Daily Clips

September 14, 2016

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

OC REGISTER: Dodgers struggle to solve another lefty in 3-0 loss to CC Sabathia, Yankees-Bill Plunkett

Vin Scully says he won't call Dodgers playoff games, 'thought everybody already knew'-Tom Hoffarth

Dodgers' Julio Urias headed to the bullpen again – sound familiar?-Bill Plunkett

Miller: Dave Roberts' decision to pull Rich Hill in perfect game, was consistent with his philosophy-Jeff Miller

On deck: Dodgers at Yankees, Wednesday, 1 p.m.-Bill Plunkett

Dodgers lineups: Julio Urias headed to the bullpen after this start -- sound familiar?-Bill Plunkett

LA TIMES: Dodgers fail to produce much against Yankees in another loss to a left-hander-Andy McCullough

Julio Urias will work out of Dodgers bullpen for the rest of the season-Andy McCullough

Vin Scully won't call Dodgers playoff games-Bill Shaikin

DODGERS.COM: Dodgers need better results vs. southpaws-Danny Knobler

Kershaw takes on Yanks in 2nd start off DL-Danny Knobler

Dodgers shut out as Yankees even series-Danny Knobler and Roger Rubin

Scully says he won't call Dodgers playoff games-Matt Kelly

Save these dates: MLB releases 2017 schedule-Mark Newman

Anderson (blister) to make rehab start Friday-Danny Knobler

DODGER INSIDER:

Struggles against lefties: A sample-size issue?-Jon Weisman

2017 Dodgers schedule: All you need to know-Jon Weisman

On this day 100 years ago, Jerry Doggett was born-Jon Weisman

Loons head to championship series, Anderson heads to Oklahoma City-Cary Osborne

Julio Urías leaves early (but remains impressive), Dodgers lose late-Jon Weisman

Scully’s choice not to do playoffs painful but justified-Jon Weisman

Justin Turner nominated for Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award – vote now-Jon Weisman

Vote for MLB’s Dodger Fan of the Year-Jon Weisman

2017 Dodgers Adult Fantasy Camp drawing near-Jon Weisman

TRUEBLUELA.COM: Dodgers’ magic number to clinch NL West is 15-Eric Stephen

Omar Estevez's home run carries Loons to championship series-Craig Minami

Vin Scully says he won’t call playoff games-Eric Stephen

Clayton Kershaw starts rubber game vs. Yankees-Eric Stephen

ESPN LA: Off bench, Ellsbury & Gregorius power Yanks past Dodgers 3-0-Associated Press

Dodgers left wondering about a glaring offensive weakness-Doug Padilla

Vin Scully: 'I will say goodbye in San Francisco, and then that will be it'-Associated Press

Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias heading to the bullpen after New York start-Doug Padilla

Next on Clayton Kershaw's run of comeback tests? First Yankee Stadium start-Doug Padilla

NBC SPORTS: C.C. Sabathia, Yankees Shutout Dodgers, 3-0 in Bronx-Michael Duarte

MIAMI HERALD: From Brooklyn to LA — and everywhere in between — Vin Scully says goodbye-George Richards

FOX SPORTS:

Yasiel Puig throws ball into crowd, sends Dodger fan to hospital-Rob Perez

NEW YORK TIMES:

Stars Off the Bench Help the Yankees Shut Out the Dodgers-Billy Witz

FANGRAPHS: The Case for Corey Seager for National League MVP-Dave Cameron

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 Dodgers struggle to solve another lefty in 3-0 loss to CC Sabathia, Yankees By Bill Plunkett NEW YORK – Somewhere in Louisiana, Ron Guidry must be thinking about coming out of retirement. “Please, no,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said to that comic possibility, uncomfortable at the thought of even a 66-year-old left-hander facing his team right now. The Dodgers’ offensive struggles against left-handed pitching continued Tuesday night as CC Sabathia – 36, not 66, but still just a shadow (albeit, a large one) of his former Cy Young self – tamed the Dodgers, holding them scoreless into the seventh inning of a 3-0 New York Yankees victory. Scoreless for most of the night, the game was decided when Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius hit back-to-back home runs off Dodgers reliever Ross Stripling in the bottom of the seventh. Or maybe it was really decided when the Yankees found a left-handed pitcher to start the game. “I don’t think you can. I mean, I just don’t think you can,” Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said when asked to explain the Dodgers’ inability to hit left-handed pitching of almost any variety. “We just haven’t been good against them.” That might actually be understating how bad they have been against lefties. The Dodgers rank last in the majors in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS against left-handed pitching. Sabathia came into the game with a 1.36 WHIP overall and a 2-8 record with a 5.28 ERA in 13 starts at Yankee Stadium this season – a venue that favors left-handed hitters. “Every time we get a left-hander, we feel good about it and are optimistic,” Roberts said. “But it’s been a tough year against left-handers and the numbers, as they say – they don’t lie. I’ve got to look back at the video with CC but obviously it looked like he kept us at bay, off balance and we didn’t get many good swings against him. Regardless, we’ve got to find ways to produce baserunners and ultimately runs.” The lefties can be young or old, hard-throwers or remade soft-tossers like Sabathia at this point in his career. The Dodgers were also shut down by three left-handed relievers in Monday’s win and have gone 4 for 40 against left-handed pitching in the first two games of this series. “It’s every lefty. Once in awhile we’ll have a good day but it’s every lefty,” Gonzalez admitted. Roberts agreed, finding no commonality among the lefties that have troubled the Dodgers’ hitters – other than their ability to throw a baseball with their left arm.

