

On deck: Dodgers at Cubs, Thursday, 11:20 a.m.

By Bill Plunkett

Where: Wrigley Field

TV: SportsNet LA, 11:20 a.m.

Did you know: Wednesday was the 60th anniversary of Sandy Koufax’s major-league debut. He pitched

two scoreless innings in relief for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the Milwaukee Braves and struck out

two.

THE PITCHERS

RHP CARLOS FRIAS (4-5, 4.68 ERA)

Starting with his 10-run beatdown by the San Diego Padres on May 24, Frias has not been as effective as

he was when he first joined the Dodgers’ rotation. During his past six starts, he is 1-4 with a 6.17 ERA

and 1.69 WHIP. Batters are hitting .333 with four home runs and an .855 OPS against Frias in that time.

For the season, Frias has not struck out many batters (34 in 592/3 innings) and the contact he has

allowed has resulted in a .302 average for opposing hitters.

Vs. Cubs: 0-0, 8.10 ERA

At Wrigley Field: 0-0, 8.10 ERA

LHP JON LESTER (4-5, 3.80 ERA)

Like the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke, the Cubs’ big off-season acquisition has pitched well without getting a

win recently. Since his last win on May 16, Lester has allowed two runs or fewer in four of six starts

including just two runs over 131/3 innings in his past two starts. In both cases, he left the game with the

score tied and was not involved in the decision when the Cubs went on to win. Surprisingly, lefties have

hit Lester hard this season – a .319 average and seven extra-base hits (four doubles, one triple and two

home runs) in 69 at-bats.

Vs. Dodgers: 1-0, 1.23 ERA

At Wrigley Field: 4-3, 3.36 ERA

Hates to face: Yasmani Grandal, 1 for 3 (.333), 1 double

Loves to face: A.J. Ellis, 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts

Final: Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner homer as Dodgers' offense shows some life in 5-2 win over Cubs

By Bill Plunkett

CHICAGO – The Dodgers’ offense awoke from its slumber long enough to hit two home runs in the first

three innings Wednesday night. They hung on from there to beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-2.

The win was just the third in the past 10 games for the Dodgers who are 7-19 against teams currently

with winning records.

Held scoreless in a 10-inning loss on Tuesday night, the Dodgers scored on a solo home run by Adrian

Gonzalez in the second inning and a three-run home run by Justin Turner in the third inning Wednesday.

Turner has five home runs and 16 RBI in June.

The offense went dormant again after that until the eighth inning when Scott Van Slyke doubled and

scored on an RBI single by Joc Pederson.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly went through six pitchers to make the early lead stand up.

Starter Mike Bolsinger held the Cubs scoreless through the first four innings but ran into trouble in the

fifth. He allowed three consecutive hits -- a single by Mike Baxter, an RBI double by Addison Russell and

a single by Chris Denorfia – to start the fifth. Another run scored on a double play and Mattingly pulled

Bolsinger after he walked Kris Bryant.

The baton was passed from J.P. Howell to Joel Peralta, Adam Liberatore and Juan Nicasio in the seventh

with the lead intact. Nicasio got Miguel Montero to fly out and strand runners at first and second in the

seventh then pitched a hitless eighth.

Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close it out as the Dodgers bullpen combined to allow

just two hits over the final 4 1/3 innings.

LA DAILY NEWS

L.A. Dodgers have an eye on starting pitching as deadline approaches

By JP Hoornstra

CHICAGO >> Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has had preliminary

conversations with other teams about acquiring starting pitching with five weeks remaining before

baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline.

Friedman said the talks are motivated less by the performance of the Dodgers’ fourth and fifth starters,

Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias, than the prospect of losing another starter to injury. Left-hander Hyun-

Jin Ryu and right-hander Brandon McCarthy are already out for the season.

Bolsinger allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. He threw 87 pitches

but could not complete the fifth inning. The right-hander has seen his earned-run average rise from 0.71

on May 23 to 2.95.

Frias is scheduled to start Thursday.

“They were sixth and seventh on our depth chart” at the beginning of the season, Friedman said of

Bolsinger and Frias. “Knowing we were going to get 10 to 40 starts out of them, just not sure when or

how. These things always happen over the course of the season. We had to go to them earlier than we

would have liked, but (engaging in trade talks) speaks much more to how the depth issue from this point

going forward than anything else.”

The Dodgers’ director of player personnel, Galen Carr, was spotted scouting Cole Hamels’ latest start for

the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. The New York Yankees touched Hamels for five runs in five

innings, but that will scarcely squash the scuttlebutt surrounding the star southpaw.

The Phillies were one of the first teams to fall out of playoff contention this season. They are widely

expected deal one of their high-priced veterans before the July 31 deadline. Hamels, who is signed

through 2018, is the Phillies’ most talented starting pitcher.

“We’re scouting a lot of different pitchers,” Friedman said. “Mid-tier guys, top-tier guys. Guys that have

(club) control beyond this year, guys that are going to be free agents. They might be available in July. We

might be getting ahead of our off-season evaluations. We’ve cast a pretty wide net.”

For now that net doesn’t seem to include many position players, despite a Dodgers offense that has

struggled to score in recent weeks, or many relief pitchers.

Brandon League, Paco Rodriguez and Pedro Baez are all with Triple-A Oklahoma City on a rehab

assignment. One or more of them could be activated during the Dodgers’ current three-city, 10-game

road trip, which will inherently alter the makeup of the bullpen.

The Dodgers entered Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs with a sub-.500 winning percentage

(.433; 13-17) over the previous month. Some have blamed this on the manager. Others blame the

coaches, the hitters, the pitchers, the front office.

Friedman is an equal opportunity blamer.

“This mini-funk we’re in is all of our faults,” he said. “Front office, coaching staff, players, but there’s no

finger-pointing. We’re all in it together to try to figure out the best way to get out of this as quickly as

we can. There’s no panic in our work. Everyone appreciates how much talent is in that room, and how

much guys care.

“Again, I think it’s all of our fault and it’s not fair to put it on any one person.”

The Dodgers aren’t the only team that will be looking to acquire starting pitching this summer. Here are

five pitchers that could change teams before the July 31 deadline:

Pitcher Team Key stats Signed through

Cole Hamels Phillies 2.96 ERA; 9.8 K/9 2018

Johnny Cueto Reds 2.98 ERA; 0.949 WHIP 2015

Jeff Samardzija White Sox 4.53 ERA; 10.5 H/9 IP 2015

Scott Kazmir A’s 2.70 ERA; .271 BABIP 2016

New number-three hitter Justin Turner homers in Dodgers’ win over Cubs

By JP Hoornstra

CHICAGO >> Dodgers manager Don Mattingly recently compared his daily lineup adjustments to

rearranging the furniture in a house.

Lately, two pieces of furniture have remained the same. Adrian Gonzalez has been the Dodgers’ cleanup

hitter the last six games and Justin Turner hasn’t budged from the No. 3 slot since Mattingly put him

there last Friday.

Turner, who is leading the club in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, is a

logical choice for a team struggling to score lately. His 10th home run of the season, a three-run shot in

the third inning, paved the way for a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

The win gave the Dodgers a chance to split the four-game series, which concludes at 11 a.m. today.

“I think it’s just, you know, a fit for right now for Donnie making the lineup,” Turner said of his new role.

“I don’t look at myself as a prototypical three-hole hitter. I don’t think that’s who I am. For right now

that’s what makes sense for Donnie in the lineup. I’m going to just take good at-bats just like I was

hitting second or fifth or seventh or eighth.”