“It’s not a certain type,” he said. “If you look back, it’s been starters or relievers. (Cubs manager) Joe Maddon did it to us with (Trevor) Wood and their other lefty reliever. And the guys last night. So it’s not one particular type of lefty. It’s all of them.” Well, not all of them. The Dodgers have won all three times Giants ace Madison Bumgarner started against them this season, batting .311 against his lefty slinging. Against every other left-hander they’ve faced, they have hit .208. “As we finish out the next 18 games, we’re going to see some left-handed pitching,” Roberts said. “And rightfully so.” It’s not just the next 18 games. The Dodgers’ potential playoff opponents – the Washington Nationals in the first round seem inevitable, the Chicago Cubs in the LCS a possibility – are no doubt scanning everything from the Class-A rosters in their systems to the concession stands for any able-bodied southpaw. “Well, we’ve got to win the games we need to win and if it comes down to it we’ve got to figure out a way to hit against them,” Gonzalez said. “I’m not going to look too much into it right now. But we’ve got to do a better job when it comes down to the playoffs. “We know we can do it. I just hope we do it when it counts.” Vin Scully says he won't call Dodgers playoff games, 'thought everybody already knew' By Tom Hoffarth Vin Scully said Tuesday night that his choice to end his Dodgers’ broadcasting career with the regular-season finale and not extend it into the playoffs was “actually decided quite some time ago … I thought everybody already knew.” The 88-year-old Hall of Fame play-by-play man confirmed to the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that the Dodgers-Giants game on Oct. 2 in San Francisco would end his 67-season career, regardless of the team’s postseason schedule. The choice to do it that way was based on how he became a New York Giants fan as an 8-year-old during the 1936 World Series – particularly after seeing that the Giants’ lost an 18-4 decision at the Polo Grounds to the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series, played on Oct. 2 of that year. He felt badly for the team suffering such a large defeat he decided to adopt it as his team. Scully’s final game at Dodger Stadium will be Sunday, Sept. 25, when the Dodgers host the Colorado Rockies in a 1:10 p.m. contest. Last week, KTLA-Channel 5 and SportsNet LA agreed to simulcast the last three games of that Dodgers-Rockies series as well as the Dodgers’ season-ending series in San Francisco from Sept. 30-Oct. 2. “I really don’t want to say goodbye in some kind of grand opera form, where you keep coming back out with curtain calls,” he said. “I’ll say goodbye at Dodger Stadium, then I’ll say goodbye in San Francisco, and that will be.

“I’ve never ever thought about doing the playoffs – why would I want to go on and do whatever? It’ll be the perfect time to end in San Francisco. If I did anything after that it would just muddy it. That’s too classical a moment. “And after that, I’ll become an honest fan and cheer like everyone else.” In recent years, Scully has traveled with the Dodgers to do playoff games home and on the road for the KLAC-AM (570) radio broadcast, as the games were televised by either ESPN, Fox or TBS. The Dodgers, who lead the National League West, are almost assuredly of making one of the five NL playoff spots based on their record and limited games remaining. If the playoffs began today, the Dodgers would square off against the NL East-leading Washington Nationals in a best-of-five NLDS series starting with two games in the home park of the team with the best record. Dodgers' Julio Urias headed to the bullpen again – sound familiar? By Bill Plunkett NEW YORK – Stop me if you’ve heard this one before – but you have. Before Tuesday’s game at Yankee Stadium, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Julio Urias’ start would be his last of the season. The Dodgers plan to move him to the bullpen for the rest of the regular season and evaluate him for a relief role in the postseason. “That’s the plan,” Roberts said – not for the first time. “With Julio, we’ve tried to be cognizant all year long of his usage and innings and there’s really no hard number (as a cap). But I think to get the best usage for us this year, it’s to put him in the ’pen after this start and let him get acclimated to that. “For us to expect him to potentially get the opportunity to pitch in the postseason, then it makes no sense for us not to prepare him.” The Dodgers have said that before and circumstances prompted them to start Urias again and again. Urias’ start Tuesday was his 14th for the Dodgers this season. He has pitched 117 innings (72 in the majors, 45 in Triple-A), well past his career high of 871/3 in Class-A two years ago. But he might have been their third-best starter over the past two months behind Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda. His command was not sharp Tuesday but he held the New York Yankees scoreless for 32/3 innings and is 4-0 with a 2.02 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 352/3 innings. Roberts said Monday, he doesn’t even think of Urias as a rookie anymore because he has grown so much from his New York start (his late-May big league debut against the Mets) to New York start (Tuesday). “The most important thing is that he realizes he has the stuff to compete at this level,” Roberts said. “For any young player when you get to the big leagues, there’s a little bit of that doubt, saying, ‘Am I good enough to play up here?’

“I think over the course of this season – the starts he’s made, pitching out of the ’pen, whatever he’s done for us, pitching in some big ballgames and really understanding and believing that he’s a major league player.” Urias has handled life on the end of a leash well this season. After his latest last start, he expressed pride in what he has accomplished as a rookie and a willingness to do whatever more is asked of him. “That’s up to the team,” he said through an interpreter. “Whether that’s my last outing or they want me to pitch out of the bullpen, that’s their decision and I’ll be happy for every opportunity I get.” STILL REHABBING Injured left-hander Brett Anderson is scheduled to make a rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday night in the third game of the Pacific Coast League playoffs against the El Paso Chihuahuas. Anderson has not pitched since he aggravated a blister on his index finger while giving up six runs on nine hits in two innings for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga 10 days ago. Meanwhile, right-hander Brandon McCarthy (hip) and Alex Wood (elbow surgery) are going to throw in simulated-game settings in Arizona this week, according to Roberts. The Dodgers have said they expect Wood to return in a relief role before the end of the season. In the cases of Anderson and McCarthy, however, the Dodgers seem to be going through the motions before eliminating them as options to be their fourth starter in a postseason series. “I think between now and then it’ll play itself out to where it will be clear who’s that fourth starter,” Roberts said. Because of the travel schedule for a best-of-5 NL Division Series, a fourth starter is usually not necessary. The Dodgers have started their ace, Clayton Kershaw, on short rest in the first-round series each of the past three years. They might be less willing to do that this year with either Kershaw or Rich Hill, given the physical issues with which each has dealt. ALSO The Dodgers’ game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday from Dodger Stadium has been picked up as a national broadcast on ESPN2. The game will not be blacked out in Southern California. … The Dodgers have extended their working agreement with rookie-level Ogden through the 2018 season. … Reliever Casey Fien cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Fien was designated for assignment last week. … Top prospect Alex Verdugo has also been added to the Triple-A Oklahoma City roster for the PCL playoffs. The 20-year-old outfielder hit .273 with 13 home runs and 63 RBI in 126 games with Double-A Tulsa this year. Miller: Dave Roberts' decision to pull Rich Hill in perfect game, was consistent with his philosophy By Jeff Miller Dave Roberts made a decision in the best interest of the Dodgers’ World Series chances, and fans are still debating whether he did the right thing.

Ah, seriously? Some of these same fans, logic tells us, also must be the ones annually lamenting the fact the Dodgers haven’t won baseball’s championship in nearly three decades. Folks, make up your mind. Do you care about the Dodger or the Dodgers? Mayflies have a life expectancy of only 24 hours, and even they think leaving Rich Hill in that game Saturday would have been foolishly shortsighted. The Dodgers manager did exactly, completely and undeniably the right thing in Miami, removing Hill even though the left-hander hadn’t allowed a baserunner through seven innings. And, even if Roberts was (as one popular theory suggests) only following the orders of his heavy-handed bosses – the manager nothing more than a puppet in polyester stretch pants – big deal. It was still the absolute right decision. Sure, Hill was just six outs from making history with the 24th perfect game. The only Dodger with a perfect game is Sandy Koufax, and baseball names don’t get any more historic than that. But, as manager of the team with the sport’s highest payroll and the expectations that sort of money also buys, the history Roberts is beholden to above all else is World Series history. Leveraging even a sliver of the Dodgers’ postseason chances this late in the year for the sake of possible individual glory would have been wholly unnecessary, irresponsible and, to use a technical baseball term, wacko. What’s more, it could have torpedoed everything Roberts, in his first season remember, has worked to establish to this point in a clubhouse that, also don’t forget, hasn’t always sung in harmony the past few seasons. The day he was publicly introduced by the Dodgers barely 10 months ago, Roberts noted that he “believes in accountability,” adding, “When I see people who don’t buy into the team, it frustrates me.” Risking a reoccurrence of the blister condition that already has cost Hill five weeks of this season would have been putting player before team, Roberts correctly noting the decision could have cost him “credibility” in the clubhouse. If you don’t believe trust matters in that room, consider that Roberts talked to a handful of the Dodgers veterans before the team brought back Yasiel Puig this month, the manager mindful of potentially disrupting what clearly and somewhat inexplicably continues to work for this unlikely first-place bunch. As passionate as some of the reaction has been to Roberts’ decision, imagine the response if a manager – any manager – admitted he did something for the good of the individual at the possible expense of the team.

Even the fourth-place San Diego Padres manager would be broiled for such an admission right now, and almost nobody even knows that guy’s name. This is mid-September of a pennant race. Let the Minnesota Twins use the season’s final week to chase individual milestones, if they chose. Under traditional circumstances for contenders, winning is still all that matters. Roberts was hired to win, not facilitate ways for Dodgers players to appear on ESPN Classic. Of course, lifting Hill was difficult. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt called it “gut-wrenching,” and he wasn’t even talking about the decision. He was talking instead about having to watch Roberts make the decision. Hill stomped around, slammed a bat and swore, and that’s exactly how he should have reacted. Afterward, though clearly still steamed, he admitted, “I get it,” and that’s exactly how he should have responded. Here’s someone who was throwing pitches in an independent league last August. Now, going back to the end of his first start with the Dodgers, Hill has given up one hit to the past 50 batters he has faced. During that stretch, he also has walked two, but, in case you’re not aware, an opponents’ batting average of .021 (1 for 48) is pretty impressive. This is particularly true when recalling Hill’s time – albeit as brief as a commercial break – with the Angels. He spent 10 days during the 2014 season as an Angel and genuinely ranks as one of the worst pitchers in franchise history. Hill’s all-time Angel ERA is so bad that it can’t even be expressed numerically. In two games, he faced four batters, giving up a hit to one and walking the other three. One of the four eventually scored, leaving Hill with an official Angels ERA of infinity. Today, given Clayton Kershaw’s rebounding status, Hill is the reigning ace of the National League West’s leaders. And some people think Roberts should have risked losing him in exchange for a shot at personal history? Please. That thinking, unlike one man securing 27 consecutive outs, couldn’t be more imperfect. On deck: Dodgers at Yankees, Wednesday, 1 p.m. By Bill Plunkett Where: Yankee Stadium TV: SNLA (where available)