Turner has evolved from a non-roster invitee in spring training a year ago, to a utility infielder, to the

Dodgers’ everyday third baseman. At least, Mattingly has pledged to play Turner roughly five out of

every seven games.

The Lakewood native and former Cal State Fullerton star is entering his prime at a relatively late stage in

his career. At 30 years old, he’s on a pace to set career highs in virtually every offensive category.

Turner credited two things for his transformation: More regular playing time than he ever had in parts of

five major league seasons with the Orioles and Mets, and some adjustments to his swing that he

undertook going into his first season with the Dodgers.

“Before, from day to day, I’d take different leg kicks trying to feel good,” Turner said. “In the offseason,

’13-14, that was one of my main goals, to try to get somewhere I could repeat it, have a foundation and

know where I need to be.”

Mattingly said he worked with Turner and center fielder Joc Pederson, who employs a similar leg kick to

Turner, on their swings last year.

“When (Turner) first got here, with the leg kick and everything, he was more of a low-swing type guy,”

Mattingly said. “He had to get on top of the ball a little better.”

The results have been obvious: Turner is squaring the ball up more often, leading to harder contact —

and now a spot in the middle of the lineup.

OLIVERA UPDATE

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said that Hector Olivera is estimated to miss

two to three weeks from the time he strained his left hamstring Saturday, “but with a hamstring you

don’t really know.”

That timetable all but guarantees that Olivera will not reach the majors prior to the All-Star break.

“It’s not like a wrist you can X-ray and say, ‘OK, it’s healed,’” Friedman said. “It was minor in nature,

which is good, and so he’s in Arizona right now and rehabbing. When we get to the point of him not

having any pain with it, we’ll ramp up baseball activity.”

Olivera was peaking at Triple-A Oklahoma City at the time of the injury, slashing .387/.387/.581.

“He started getting his legs under him, timing at the plate, the quality of at-bats were really good,”

Friedman said. “He’s played predominantly on the right side of the infield. It’s a different throwing

stroke from second than from third. Jose Vizcaino was there for a week with him, pregame doing stuff

on the chalkboard, then started ramping up to playing more games at third. That was the plan until he

got hurt.

“All in all, the acclimation on the field and off the field, things are going really well.”

ALSO

Right fielder Yasiel Puig was scratched from the lineup a few minutes before game time with an open

callus on his left hand. Puig has been dealing with the injury since Monday. Andre Ethier shifted to right

field, and Alex Guerrero started in left field, in Puig’s absence. ... Brandon League threw two scoreless

innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City. … Clayton Kershaw was nominated for an ESPY award for Best

Baseball Player. Voting will be conducted until the award is presented July 15.

ESPN LA

Slump easing, focus turns to pitching

By Mark Saxon

CHICAGO -- After the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 Wednesday night at Wrigley Field

for just their second win in the last six games, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and

most of the team watched the final inning of the College World Series between Vanderbilt and Virginia.

Friedman’s primary rooting interest was for reasonable workloads for the three pitchers the Dodgers

drafted who played on those teams: Walker Buehler, John Sborz and Philip Pfeifer. A Tulane grad,

Friedman has no attachment to either school. Once it was over, he could focus his attention on trying to

sign the young pitchers.

Assuming they get some or all of them in the fold, the Dodgers like to think they’ll have enviable pitching

depth in a year or two. They don’t yet and Friedman reiterated before the game that adding starting

pitchers remains a primary concern between now and July 31. After all, the Dodgers do have a $270

million payroll and nobody in uniform or working for the front office views this as a rebuilding effort.

The fans certainly don’t.

The Dodgers’ top major league special assignment scout, Galen Carr, reportedly watched Philadelphia

Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels give up five runs on eight hits at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night.

Earlier, Carr had made multiple trips to watch both Jordan Zimmermann of the Washington Nationals

and Johnny Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds, ESPN.com has reported.

The Dodgers’ search is on and it’s getting more serious.

“Starting pitching depth is certainly front and center, as it was last offseason, as it will be next

offseason,” Friedman said. “It’s something we’re always going to be mindful of, but two guys going

down just increases that for us.”

Friedman lives in fear of another injury to the Dodgers’ starting rotation piled on top of the season-long

loss of Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy because right now the back end is barely holding on. Mike

Bolsinger couldn’t make it out of the fifth inning Wednesday night or, to put it another way, the Dodgers

didn’t trust him to get out of the fifth inning after he walked a batter with two outs. He had shown signs

he was coming unhinged when three straight Cubs got hits against him leading off.

Going into Wednesday, opposing batters were hitting .318 against Bolsinger the third time through the

order and his strikeout rate has dipped precipitously. It’s not unusual to see a spike in ineffectiveness at

that point of the game, but it highlights the worry the Dodgers have about trusting both Bolsinger and

Carlos Frias with 40 percent of their starts. Frias, who pitches Thursday afternoon opposite Cubs ace Jon

Lester, has been wildly inconsistent. Bolsinger has a 5.06 ERA in his last five starts.

At the very least, Wednesday’s win allowed the Dodgers at least a temporary reprieve from talking

about their hitting woes. Adrian Gonzalez broke the ice for an offense that had gone 10 innings without

scoring the day before by scraping a solo home run over the left-field wall in the second inning and

Justin Turner let everybody breathe easy at last with a three-run shot in the third.

Wednesday marked the fifth straight game Turner has started in which he has batted third in the

Dodgers’ lineup. Considering where Turner was two springs ago -- fighting for a roster spot after the

New York Mets stunned him by declining to offer him a contract -- that’s a pretty dizzying ascent.

Had you told Dodgers manager Don Mattingly that Turner would be his No. 3 hitter back in March,

here’s what he would have thought:

“I’d have assumed we had a lot of injuries, honestly, because I don’t think you picture him with our club

in the No. 3 hole,” Mattingly said. “Probably, out of spring training you see him coming off the bench like

last year, getting a lot of at-bats but playing all over the place.”

With a healthy array of Dodgers position players, Turner has simply hit the best of all of them. Turner’s

.967 OPS is the best on the team and his 2.9 WAR is second only to Joc Pederson though Turner has had

113 fewer plate appearances. Turner probably deserves a spot on the National League All-Star team

though the fact he doesn’t have the qualifying at-bats and is labeled a utility guy likely will hurt him.

Turner wouldn’t even be with the Dodgers had bench coach Tim Wallach not made a phone call to then-

general manager Ned Colletti after running into Turner at a Cal State Fullerton alumni event.

Without Turner, where would the Dodgers be?

“Obviously, I don’t want to think about it,” Mattingly said.

Turner resisted the opportunity to throw it back in the faces of the Mets’ front office that cast him loose

because it wanted to save $500,000 or so in arbitration, then leaked insinuations to ESPN.com’s Adam

Rubin that it was Turner’s lack of hustle that soured them on him.

“I’ll tell you it was probably the worst offseason I’ve ever had, not knowing where or if I was going to be

playing the next year,” Turner said. “That was hard, but I’m happy I landed here with the Dodgers. It’s

nice being on a good team dedicated to winning from the top all the way to the bottom.”

Joe Maddon: Deficiency in replay 'screams for independent group'

By Jesse Rogers

CHICAGO -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon, angry with a call on the final play of his team's 5-2 loss to the

Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night, lashed out at the replay system, calling for an overhaul that

includes "nerds" well versed in analyzing video on the fly.