Did you know? With five strikeouts and no walks in his first start since returning from the DL, Clayton Kershaw became the first pitcher in baseball history to reach 150 strikeouts in a season while walking fewer than 10 batters. Kershaw has walked nine in 124 innings this season. THE PITCHERS DODGERS LHP CLAYTON KERSHAW (11-3, 1.89 ERA) Vs. Yankees: 0-0, 1.20 ERA At Yankee Stadium: He has never pitched here before. Hates to face: None Loves to face: Brian McCann, 0 for 5, 3 strikeouts YANKEES RHP MICHAEL PINEDA (6-11, 5.07 ERA) Vs. Dodgers: 1-0, 1.20 ERA At Yankee Stadium: 12-10, 4.01 ERA Hates to face: Adrian Gonzalez, 2 for 3 (.667) Loves to face: Josh Reddick, 0 for 4, 2 strikeouts UPCOMING MATCHUPS Thursday: Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (12-3, 1.80 ERA) at Diamondbacks RHP Archie Bradley (6-9, 5.10 ERA), 6:40 p.m., SNLA Friday: Dodgers RHP Kenta Maeda (14-9, 3.28 ERA) at Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (12-6, 4.54 ERA), 6:40 p.m., SNLA Saturday: Dodgers TBA at Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller (2-11, 7.12 ERA), 5:10 p.m., SNLA Sunday: Dodgers TBA at Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (7-13, 4.46 ERA), 1:10 p.m., SNLA Dodgers lineups: Julio Urias headed to the bullpen after this start -- sound familiar? By Bill Plunkett NEW YORK -- Stop me if you've heard this one before -- but you have. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Julio Urias' start tonight at Yankee Stadium will be his last start of the season. The Dodgers plan to move him to the bullpen for the rest of the regular season and evaluate him for a relief role in the post-season.

"That's the plan," Roberts said -- not for the first time. "With Julio, we've tried to be cognizant all year long of his usage and innings and there's really no hard number (as a cap). But I think to get the best usage for us this year, it's to put him in the 'pen after this start and let him get acclimated to that. "For us to expect him to potentially get the opportunity to pitch in the post-season, then it makes no sense for us not to prepare him. Obviously, there's still a small window where we could get him some innings and get him used to that setting." The Dodgers have said that before and circumstances prompted them to start Urias again and again. Going into tonight's game, Urias has pitched 113 1/3 innings (68 1/3 in the majors, 45 in Triple-A). Tonight will be his 14th start for the Dodgers -- and he has been their third-best starter over the past two months behind Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda. In his past seven games (five starts and two relief appearances), Urias is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA. "The most important thing is that he realizes he has the stuff to compete at this level," Roberts said. "For any young player when you get to the big leagues, there's a little bit of that doubt, saying, 'Am I good enough to play up here?' "I think over the course of this season -- the starts he's made, pitching out of the 'pen, whatever he's done for us, pitching in some big ballgames and really understanding and believing that he's a major-league player."

LA TIMES Dodgers fail to produce much against Yankees in another loss to a left-hander By Andy McCullough At 19 minutes past 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the crowd at Yankee Stadium rose in applause and an opening appeared for the Dodgers. After six innings and change of dominance, New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia was leaving the game. Yankees fans cheered because of Sabathia’s performance; Dodgers fans felt heartened because Sabathia throws with his left hand, and their club cannot solve those pitchers. It was too late to strike. Subdued by Sabathia, the Dodgers could not break into the Yankees bullpen in a 3-0 defeat. The team’s futility against left-handed pitching has hovered beneath the surface for months, but as October approaches, the team’s Achilles’ heel has drawn more attention. “We’re not going to look too much into it right now,” first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. “But we’ve got to do a better job when it comes to the playoffs. That’s it.” A quiet night from the offense garnered a loss for Ross Stripling in relief. An unsteady performance by rookie starter Julio Urias forced Manager Dave Roberts to activate his bullpen in the fourth inning. In his third inning of work, Stripling surrendered back-to-back home runs to Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius to break a scoreless deadlock. Jesse Chavez gave up a homer in the eighth.

According to metrics both basic and advanced, the Dodgers may be the worst team in baseball when it comes to facing left-handed pitchers. Despite success against San Francisco southpaw Madison Bumgarner earlier in the year, Roberts acknowledged the concern. On Tuesday afternoon, Roberts designated the evening as a test. Sabathia is one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, but age has been unkind to him. At 36, Sabathia is still crafty enough to befuddle opposing lineups. Roberts did not like the verdict on the night: Sabathia held the Dodgers to three hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings. “I don’t think we fared too well,” Roberts said. “We had a good plan in place. And he made pitches.” After an 11-day layoff, Urias lacked his typical command on Tuesday. He issued three walks in 3 2/3 innings in his final start before moving to the bullpen. He departed after spraying fastballs and changeups below the zone as he faced fellow rookie Aaron Judge with two runners aboard in the fourth. Roberts opened up his bullpen, and Louis Coleman induced a grounder to strand the bases loaded. The bullpen kept the game scoreless. There was little room for error, given the team’s inability to hit left-handed pitchers. Heading into Tuesday, the Dodgers ranked last in the majors in batting average and on-base-plus-slugging percentage against southpaws. “It’s been a tough year against left-handed pitching,” Roberts said. “The numbers, as they say, don’t lie.” To Roberts’ eye, the team suffers from an over-zealous approach, able to make contact but on the opposing pitcher’s terms. “If you look at our right-handed hitters against left-handed pitching, we go out of the zone way too often,” Roberts said. “It’s as simple as that.” The most significant reason for the team’s struggles in this category stems from the composition of the lineup. Corey Seager, Gonzalez and Joc Pederson all bat left-handed. Yasmani Grandal has hit 22 of his 25 home runs from the left side. Even Turner, the group’s primary supplier of right-handed slugging, has posted better numbers against right-handed pitchers this season. He entered Tuesday with a .920 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and a mere .627 OPS against lefties. Turner lacked interest in discussing the subject after the game. “I don’t have [an explanation],” Turner said. “But I’m not going to sit here and answer questions about lefties and righties all night.” The team made two maneuvers in the last month to bolster the lineup against left-handers. The Dodgers traded for catcher Carlos Ruiz and promoted mercurial outfielder Yasiel Puig. But Ruiz lacks power and Puig lacks discipline at the plate. Sabathia operated under minimal stress on Tuesday. He issued a leadoff walk to Howie Kendrick to open the game, and a two-out double to Enrique Hernandez in the second. Otherwise, the Dodgers could not advance a runner past second base against him. Sabathia limited his guests to a pair of singles.