"I think it screams for an independent group back there to research the video," Maddon said after the

game. "That's what I think it screams for as opposed to working umpires that are actually on the field. I

think you should get a bunch of nerds back there that know how to look at a videotape and then come

to a conclusion. I think it would be much more interesting that way."

All reviews are administered at MLB headquarters in New York by umpires who make the final call.

Umpiring crews rotate into the role and back onto the field throughout the season.

The play in question occurred with two outs and the Cubs trailing by three in the bottom of the ninth.

Right fielder Chris Denorfia lined a ball off the left-field wall that bounced right to left fielder Scott Van

Slyke.

Van Slyke made a perfect throw to second base as Denorfia slid in. He was called out on the field, but

replays showed he might have gotten his left arm on the bag as he was being tagged on the front of his

jersey -- at least that's what Maddon thought.

After a review, the call stood but wasn't confirmed.

"To say there was nothing definitive right there -- I cannot disagree with more strongly," Maddon said. "I

have no idea why they would say that. It makes zero sense to me whatsoever.

"If the play was confirmed, I could almost live with that. To say it stands -- it's just not a cool way to go,

game on the line. And it was obvious from that one shot he was absolutely safe. No questions asked."

If a play is confirmed, it means replays definitively show the umpires made the right call.

A call that stands reverts back to the call on the field as replay officials determine there wasn't enough

evidence to overturn.

Denorfia said he never should have been in that situation with sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant

due up behind him with his team down three runs.

"I wasn't expecting it to end up like that, for sure," Denorfia said. "It's not a smart baseball play. It's

something I know not to do, to get thrown out when we're trying to put an inning together. A lot of

things went good for them on that play. The ball bounced right to him, he put it right on the bag, but it

doesn't matter. I shouldn't have gone to second anyways."

Denorfia felt that if he had been originally called safe, that call would have stood as well. He was asked

whether he actually did get his arm to the bag before being tagged.

"I don't know," he responded. "At the time I was pretty angry at myself for doing that.

"I thought it was too close to overturn."

His manager didn't think so and would not criticize his outfielder for attempting the double despite

being down the three runs. His feeling is if you're sure you're going to be safe, then go. And in Maddon's

mind, Denorfia was clearly safe.

"I cannot believe the conclusion," Maddon continued. "I wish whoever made that call could have been

at Wrigley Field looking at our big screen if they wanted to see something definitive.

"That might be the worst non-overturn I've seen to this point. Did I make that clear?"

Turner helps Dodgers beat Cubs 5-2

By Associated Press

CHICAGO -- Justin Turner had the best season of his career last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and

then he kept working on his swing over the winter.

All that hard work is paying off.

Turner and Adrian Gonzalez homered, and Los Angeles snapped Chicago's four-game win streak with a

5-2 victory over the Cubs on Wednesday night.

"Justin's been that guy that I've been able to put in all different spots in the order, play in a number of

spots in the field, use him in different ways," manager Don Mattingly said. "So he's a valuable piece for

us, that's for sure."

Gonzalez connected for a leadoff drive in the second and Turner belted a three-run shot in the third,

helping Los Angeles bounce back after it scored just two runs in the first two games of the four-game

series. Joc Pederson added an RBI single in the eighth for the NL West leaders, who had lost four of five

overall.

Turner was let go by the Mets in December 2013, and then signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles.

He set career highs with seven homers and a .340 batting average in 109 games last year, and the drive

against the Cubs was his fourth in the last six games and No. 10 on the season.

"I just kept working on the mechanics of my swing over the offseason and progressing and trying to get

into the best hitting position I could," Turner said, "and for whatever reason, the ball seems to be flying I

think for everyone this year, not just myself."

J.P. Howell (3-1) replaced Mike Bolsinger with two out in the fifth and pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for

the win. Kenley Jansen got three outs for his 10th save in 11 chances.

Addison Russell had two hits and drove in a run for Chicago, which had won five of seven. The Cubs

finished with nine hits, but left eight runners on base.

"We had opportunities," manager Joe Maddon said. "We had guys out there, the right guys hitting, but

it just did not want to play."

Russell's RBI double got Chicago on the board in the fifth, and the rookie came around to score when

Anthony Rizzo bounced into a double play. Bolsinger then walked Kris Bryant before Howell struck out

Miguel Montero for the final out.

"The win's important," Bolsinger said. "I don't care if it's next to my name or not."

Bolsinger allowed six hits and walked two while throwing 87 pitches, 54 for strikes. The Chicago native

also doubled over the head of center fielder Matt Szczur in the third and scored on Turner's two-out

drive to left-center for his 10th homer.

Kyle Hendricks (2-4) lasted just five innings for Chicago. He hasn't recorded an out in the sixth in any of

his last four starts.

"I'm not putting enough balls where I want them to go," Hendricks said. "I'm just not making enough

good pitches, and these hitters, any mistakes you make are gonna get hit."

WHAT A RELIEF

Howell hasn't allowed an earned run in 19 2/3 innings over his last 24 appearances. Jansen has allowed

just one earned run in 13 2/3 innings this season for a microscopic 0.66 ERA.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: OF Yasiel Puig was scratched because of an open callous on his left hand. Alex Guerrero

replaced Puig in the fifth slot in the lineup, and Andre Ethier moved from left to right field. ... RHP

Brandon League (right shoulder impingement) pitched two innings in a rehab appearance for Triple-A

Oklahoma City. "We'll see how he comes out tomorrow," Mattingly said.

Cubs: CF Dexter Fowler (sprained left ankle) was out of the starting lineup for the second straight day.

He grounded out as a pinch hitter in the sixth. ... LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (cramping in the back of his left

arm) played catch again, and manager Joe Maddon said he is still experiencing some soreness. "We're

not prepared yet to say yes or no on the next start," Maddon said. "We're going to wait probably just a

little while longer to evaluate all that." ... RHP Jacob Turner (shoulder inflammation) was shut down

after his right elbow "flared up," according to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein.

UP NEXT

Cubs LHP Jon Lester (4-5, 3.80 ERA) goes for his first win since May 16 in the series finale on Thursday

afternoon. Lester, who signed a $155 million, six-year contract with Chicago over the winter, is 0-3 with

a 3.93 ERA in his last six starts. The Dodgers counter with RHP Carlos Frias (4-5, 4.68 ERA), who is 0-3

with a 5.25 ERA in four June starts.

Rapid Reaction: Dodgers 5, Cubs 2

By Mark Saxon

CHICAGO -- The Los Angeles Dodgers interrupted their lengthy batting slump to get a much-needed win

over the Chicago Cubs, 5-2, Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.

How it happened: Adrian Gonzalez showed some leadership Tuesday night in addressing the Dodgers'

batting slump with reporters, but he showed more by helping them break out of it in the second inning

Wednesday. Gonzalez launched a solo home run in the second inning to give the Dodgers an early lead

and that seemed to open the faucet, at least a little bit. Justin Turner, the one Dodger who has been

immune to the slump, hit a three-run shot an inning later. The Dodgers didn't score again until the

eighth, when Scott Van Slyke doubled and scored on Joc Pederson's single, but it was enough for Mike

Bolsinger and the relievers to protect. The Cubs had a dangerous rally in the fifth, when the first three

batters had hits off Bolsinger, but he got a key double play ball from Anthony Rizzo and contained the

damage to two runs. Bolsinger didn't make it out of the fifth, but the Dodgers bullpen -- which will be

reinforced by three pitchers coming off the disabled list in the next week -- worked 4 1/3 scoreless

innings. Juan Nicasio, serving as the interim bridge to closer Kenley Jansen, got four key outs.

What it means: The Dodgers haven't fared well against contending teams -- going 7-19 against teams

with winning records -- but they have a chance at a four-game split in this series against the up-and-

coming Cubs.

Notable: Yasiel Puig was a late scratch from the lineup after a callus on his left palm opened up. He was

replaced in the lineup by Alex Guerrero, who went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. … Veteran reliever Joel

Peralta had a nice bounce-back outing after melting down in the 10th inning the night before. He retired

both batters he faced in the seventh inning. … The Dodgers have done a good job handling the Cubs'

best hitter, Rizzo, in this series. Rizzo has two singles in 10 at-bats. Wednesday, he struck out twice and

grounded into the rally-diffusing double play. … Gonzalez's second-inning home run barely reached the

stands in left field, but it was a welcome burst of power from the Dodgers' steadiest run producer.

Gonzalez hit eight home runs in April, but he had hit just four in the two intervening months going into

Wednesday.

Up next: The series concludes Thursday at 2:20 p.m. ET. Carlos Frias (4-5, 4.68 ERA) pitches for the

Dodgers, whose hitters have to contend with Chicago ace Jon Lester (4-5, 3.80 ERA).

Dodgers' Yasiel Puig out vs. Cubs with callus on nonthrowing hand

By Mark Saxon

CHICAGO -- Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was a late scratch from Wednesday night's 5-2

win over the Cubs due to an open callus on his left hand.

Puig, who is right-handed, left the field during batting practice with one of the Dodgers' athletic trainers,

his hand bandaged.

Puig opened the callus in his first at-bat in Monday night's game here and has received treatment for it

the past two days.

Alex Guerrero replaced Puig in the Dodgers' lineup batting fifth and playing left field.

Andre Ethier moved from left to Puig's customary right-field position.

Puig missed 38 games earlier this season with a strained left hamstring.

Despite hitting slump, Andrew Friedman focused on adding pitching

By Mark Saxon

CHICAGO – The solution and the problem aren’t necessarily mirror images of one another in the view of

Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.

The Dodgers are six games under .500 since they peaked at 22-10 on May 12 primarily because their

offense has taken a major turn for the worse, shedding an average of roughly two runs per game in the

intervening six weeks. But Friedman said his focus heading into next month’s trade deadline remains the

same: To find starting pitching.

Friedman said he would be opportunistic, but that he’s not prioritizing adding a bullpen arm or a hitter

at the deadline. He characterized his discussions with other teams as preliminary at this stage and said

the organization has already begun scouting “mid-tier” and “top-tier” starting pitchers. One of the

Philadelphia Phillies' top scouts, Gordon Lakey, has been at this series. The biggest name expected to be

dangled between now and July 31, of course, is ace left-hander Cole Hamels. According to MLB.com, the

Dodgers had scout Galen Carr watching Hamels pitch at Yankee Stadium Wednesday. Whether those

facts are all connected is unknown.

Friedman said part of his motivation to add another starter is that the Dodgers are currently using their

Nos. 6 and 7 starters -- Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger -- in their rotation. He fears what another injury

would do to the team's ability to contend.

The Dodgers have scored two runs or fewer in 21 of their last 37 games, but Friedman sees that as more

a product of so many hitters slumping at once and said he expects it to turn around any day now.

"I think you always stay open-minded and opportunistic to upgrade and strengthen your team, but for

us [adding offense] is definitely lower priority," Friedman said. "Getting more offensive production is

not, but looking around the field and the roster, that’s not an area we’re concerned with and feel like

when we look back a month from now, it’s going to look far different than it has the previous month."

As often happens, much of the fans' anger on Twitter and elsewhere has been directed at manager Don

Mattingly. Friedman said he agreed with Mattingly's decision not to pitch closer Kenley Jansen in the

10th inning Tuesday night -- a game the Dodgers lost -- because the bottom of Chicago's order was

coming up. He said he would support using the closer in a tie game on the road if the heart of a team's

order were coming to bat. He said he and Mattingly have discussed that possibility, which goes against

the prevailing thinking of most major league managers.

Friedman offered support to Mattingly and his coaching staff.

"First and foremost, this mini-funk we're in is all our faults -- front office, coaching staff, players,"

Friedman said. "But there's no finger pointing. We're all trying to figure out the best way we can get out

of this as quickly as we can. There's absolutely no panic in our group, because we appreciate how

talented our roster is. By group, I mean everyone -- the front office, coaching staff, the players."

TRUEBLUELA.COM

Yasiel Puig scratched again from Dodgers lineup vs. Cubs

By Eric Stephen

The Dodgers scratched Yasiel Puig from the lineup for Thursday's finale against the Cubs, still dealing

with a blister on his left hand.

Puig, like Wednesday, was slated to bat fifth and play right field. But now he's out again, with Alberto

Callaspo now starting. The original lineup had Puig in right, Scott Van Slyke in left field and Alex Guerrero

at third, with what would have been his first start at third base in 31 games, since May 24.

With Puig out, Van Slyke moves to right field, Guerrero to left, and Callaspo slots in at third base.

The Dodgers lineup is all right-handed - counting switch-hitters Jimmy Rollins and Callaspo - against Cubs

southpaw Jon Lester. Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson both get Thursday off, with Justin Turner

starting at first base and Enrique Hernandez in center.

The Dodgers are 4-8 against left-handed starting pitchers this season.

With Puig out, Rollins bats second for the second time in the last 27 games. Howie Kendrick was slated

to bat second, but moved to fifth in place of Puig.

With the day game after the night game, A.J. Ellis gets the start at catcher. Ellis has reached base in

seven of his last nine starts, hitting .280/.400/.360 during that span.

Puig wasn't the only scratch on Thursday. The Cubs had Starlin Castro at shortstop, but he is at the

hospital waiting for his wife to give birth to their child, per Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.

Addison Russell moves from second base to shortstop, with Jonathan Herrera starting at second base.

Lester is 0-for-27 with 13 strikeouts in his first season in the National League, and is 0-for-63 with one

walk and 35 strikeouts in his career. Carlos Frias is 1-for-16 this season with a walk and nine strikeouts,

with his only hit a bunt single, and is 1-for-23 in his career. This quite possibly could be the worst-hitting

pitching matchup of the year.

Pederson, still a rookie, took part in what is becoming an annual Wrigley Field tradition, the coffee run,

this year along with Mike Bolsinger and Adam Liberatore:

Corey Seager homers twice for Oklahoma City

By David Hood

The Dodgers top prospect showed why he's the top prospect on Wednesday afternoon.

Player of the day

Corey Seager smacked two home runs in a Wednesday evening loss, bringing his AAA total to six, and his

season total to eleven. Seager raised his OPS to .806 for the level, after two straight hitless games had

lowered his average eleven points. Seager has yet to set this level on fire the way he had AA, but that

can partially be attributed to the down talent in the Texas League. Seager is still extremely young for

the Pacific Coast League yet is holding his own in the middle of the Oklahoma City lineup and is running

out of faults to fix at the minor league level.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Dodgers were one out away from polishing off a six to three home victory before calamity ensued,

resulting in a seven to six loss to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers). Despite his offensive

production in the early innings, Seager's defense would let him now on a two out error in the ninth that

precluded a three run home run. David Huff was saddled with all four ninth inning runs, though none

would be earned.

Deck McGuire pitched five average innings to start the game, but contributed two hits to the cause.