The deadlock ended in the seventh. Stripling hung a curveball to Ellsbury and watched in shock as Gregorius homered on an elevated fastball. The lead was too sizable for the Dodgers to overcome, even after Sabathia left the game. During the final three weeks of the season, the team expects several meetings with left-handers like Bumgarner and his San Francisco teammate, Matt Moore. Roberts expressed his hope that the tide might turn. “These are our guys,” Roberts said. “And we’ve got to figure it out. That’s the bottom line.” Julio Urias will work out of Dodgers bullpen for the rest of the season By Andy McCullough With 117 innings under his belt between the majors and the minors, Dodgers rookie Julio Urias is headed to the bullpen for the final stretch of the season as the organization seeks to protect his 20-year-old arm while still utilizing him in the playoffs. Urias (5-2, 3.50 earned-run average) made his final start on Tuesday, lasting 32/3 innings in a 3-0 loss to the New York Yankees. Urias struggled with his command but managed to avoid allowing a run. Before the game, Manager Dave Roberts reiterated what President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman expressed last month: When the playoffs arrive, Urias will contribute only as a reliever. “That’s the plan,” Roberts said. “We’ve tried to be cognizant all year with his usage and innings. And there’s really no hard number.” The team did not carve a number out of stone, but Urias is unlikely to exceed 130 innings this season. An apprenticeship in the bullpen awaits, as the Dodgers will gauge his readiness for handling the nuances of a new assignment in October. “I can’t say enough about Julio, and what he gives us every time he goes out there,” Roberts said. Anderson heads to Oklahoma City As he recovers from a blister on his pitching hand, Brett Anderson will start on Friday for triple-A Oklahoma City in the Pacific Coast League playoffs against El Paso, Roberts said. After undergoing back surgery in March, Anderson has pitched in two games this season. He lasted one inning and allowed five runs in his first start; in his next, he gave up six runs in three innings. Anderson is one of several injured Dodgers veterans with an outside chance of helping the club in October. Brandon McCarthy (hip stiffness) and Alex Wood (elbow impingement) will pitch in simulated games at the team’s Arizona complex at Camelback Ranch, Roberts said. Scott Kazmir remains shut down as he recovers from thoracic spinal inflammation.

The Dodgers hope Wood can serve as a left-handed option in the bullpen. Given his struggles throwing strikes as he returns from Tommy John surgery, McCarthy looks unlikely to make the postseason roster. Vin Scully won't call Dodgers playoff games By Bill Shaikin If the Dodgers win the World Series in Vin Scully’s final year, the voice announcing the championship will not belong to Scully. Scully said Tuesday he would not call any Dodgers playoff games on radio, meaning his career will end Oct. 2 in San Francisco. “Otherwise, I’d be saying goodbye like in grand opera, where you say goodbye 12 different times,” Scully told The Times. Although national broadcasters have exclusive television rights to playoff games, Scully has called the Dodgers’ postseason games on radio in recent years. The team had hoped he would do so again this year, but Scully said two farewells would be enough: Sept. 25, when the Dodgers play the Colorado Rockies in the final regular season home game, and Oct. 2, when the Dodgers finish the regular season at AT&T Park. Said Scully: “I’m going to say goodbye at Dodger Stadium the last game with Colorado. I will say goodbye in San Francisco. And then that will be it.” In his 67th and final season as voice of the Dodgers, Scully has called three road games: Opening day in San Diego, and two games in Anaheim. He said he would work all three games of the weekend series in San Francisco. “And then I will go home,” he said. For Scully, 88, the most poetic sports broadcaster of all time, his career will have a poetic ending. He grew up in New York. As he walked home from school one afternoon, at age 8, he passed a laundry that displayed the score of that day’s World Series game: New York Yankees 18, New York Giants 4. “As a little kid, my first thought was, ‘Oh, those poor Giants,’“ Scully said. “From that little kernel, I developed a desire and a love for baseball. Since the Giants were 20 city blocks from my school and I could get there thanks to the Catholic Youth Organization and the Police Athletic League, I could go to games free, Monday through Friday. So I became a very big Giants fan. “As things turn out, the last game of the season, and my last broadcast, will be against the Giants, in San Francisco, Oct. 2, 2016 — exactly 80 years to the day that I saw that Giant-Yankee scorecard. “That is a fitting conclusion, I think, to my career.”

DODGERS.COM

Dodgers need better results vs. southpaws By Danny Knobler NEW YORK -- Next week or next month, it shouldn't matter too much to the Dodgers that they didn't score off CC Sabathia Tuesday night in a 3-0 loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. It shouldn't matter, except that it sort of does, for the simple reason that Sabathia throws left-handed. The Dodgers won't see him again unless these two teams meet in the World Series, but they sure will see more left-handers. If they can't break the pattern that continued Tuesday, well, that's a problem. "We've got to do a better job when it comes to the playoffs," first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. "That's it." The Dodgers have the lowest batting average against lefties (.214) in the Majors. Three of the last four times they've been shut out, it has happened in a game where the opposing starter was left-handed. For the season, they're 20 games over .500 (63-43) when the opponent starts a right-hander, and two games under .500 (18-20) when a lefty shows up, with six of those 20 losses ending as shutouts. There's a pattern, and it's not a good enough answer to say they've had some success against the Giants' Madison Bumgarner, who besides being left-handed is one of the best pitchers in the game. Manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday the success against Bumgarner (0-2, 5.63 ERA in three 2016 starts against the Dodgers) makes the other struggles more puzzling. The Dodgers will see one lefty (Robbie Ray) this weekend in Arizona. They'll likely see two lefties (Bumgarner and Matt Moore) in a three-game series against the Giants next week at Dodger Stadium. They could see Gio Gonzalez in a potential playoff matchup with the Nationals, or Jon Lester in a matchup with the Cubs. And then there are all the left-handed relievers opposing teams are certain to get ready if needed. Roberts put six right-handed hitters in his lineup Tuesday night against Sabathia, and it didn't work. The six right-handers had the only three hits against him, but didn't come close to driving in a run. "These are our guys," Roberts said. "And we've got to figure it out." Carlos Ruiz, acquired in large part because he would be an upgrade against lefties, went 0-for-2 to lower his batting average as a Dodger to .154 (2-for-13). Yasiel Puig, who homered off left-handed reliever James Pazos Monday night, went 0-for-3 against Sabathia. "Every time we [see] a left-hander, we feel good about it and are optimistic," Roberts said. "But it's been a tough year against left-handed pitching. As we finish these last 18 games, we're going to see some lefties, and rightfully so. There's got to be some point we break through." The Dodgers will face more right-handers than left-handers, including four in a row the next four days. With a lead over the Giants in the National League West, they might be able to beat up on enough righties to hold on and win the division. But if not in September, it would figure they'd need a win or two against a lefty in October.

"We just haven't been good against them," Gonzalez said. Kershaw takes on Yanks in 2nd start off DL By Danny Knobler In his first start back after missing more than two months with a back injury, Clayton Kershaw threw 66 pitches and lasted three innings. Kershaw makes his second start Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium in the rubber match of a three-game Interleague series, and the Dodgers expect at least a little more. "We'll see," manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. "We expect Clayton to be Clayton." The Dodgers were encouraged by how Kershaw felt in the days after that first big league start in 75 days. Roberts didn't announce a pitch limit for Kershaw on Wednesday, but he said he expects progress over what Kershaw could do last Friday in Miami. Kershaw will pitch opposite Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda, who hasn't finished the fifth inning in either of his two starts this month (although the Yankees won both games). Pineda hasn't won since Aug. 5, and he is 6-11 with a 5.07 ERA overall. He'll look to step up for the Yanks, who are four back in the American League East and two back of a Wild Card spot. Kershaw is 11-3 with a 1.89 ERA, and his five strikeouts against the Marlins gave him 150 in 124 innings, with only nine walks. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's the first pitcher to reach 150 strikeouts with fewer than 10 walks since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893. Things to know about this game • Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius, who was out of the starting lineup for the first two games of the Dodgers series nursing minor injuries -- he delivered a pinch-hit homer in Tuesday's win -- is expected to start Wednesday. • Kershaw has a 1.20 ERA in two career starts against the Yankees, but this will be his first career start at Yankee Stadium. Pineda has never faced the Dodgers. • Wednesday's game is the last either the Dodgers or Yankees will play outside their division in the regular season. The first-place Dodgers finish with 17 straight games against National League West rivals, while the Yankees will play their remaining 17 games within the AL East. Dodgers shut out as Yankees even series By Danny Knobler and Roger Rubin NEW YORK -- They were the guys who weren't supposed to play on Tuesday night, but they ended up winning the game for the Yankees. Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius, both out of the starting lineup against the Dodgers, hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh as New York scored a 3-0 victory before 32,615 at Yankee Stadium. With the

win, the Yanks ended a two-game losing streak and moved to four back of Boston in the American League East. New York is two back of the Orioles and Blue Jays in the Wild Card race. Yankees manager Joe Girardi had Ellsbury on the bench to keep him from wearing down. Gregorius was out with a bruised rib cage and forearm. Ellsbury entered the game after the fourth inning when Aaron Judge had to exit with a right oblique strain. He didn't come to bat until the seventh and won a nine-pitch battle with Dodgers reliever Ross Stripling by hitting a 3-2 pitch into the second deck in right field. "It's a great feeling going in there in the fifth, getting an at-bat in the seventh and contributing," Ellsbury said. "I just tried to put a quality at-bat together, that was my approach. ... I fell behind 0-2, he threw me some tough cutters and he ended up hanging a curveball in a good spot for me." Gregorius came off the bench to pinch-hit for Ronald Torreyes and hit the very next pitch from Stripling into the bleachers in right-center field. "I'm not surprised. I thought Jacoby put on a really good at-bat on Stripling, kept fouling pitches off, got a curveball up," Girardi said. "And Didi, I think he feels better. Hopefully he's a player for us tomorrow, for sure, but I wanted to get him better because he was sore." Rookie sensation Gary Sanchez added a solo shot -- his 14th homer -- off Jesse Chavez in the eighth. Neither team was able to produce any results against the opposing starter. The Yanks' CC Sabathia threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out seven. "[Sabathia] did a tremendous job, to give us 6 1/3 great innings. [He] did a tremendous job, kept them in check for the most part," Girardi said. "Had a couple situations where he had to make big pitches, he was able to make them." Adam Warren ended up with the win, and Dellin Betances got four outs for his 11th save. Los Angeles' Julio Urias went 3 2/3 innings and dealt with traffic but didn't allow a run; he surrendered four hits and walked three with two strikeouts. Louis Coleman came in to finish the fourth by getting a forceout with the bases loaded. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game that this would be Urias' last start, with the first-place Dodgers moving him to the bullpen to manage his innings and prepare him for the postseason. "That's up to the team whether it's my last outing," Urias said through an interpreter. "I think it's been an excellent year. What I was able to do in Triple-A and then here, I think it's been great." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED There goes the Judge: Judge was forced from the game after the fourth inning due to a right oblique strain. Batting with two on and two outs, Judge winced fouling a ball off, sparking Girardi and a member of the training staff to come out of the dugout to consult with him. Judge stayed in the game and drew a walk before being forced at second for the final out. He did not return for the fifth, and the club said he will have an MRI on Wednesday.