Darwin Barney would also go three for five with a double.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers narrowly avoided the same fate as their Turner Turnpike brethren, stopping the Springfield

Cardinals (Cardinals) eighth inning rally at three to hold on to a six to five victory. Chris Anderson's

season of some good, some bad continued. While he went six innings and allowed only one earned run,

he walked four while only striking out three.

Kyle Farmer had been the offensive catalyst of late, and while he did add a double at the plate, his most

important contribution came on the other side. After starting the game at third, Farmer moved behind

the plate in a double switch and gunned down a would-be base stealer to end an eighth inning rally that

had threatened the Drillers' lead. Lars Anderson contributed at the plate with two doubles, while Adam

Law also had a double in two hits and a stolen base.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes return from the All-Star break tomorrow in Lake Elsinore.

Low Class-A Great Lakes

Also wrapping up an All-Star break, the Loons will pick up play Thursday at home against Fort Wayne.

Short Season Ogden

The Raptors jumped out in front early on the Idaho Falls Chukars (Royals) to win six to four. Two top ten

picks from the 2015 draft made their season debut on the mound tonight. Tommy Bergjans and Kevin

Brown both pitched one spotless inning with a strikeout apiece, and Bergjans was credited with the

victory.

Yensys Capellan had a double and triple as part of three hits on the night to lead the Raptor offense.

Chris Godinez also contributed with his first professional home run.

Arizona Rookie League Dodgers

The Dodgers had the night off and will play the Reds' affiliate Thursday.

Transactions

Double A: Hunter Redman was assigned to the Drillers from Ogden.

Short Season: Garrett Kennedy was assigned to the team, having signed after being eliminated with the

Miami Hurricanes from the College World Series last week. Kyle Garlick was also promoted from the

Arizona Rookie League, and to make room, Reymundo Torres was released.

Tuesday box scores

Colorado Springs 7, Oklahoma City 6

Tulsa 6, Springfield 5

Ogden 6, Idaho Falls 4

Thursday schedule

4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (TBD) vs. Fort Wayne (TBD)

5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Eric Surkamp) vs. Colorado Springs (Tyler Thornburg)

5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (TBD) at Northwest Arkansas (J.C. Sulbaran)

6:00 p.m.: Ogden (Jairo Pacheco) vs. Idaho Falls (TBD)

7:00 p.m.: AZL Dodgers (TBD) vs, AZL Reds (TBD)

7:00 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (TBD) at Lake Elsinore (TBD)

Stingy Kenley Jansen off to great start

By Eric Stephen

Before the Dodgers finish off their four-game series against the Cubs on Thursday afternoon at Wrigley

Field, let's appreciate the closer who is off to arguably the best start of his career.

Kenley Jansen got the save on Wednesday night, striking out a batter to give him 23 strikeouts in 13⅔

innings this season. But the key number so far for Jansen is zero.

As in no walks.

Jansen has 23 strikeouts and no walks, the most strikeouts by a Dodgers pitcher before his first walk of

the season, dating back to at least 1914.

Jay Howell held the previous mark with 20 strikeouts to open 1991 in 19 innings over his first 13

appearances before his first walk. Jansen's save on Wednesday night was his 14th appearance of the

season, also surpassing Howell for the most consecutive games by a Dodgers pitcher without a walk to

start a season.

Tied for third on that list is Adam Liberatore, who began his big league career with 11 appearances

without a walk earlier this season. Liberatore's streak saw it's final game the same day Jansen returned

from the disabled list.

Liberatore walked his only batter faced on Wednesday night, but on the season has issued just six walks

to his 82 batters faced (7.31 percent), along with Jansen helping the Dodgers improve their walk rate in

2015. This year the Dodgers bullpen has walked 8.15 percent of batters face, ranking 10th in MLB,

improved from 9.89 percent and 27th in MLB.

KENLEY JANSEN STRIKEOUTS IN GROUPS OF 100

Strikeouts BB Batters K rate K-BB%

1-100 36 261 38.3% 24.5%

101-200 18 216 46.3% 38.0%

201-300 17 280 35.7% 29.6%

301-400 21 253 39.5% 31.2%

401-471 8 175 40.6% 36.0%

Totals: 471 K 100 1,185 39.7% 31.3%

Jansen's streak actually dates back to Sept. 22, 2014. He has 27 strikeouts since his last walk and 16 full

appearances without a free pass.

It is the second-longest streak of his career, behind an 18-appearance streak from May 25 to June 29,

2013 that saw Jansen strike out 28 batters in between walks.

Jansen on the season has struck out exactly half of his 46 batters faced. His career high was 44.0 percent

in 2011, when he also set the major league record with 16.10 strikeouts per nine innings (since

surpassed; Jansen is now third). Every other season of Jansen's career has had a strikeout rate between

37.6 percent and 39.3 percent.

His career-low walk rate is 6.16 percent, set in 2013. This year, so far, it is zero. Enjoy peak-efficiency

Jansen.

Jansen threw 12 pitches on Tuesday night, and only 10 on Wednesday, so he might be available on

Thursday. So far this season, Jansen has pitched on two straight days three different times, but so far

never on three straight days. Jansen pitched on three straight days three different times in 2014.

Dodgers draftee Josh Sborz named Most Outstanding Player of College World Series

By Eric Stephen

University of Virginia closer Josh Sborz didn't pitch on Tuesday night, but he pitched well enough in

Omaha to earn Most Outstanding Player honors as Virginia won its first College World Series

championship, clinched Wednesday night with a 4-2 win over Vanderbilt.

The Dodgers drafted Sborz with their Competitive Balance Round B pick, No. 74 overall in the 2015 MLB

Draft, and plan to use him as a starter.

Sborz appeared in four games for Virginia in the College World Series, picking up three wins and a save.

He pitched 13 scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and four walks, with 10 strikeouts. He threw 191

pitches in 11 days, including 77 pitches in four scoreless innings on Tuesday innings to close out a 5-4

win that kept Virginia's season alive.

Dodgers' first-round pick Walker Buehler, picked No. 24 overall, started for Vanderbilt and pitched three

scoreless innings, but was pulled after just three batters in the fourth inning, allowing a walk, a home

run and a walk. He left in a 2-2 tie and got a no-decision.

Walker in the College World Series allowed three runs in 11 innings, with five walks and 11 strikeouts.

Buehler's teammate, Philip Pfeifer, was picked in the third round by the Dodgers. He took the loss on

Tuesday, allowing three unearned runs in 5⅔ innings. In two starts in Omaha the left-handed Pfeifer had

a 0.00 ERA in 12⅔ innings, allowing 12 hits and four walks, with 13 strikeouts.

Sborz, Walker and Pfeifer combined during the College World Series to go 5-2 with one save and a 0.74

ERA, with 34 strikeouts and 13 walks in 36⅔ innings.

Now that their seasons are over, the numbers that matter for the trio of pitchers are $2,094,400,

$827,000 and $564,700, the allotted slot bonus amounts for Walker, Sborz and Pfeifer, respectively.

The Dodgers are currently $128,900 over their allotted bonus pool, with supplemental first-rounder Kyle

Funkhouser out of Louisville and first baseman Edwin Rios out of Florida International (sixth rounder)

the only other two unsigned picks from the first 10 rounds.

The Dodgers have signed a total of 28 of their 42 picks, with the latest signee Garrett Kennedy, catcher

from the University of Miami, picked in the 14th round. He was 1-for-9 with three walks in three games

in the College World Series with the Hurricanes, catching two games and serving as designated hitter

once.

Kennedy was added to the active roster for rookie-level Ogden on Wednesday, though he did not play

on Wednesday night.

Justin Turner, Adrian Gonzalez power Dodgers over Cubs

By Eric Stephen

One game doesn't mean the Dodgers are out of their slump, just like 5½ weeks of mediocre play isn't

any more indicative of their overall talent level than 5½ weeks of great play to start the season. But

home runs by Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner were two of the signs of positivity for the Dodgers in a

5-2 victory over the Cubs on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Dodgers.

Gonzalez homered for the second time in four games, one night after downplaying the club's offensive

slump. Per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

"Obviously, we lead the National League in home runs. We’re pretty good in most categories if you put it

all together up until today. Good teams ride it out and end up doing well in the season as a whole. You

guys can write what you want, but I think at the end of the year if somebody says our lineup stinks

they’re going to be corrected."

The positive sign for Gonzalez, with his solo home run in the second inning, was that it was hit to left

center field. It was the second time this season Gonzalez has homered to left center, the opposite field

power usually a harbinger that his swing is on track.

In addition to the two home runs Gonzalez has hit to left center field this season, he has also hit two to

center field, six to right center field, and three to right field, per Baseball-Reference.com.

Speaking of great signs, there has been no better sign in the last two years then securing Turner on a

minor league contract before the 2014 season. All he has done is hit since joining his hometown team.

Turner's latest big hit was a three-run shot off Kyle Hendricks in the third inning, giving the Dodgers a 4-

0 lead. Turner is hitting a robust .353/.397/.647 with a team-leading 16 RBI in June, with his five home

runs setting a new career high for a single month. The old record was four home runs, set by Turner last

month.

The career-high 10 home runs on the season give the Dodgers five players with double-digit home runs

on the season, the first time they have done that since 2000.

Turner's five June home runs have come in his last nine games, during which time he has 11 RBI.

Another positive sign was aggressive managing by Don Mattingly, removing Mike Bolsinger one out shy

of a win with a 4-2 lead and one runner on base in the fifth inning. Bolsinger entered the fifth with a 4-0

lead, but began to falter. The third time through the batting order this season, opponents are hitting

.326/.436/.457 against Bolsinger, including single, double play, walk on Wednesday.

A quartet of relievers - J.P. Howell, Joel Peralta, Adam Liberatore and Juan Nicasio - combined to record

10 outs and allow no runs, building a bridge to Kenley Jansen, who closed out the Cubs in the ninth for

his 10th save of the season.

Another positive sign was the Dodgers tacking on an insurance run in the eighth inning, thanks to a

double by Scott Van Slyke and a two-out single by Pederson, widening the lead to 5-2.

It was the first two-out RBI for the Dodgers of the series.

The offense also scored exactly five runs for just the fifth time all season, finding the upper end of the

sweet spot that is the middle ground on offense, after 11 weeks of feast or famine.

Before the streets can be cleared for dancing we need only to look at the club's last three series to

ground them. The Dodgers lost three to the Rangers before beating them, then dropped two to San

Francisco before taking the finale. Similarly, the Dodgers lost two in Chicago before beating the Cubs,

with one game remaining to go for the split.

But for now, a win is a win, and the Dodgers need as many as they can get.

Helping himself

Bolsinger was on base when Turner homered, thanks to a one-out double over the head of Matt Szczur

in center field in the third. The hit was the first of the season for Bolsinger, now 1-for-22 on the year. It

also snapped an 0-for-35 skid for Bolsinger, dating back to April 14, 2014, when he got his last hit, also at

Wrigley Field, against Edwin Jackson.

Bolsinger is now 3-for-41 (.074) in his career with 17 strikeouts, and one double.

Dodgers pitchers have hit five doubles this season, most by any staff in the majors.

Up next

After three night games in Chicago, Thursday brings us baseball as it was meant to be played at Wrigley

Field, under the sun with an 11:20 a.m. PT start. Carlos Frias gets the call in the series finale, facing left-

hander Jon Lester for the Cubs.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Adrian Gonzalez (13), Justin Turner (10)

WP - J.P. Howell (3-1): 1⅓ IP, 1 hit, 1 strikeout

LP - Kyle Hendricks (2-4): 5 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

Sv - Kenley Jansen (10): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 strikeout

Yasiel Puig scratched from Dodgers lineup

By Eric Stephen

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was a late scratch from the lineup on Wednesday night in Chicago,

because of the blister on his left hand that popped on Monday.

Alex Guerrero will start in place of Puig, batting fifth and in left field. Andre Ethier, who was originally

slated for left field, instead started in right field.

Puig was seen on the broadcast of Monday's game getting treatment on his left hand, which had

bloodied during his first at-bat. Because of the blister, Puig's hand has been heavily bandaged for a few

days.

Puig even had to switch fielding gloves because his normal road black glove wouldn't properly fit over

his bandaged left hand.

In the first two games of the series, Puig was 2-for-7 with a walk and a pop fly triple.

For Guerrero, this is just his second start in the field in the last 14 games, during which time he also

started once as designated hitter. Guerrero this season is hitting .255/.283/.500 with six home runs, six

doubles and a triple in 30 games as a starter this season.

Howie Kendrick gets day off, Yasiel Puig bats 5th for Dodgers vs. Cubs

By Eric Stephen

Howie Kendrick gets a day off on Wednesday night, prompting a bit of a lineup shuffle for the Dodgers

against the Cubs, including Yasiel Puig moved to the heart of the order, batting fifth in the third game of

the series at Wrigley Field.

Kendrick is in a 9-for-46 (.196) slump with no extra-base hits in his last 11 games, and no RBI in his last

12 games despite batting anywhere from third to fifth in the order. During that RBI-less span Kendrick is

1-for-16 with five strikeouts with runners on base, and though his one hit came with a runner in scoring

position was an infield single that didn't score a run.

Kiké Hernandez starts at second base in place of Kendrick, and bats leadoff on Wednesday night.

Hernandez is up to six starts at second base this season, to go along with eight starts at shortstop, two

starts in center field, two in left and one start in right field.

Puig since returning from the disabled list on June 6 is hitting .333/.391/.524 with eight extra-base hits

in 16 games. He batted third in his first game back but since then has only batted second (nine starts) or

first (six starts).

Puig and Justin Turner are both 1-for-3 against Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks. Yasmani Grandal is 0-for-2

with a walk against him, and Adrian Gonzalez walked in his only plate appearance against him.

Dexter Fowler is out of the lineup for the Cubs for a second straight day after spraining his ankle on

Monday. Matt Szczur starts in center, with Chris Denorfia in right field.

Dodgers have 5 players with 10+ home runs before All-Star break

Eric Stephen

Justin Turner's three-run home run in the third inning in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Cubs gave the

Dodgers five players with at least 10 home runs, the first time they have done so before the All-Star

break in 15 years.

Turner's home run was his 10th of the season and the 95th hit by the Dodgers in 2015, 11 more than

any other National League team.

Turner joins Joc Pederson (19), Adrian Gonzalez (13), Yasmani Grandal (10) and Alex Guerrero (10) in the

double-digit club, the first time for the franchise before the All-Star break since 2000, when Gary

Sheffield (27), Eric Karros (25), Todd Hundley (17), Shawn Green (13) and Kevin Elster turned the trick.