"Obviously it's his right rib cage. He'll have an MRI tomorrow," Girardi said. "We won't see him for a while." Big Apple struggles: Only three times in Urias' first 14 starts has he been unable to finish the fourth inning. Two of those were in New York. He gave up three runs and threw 81 pitches in 2 2/3 innings in his May 27 debut at Citi Field against the Mets. He didn't allow any runs Tuesday, but struggled so much with his command that Roberts pulled him after 3 2/3 innings and 78 pitches. "He's not going to be on every night," Roberts said. "But I can't say enough about him." Left searching: The Dodgers hoped adding Carlos Ruiz and Yasiel Puig to their starting lineup would help with their problems against left-handed pitching, but they had just three hits against Sabathia. Only one of the last eight lefties to start against the Dodgers has taken a loss, and the eight lefties combined for a 2.08 ERA in those games. "As we finish the last 18 games, we're going to see some left-handers, and rightfully so," Roberts said. "There's got to be some point we break through." UPON FURTHER REVIEW The Dodgers won a challenge in the second inning, after first-base umpire Eric Cooper called the Yankees' Starlin Castro safe at first base on a pickoff attempt by Urias. After review, the call was overturned, as first baseman Adrian Gonzalez tagged Castro before he got back to the base. WHAT'S NEXT Dodgers: Left-hander Clayton Kershaw (11-3, 1.89 ERA) will make his second start since returning from the disabled list when the Dodgers and Yankees complete their three-game Interleague series Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. PT at Yankee Stadium. Yankees: Enigmatic right-hander Michael Pineda (6-11, 5.07 ERA) will make his 29th start as the Yankees close a 10-game homestand with Wednesday's 4:05 p.m. ET rubber game. Pineda allowed only two runs last Friday against the Rays and was visibly upset when Girardi lifted him with two outs in the fifth inning. Pineda has held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in 14 of his starts, but he has allowed five or more in 10 starts. Scully says he won't call Dodgers playoff games By Matt Kelly Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully announced Tuesday that he will not call any potential Dodgers postseason games this fall, The Los Angeles Times reports. Scully, 88, said the 2016 season would be his final season as the voice of the Dodgers, but he had not stated whether that would include the postseason. On Tuesday, Scully said his final broadcast will be Sunday, Oct. 2, in San Francisco, even if Los Angeles qualifies for the playoffs. Scully, who currently anchors the Dodgers' home telecasts for Time Warner Cable Sportsnet LA, had switched to the radio booth in recent years to broadcast the team's playoff games. That will not continue in 2016, however, as Scully will make two final farewells: the first during the Dodgers' final

regular-season home game against the Rockies on Sunday, Sept. 25, and again for their regular-season finale one week later at AT&T Park. "I'm going to say goodbye at Dodger Stadium, the last game with Colorado," Scully told the L.A. Times. "I will say goodbye in San Francisco. And then that will be it." That means the next two-plus weeks will be the last of Scully's 67 consecutive seasons with the Dodgers -- the most any broadcaster has spent with one team in the history of professional sports. Scully also delivered some of baseball's biggest postseason moments -- from Ozzie Smith's improbable home run in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series to the thrilling conclusion of Game 6 of the '86 Red Sox-Mets World Series to Kirk Gibson's dramatic walk-off home run in Game 1 of the '88 World Series. In total, Scully has served as the voice of 28 World Series -- more than any other broadcaster in history. He is also still the youngest broadcaster to call the Fall Classic, when he announced the 1953 World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees at age 25, which the Bombers won in six games. Save these dates: MLB releases 2017 schedule By Marl Newman After a fourth installment of the World Baseball Classic in March, the 2017 Major League Baseball regular season will arrive with three games on the first Sunday (April 2), 13 more Opening Day games on that Monday, and a calendar that includes the debut of a brand-new ballpark in Atlanta and the first MLB All-Star Week in the state of Florida. MLB released its master 2017 regular-season schedule on Wednesday, starting with two divisional matchups: Giants at D-backs and Yankees at Rays in the first two of those Sunday openers (game times to be determined). ESPN will televise both games in addition to its annual "Sunday Night Baseball" Opening Night game, which will be selected in coming weeks. Opening Day will feature nine divisional matchups among the 13 games, in addition to an Interleague contest between the host Red Sox -- starting the post-David Ortiz era -- and the Pirates in a renewal of the franchises that met in the inaugural World Series in 1903. Cincinnati will have its traditional place among those 13 Monday games, with the annual Findlay Market Parade followed by Phillies vs. Reds at Great American Ball Park. Seven games are scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, before all 30 clubs take the field on that Wednesday in the first full slate of games. The final day of the 2017 regular season, featuring 12 divisional games, is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 1. Jackie Robinson Day will be on Saturday, April 15, and it will mark the 70th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier, plus the 20th anniversary of MLB retiring his No. 42 throughout the Majors. Other important dates include the first day of the 2017 MLB Draft on Monday, June 12, and the 88th All-Star Game presented by MasterCard on July 11 at Marlins Park in Miami.