The Dodgers' record for most players with 10 or more home runs before the All-Star break is six,

accomplished in both 1979 — Davey Lopes (20), Ron Cey (17), Steve Garvey (14), Joe Ferguson (11),

Dusty Baker (10) and Reggie Smith (10) — and 1977 — Garvey (22), Baker (19), Cey (18), Smith (17), Rick

Monday (11) and Steve Yeager (10).

Andre Ethier has nine home runs and Jimmy Rollins seven, with 17 more games before the All-Star

break.

DODGER INSIDER

Confidence is scary, don’t you think?

By Jon Weisman

ong before the Dodgers allowed a run in the 10th inning Tuesday to lose at Chicago came this instantly

celebrated as well as befuddling moment of Cubs fan Keith Hartley reaching out to catch a foul ball while

holding — and still feeding — his baby son Isaac.

I was reasonably confident that the Dodgers would get credit for the out, because Hartley had so clearly

reached into the field of play, interfering with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. But the confidence that

Hartley had in his ability to catch the ball — and, more to the point, not allow his son to be hurt — is the

kind I’ll never experience. Man.

Here’s what Hartley had to say, via Jon Greenberg of ESPN.com:

“Baseball is not a new thing to me,” he said. “I didn’t want it to hit the ledge and hit him, so I wanted to

make first contact, I think.”

More importantly, what was going through wife Kari’s head?

“I was a little bit nervous, a little bit scared he was going to drop the baby,” she said. “Fortunately he

held on tight to both the ball and Isaac, so we were OK.”

I also wondered about Hartley not getting ejected from the ballpark, but the good-time, no-harm vibe

prevailed.

Meanwhile, Dodger team photographer Jon SooHoo was in the right city, camera well and position to

catch the catch. He spoke to Mark Newman of MLB.com Blogs Central about how it all happened. Give it

a read …

Before Tuesday, the Cubs hadn’t shut out the Dodgers in an extra-inning game in Chicago for 99 years,

nine months and seven days. The last extra-inning shutout by the Cubs against the Dodgers was

September 16, 1915, when Hippo Vaughn outdueled Jeff Pfeffer at the West Side Grounds.

Special 60th anniversaries for Sandy Koufax and Jaime Jarrin

By Mark Langill

Today is the 60th anniversary of Sandy Koufax’s Major League debut. The 19-year-old left-hander,

whose signing bonus required he immediately join the Dodgers rather than learn his craft in the minor

leagues, pitched two innings in relief during the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 8-2 loss against the Braves at

Milwaukee’s County Stadium.

Another Dodger Hall of Famer celebrates a very special 60th anniversary today. On June 24, 1955, Jaime

Jarrin arrived in the United States from his native Ecuador. When his cargo ship docked in Florida, Jarrin

flipped a coin to determine his next location. Heads would be New York; tails would be Los Angeles. The

coin came up tails, and Jarrin took a bus to California.

In October 1955, Jarrin was working in a Los Angeles factory while dreaming of a career in radio. One

day, he noticed a crowd gathered around a department store window and watching the World Series

between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees.

Who could’ve imagined the Dodgers and Jarrin would cross paths just a couple years later in Los Angeles

and that decades later, Jarrin and the inconsistent pitcher named Koufax would together be enshrined

in Cooperstown.

The Dodgers moved to the West Coast for the 1958 season and signed a broadcasting deal with Spanish

language station KWKW. Jarrin, recently hired as the station’s news director while also calling boxing

matches every Thursday night at the Olympic Auditorium, was summoned to the office by station

manager William Beaton. Jarrin was given a year to learn baseball, and by 1959 he was behind the

microphone, calling the action at the Los Angeles Coliseum during the Dodgers’ first championship

season in Los Angeles.

“I would say it took me until the end of the first year to feel a little comfortable,” Jarrin said. “I was very

nervous in the beginning. Then finally it was in September when I started doing one inning. And that was

the start of my love with baseball. In the beginning, I thought I would do it for seven or eight years and

go on to do something else. But I’ve loved the game since the first day, and the Dodgers have been great

with me.”

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Warriors Co-Owner Peter Guber Talks Hollywood vs. Sports, Says Obama "Didn't Understand" Sony

Hack

By Andy Lewis

This story first appeared in the July 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the

magazine, click here to subscribe.

Late in the afternoon June 19, Peter Guber bounced into his Mandalay Entertainment office on Wilshire

Boulevard with a big smile and his voice hoarse from yelling. The former Sony studio chief and longtime

film producer has reinvented himself as a sports owner and investor, and less than two hours earlier he

had the "surreal" experience of being on the Golden State Warriors victory bus with star Stephen Curry

as it was cheered in Oakland by about 1 million fans celebrating the team's first NBA title since 1975. In

the five years since Guber, partner Joe Lacob and other investors paid $450 million for the Warriors,

they have turned the team from perennial losers into a model franchise with great attendance (seventh

in the league this season) and plans for a privately financed arena on the waterfront in San Francisco.

Guber also is a minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers (an affiliate of Hollywood Reporter parent

Guggenheim Partners owns the majority) and, through the 40-employee Mandalay, the owner of minor

league baseball teams, a motion picture division (I Know What You Did Last Summer, Soul Surfer), a TV

unit (Brotherhood) and co-owner (with Guggenheim) of Dick Clark Productions, which produces awards

shows including the Golden Globes and Billboard Music Awards. Before founding Mandalay in 1995, the

married father of four was chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment from 1989 -- when the

Japanese company acquired the studio -- to 1995. Guber, 73, talked with THR about the team's magical

season, the future of TV sports (hint: virtual reality) and how President Obama let down Sony after the

hack.

How does winning the NBA championship compare to one of your films winning an Oscar?

In the Oscar race, the vote is over. It's like watching Rocky on TV. It doesn't matter who you cheer for,

the finish is preordained. What's interesting about sports is that the audience is a participant. Nobody

feels they make a difference in the outcome in Rocky unless they're insane.

Former Dodger owner Frank McCourt scribbled a deal point on a napkin during Guber’s 2011

negotiations to buy the team.

You also had some luck this year with very few injuries to your key players.

I was involved early in my career in a movie destined to be a gigantic hit. It had Mike Nichols directing

and Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty in it. But we had to take another movie that we didn't want,

about a hairdresser with Beatty. That movie [Shampoo] was a total smash, and the other one was called

The Fortune. It did not make a fortune. Certainty and uncertainty ride together.

First of all, the audiences for movies and television are all pas­sengers. The fans in sports own the team.

The people that run the teams also are radically different. The movie business is 14 weeks [at a time].

Everyone says they bond, but they never see one another again. Ever. I've made so many movies, and

I've maybe bumped into one of the [people involved] in a restaurant. It's very gypsylike.

A souvenir from a trip in a deepwater bathysphere in the Galapagos Islands.

Is the dramatic increase in TV rights fees for sports over the past decade sustainable?

In the television business, what gets the biggest ratings? Sports, because it's live. NBA ratings for this

series were gigantically big [averaging about 20 million per game]. The second thing is this isn't the end

of media opportunities. I'm involved with a ton of technology, but one I'm very involved with is NextVR,

the whole revolution of virtual reality.

In 10 years, will I be watching virtual reality sports and movies?

Much sooner you will be watching everything you would have had to go into the stadium to watch.

This 2006 Miami Heat NBA champion- ship ring was an inspirational gift from pal Pat Riley.

Time Warner Cable's standoff with other TV providers over the Dodgers channel has been seen as a sign

that the $8.3 billion it promised the team was too high. Is that a warning to other owners?

It's always a question whether a buyer feels they need that asset, whatever it is, to keep their audience,

keep the advertisers and sponsors, keep the subscriptions. Do I think there's always pushback? Yeah.

Truth is, the Dodgers are in first place and have almost 4 million [in attendance] at the stadium.

Will we see an end to the bundling of cable channels?

Viewer choice and viewer control is the ultimate element of the digital revolution. But that doesn't

mean that the value proposition won't be there.

No, I own the MLS Los Angeles Football Club [coming in 2017]. I'm excited because there's a lot of global

relationships that can grow out of that. When you look at American football, it's a very expensive sport.

The stadiums are very, very expensive. You operate them nine days a year.

The half-Brooklyn, half-Los Angeles jersey is signed by several players, including Sandy Koufax.

Switching gears to the movie business, do you think the Japanese owners of Sony Pictures are going to

stick around?

The idea of looking at Sony as a Japanese company is not fair. It's every bit an American company. It has

Japanese constraints, and we know that now. [The corporate officers in Japan] probably look at [SPE] as

"Oo-gan," I think is the word, other. The reality is, it's so far away from them that they're not worried

about if it's flattering to them. [The hack was a big deal] because Sony looked like a technology

company. If they hacked Paramount, it would be like your Uncle Morty had been hacked. [CEO] Michael

[Lynton] has done a reasonably good job in righting the ship, he's done a good job of managing the

Japanese card. He's done a good job of getting good people to stay and grow [the company].

Would you have responded to the hack differently?

No. When you're in the middle of a fire, you just have to try to save your life. The challenge was not the

hacking but some of the mess that came from people in the company because we know the political-

correctness in the world is just what we're living in. [Lynton] wasn't dealt the best hand by President

Obama, who didn't understand the situation or wasn't briefed on it as thoroughly as he should have

been. The idea that he would say, just release [The Interview] or just not release it, he didn't understand

that the exhibitors controlled the marketplace. [Lynton] had a double challenge. He had a person who

had authority but didn't have all the information about how the system worked.

What was the most surprising thing that came out of the hack for you?

Never say anything but no or yes in email. "Keep this confidential" is like saying, "Tell everybody."

Would you make a movie about North Korea or Iraq in light of the Sony hacking? Is it having a chilling

effect?

It would go through anybody's mind coming to a studio with a film trying to show an assassination of

Putin or of an ayatollah. Fear is a powerful engine in decision-making. More decisions are run by fear

than by promise.

A gift from Pele is one of many soccer mementos.

You were a producer on Batman in 1989, and now the movie business depends on superheroes. Is this a

sustainable model?

There's a new audience every five years, it's a franchise model, you can rest it and bring it back, it travels

the world successfully because local countries can't make them. The films I loved making, whether it was

Rain Man or Gorillas in the Mist or The Color Purple, they would be now 10-parters and 20-parters for

HBO or Showtime.

Are you surprised that TV has overtaken movies as a creative outlet?

If you told me in the '80s that would happen, I would have laughed at you.

You graduated law school in 1968 and went to work for Columbia. If you were graduating now, where

would you work? Netflix?

Tech. Whether it's hardware, software, programming, I find it completely fascinating.

LA OBSERVED

How Jon SooHoo got the Dodgers shot of the year

By Kevin Roderick

Photographer Jon SooHoo has been covering the Dodgers for 30 years and the shot he got yesterday of

Chicago Cubs fan Keith Hartley clutching his baby while catching a foul ball may be the one that goes the

most viral. It was the only second day that SooHoo was able to transmit images from his camera out to a

Dodgers social media producer for immediate posting. Good timing.

He talked about it with MLB.com blogger Mark Newman:

What was your reaction when you knew you were getting this photo?

Most of the time I carry a body with long lens and a body with a short zoom lens and because the photo

wells are so close to the fans and the field, you never know what you can get if you bring the extra body

with a smaller zoom. This play I had the camera up to begin with and once I could see the ball in flight

and knew it wasn’t close to hitting me, I started to focus on Adrian as he came closer and then it

happened….

Did you have any interaction with Hartley after the play?

I did. I showed him the picture and he was pretty geeked about it. It was quite overwhelming.

What was he (and the baby) like after this happened?

He was pumped, posing for pictures and TV interviews.

Where does this rank among the best baseball photos you have ever taken…from your own point of

view?…

It ranks way up there due to all of the factors coming into play: (1) Going live from camera to iPad to

email the night before; (2) The right camera equipment at the right time; (3) the two fans between us

leaving their seats; (4) the catch; and (5) the house wireless signal strong enough to get the picture out.

KTLA NEWS

Los Angeles Dodgers Summer Events

By Nancy Cruz

Upcoming Events include:

The Dodgers for 4th of July Fireworks Presented By Cirque du Soleil’s Kurios. Enjoy postgame fireworks

following the 4:15 p.m. game against the New York Mets. For more information, click HERE.

Join the Dodgers on upcoming promotional nights including Maury Wills bobblehead on July 6 and Hello

Kitty plush on July 8.

LA Sports team ticket packages now available. The club has partnered with the Clippers for Tuesday, July

28 (7:10 p.m. vs. OAK), the Lakers for Tuesday, August 11 (7:10 p.m. vs. WAS) and the Kings for

Wednesday, August 12 (7:10 p.m. vs. WAS) to offer L.A. sports fans both Dodger tickets and limited co-

branded T-shirts.

FOX SPORTS

Dodgers' Alex Guerrero realizes a trade might be good for him

By Fox Sports

Even with Juan Uribe gone, Alex Guerrero is still a man without a position with the Dodgers. Justin

Turner has taken over at third base and Andre Ethier has become the team’s primary left fielder with

Yasiel Puig back from the disabled list. Alberto Callaspo has served as a backup multiple times at third

since coming over from Atlanta, and Scott Van Slyke has often played left.

According to the Orange County Register, Guerrero indicated that he would be open to a trade. He said:

“I’m comfortable here in Los Angeles. I like my teammates. I like my coaches. But I also have to think of

my career. If there’s a chance for more playing time, that would be good for me.”

Guerrero has appeared in almost every Dodger game over the past two weeks, but has only started

twice. He’s hit .188 with two RBIs over that stretch.

NBC LA

Red Dream: Justin Turner's Homer Powers Dodgers Over Cubs 5-2

By Michael Duarte

Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner both went deep for the Dodgers and Los Angeles defeated the

Chicago 5-2 on Wednesday night, snapping the Cubs four-game winning streak.

Chicago native, Mike Bolsinger cleverly crafted his curveball to perfection striking out six Cubs batters.

Bolsinger did not go the minimum five innings to pick up the win, but allowed just two runs on six hits in

4.2 innings of work.

Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly managed the game with a sense of urgency after the Dodgers had lost

two straight to Chicago and 7-of-9 overall. Rather than allow Bolsinger to stay in the game, he quickly

went to the bullpen for the lefty J.P. Howell.

"He had good stuff early, but it seemed like the wheels starting falling off in the fifth inning," Mattingly

said of Bolsinger. "J.P. [Howell] got his guy and everyone followed suit. The bullpen did a good job

today."

Addison Russell hit an RBI double and scored a run in the fifth as the Cubs cut the Dodgers lead to 4-2.

Joc Pederson added an insurance run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single and Kenley Jansen

worked a scoreless ninth to pick up his 10th save.

Game Notes:

Yasiel Puig was scratched from the Dodgers starting lineup minutes before the game with an open callus

after he popped a blister on his left hand before Monday's loss.