The Braves will play their inaugural game at SunTrust Park on April 14 against San Diego. There will be a preview of that 41,000-seat stadium on March 31, when the Braves host the Yankees in the final game of their Spring Training schedules. It will be the first MLB ballpark opening since Marlins Park in 2012, and it will mean that five of the past eight new ballparks are in the National League East. For the 20th anniversary of Interleague Play, the core Interleague rotation in 2017 will feature the American League East vs. NL Central, AL Central vs. NL West and AL West vs. NL East. That means fun matchups like June 13-15 in Cleveland, with bright young shortstops Corey Seager of the Dodgers and Francisco Lindor of the Indians on the same field, and Aug. 15-16 in Washington, with Mike Trout of the Angels and Bryce Harper of the Nationals going at it. The Cubs will open on the road for the 12th time in the past 16 seasons, and this one will have fireworks, because it is against the rival Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Those teams are scheduled to play that Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. As for the famed Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, New York is at Fenway in April, again immediately after the All-Star break, and for the last time in August; the Red Sox will be at Yankee Stadium in June, August and right before Labor Day. Anniversaries in 2017 will include: Reggie Jackson's three homers in three swings of Game 6 to lead the 1977 Yankees to the first of consecutive World Series triumphs over the Dodgers; the Rockies' lone World Series appearance 10 years ago; the Marlins' first title 20 years ago as the NL Wild Card team that shocked the Indians in seven in the Fall Classic; Carl Yastrzemski's 1967 Triple Crown but a seven-game defeat for Boston against "El Birdos" of St. Louis; the 60th anniversary of the last year in New York for the Dodgers and Giants before heading West; and the 1927 Yankees, generally regarded as the greatest team in history. Anderson (blister) to make rehab start Friday By Danny Knobler NEW YORK -- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the big announcement Tuesday afternoon. "Brett Anderson will start Game 3 of the postseason ... for [Triple-A] Oklahoma City," Roberts said. What, you thought Roberts was ready to announce the Dodgers' playoff rotation? Not yet, not when Roberts still hasn't announced a full rotation for this weekend's series in Arizona. Anderson, who has made just two big league starts this season because of various health issues, won't be pitching against the D-backs. Instead, the veteran left-hander will make a second rehabilitation appearance Friday night in the Pacific Coast League playoffs, as he attempts to come back from a blister on his left index finger. As for the Dodgers' rotation, Roberts again said that rookie left-hander Julio Urias will move to the bullpen after his Tuesday night start against the Yankees. The 20-year-old has already exceeded his previous career high in innings pitched, so the Dodgers have long planned to use him as a reliever in the final weeks of the season and into October.

"That's the plan," Roberts said. "There's really no hard number [on maximum innings]. But probably, to get the best use of him, it's best to put him in the bullpen after this start." The rotation still includes plenty of uncertainty, with Clayton Kershaw just returning from a back injury and Rich Hill still carrying concerns about blisters. Kershaw is scheduled to make his second start off the disabled list Wednesday against the Yankees, and Hill is set to pitch Thursday in Arizona in his first start since pitching seven perfect innings last Saturday in Miami. Roberts has said Kenta Maeda will start Friday in Arizona, but he has yet to name any starters past that date. He mentioned Jose De Leon, Bud Norris, Brock Stewart and Ross Stripling all as possible starters going forward. Anderson, who missed the first four months of the season after back surgery, allowed 11 runs in four innings in his two big league starts in August. He pitched two innings in a rehab outing Sept. 3 at Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga, allowing five earned runs. The 28-year-old Anderson is an Oklahoma native, drafted by the D-backs out of Stillwater High School in 2006. He'll pitch in his home state Friday, as the Oklahoma City Dodgers host the El Paso Chihuahuas at Bricktown Ballpark.

DODGER INSIDER Struggles against lefties: A sample-size issue? By Jon Weisman There’s always something you can worry about. The bullpen used to be the Big Glum, unless it was the offense, or the starting pitching, or all the injuries. Now, it seems nothing is more vexing for the Dodgers than their struggles against left-handed pitching. That was the dominant theme after Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to CC Sabathia and the Yankees, leaving the Dodgers 18-20 when a southpaw starts against them this year, compared with 63-43 when a northpaw noshes. “Every time we get a left-hander, we feel good about it and are optimistic, but it has been a tough year against left-handed pitching,” Dave Roberts said, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN.com. “The numbers, obviously, as they say, don’t lie. We have to look back at the video with C.C., but it seemed like he kept us at bay and off balance and we didn’t get very many good swings against him. Regardless, we have to find a way to produce baserunners and ultimately runs.” It’s certainly noticeable that the Dodgers have the Majors’ worst offense against lefties by nearly every measure, from a .294 on-base percentage to 73 weighted runs created, though I’m not convinced that a record near .500 in 38 games sample spells doom.

Yes, even in September, a small sample is a small sample.That they haven’t done better means that concern is valid, but put it this way: If the Dodgers had won only one extra game per month against lefties, they would be 24-14 — which is essentially dominant. Here’s a link to every left-handed pitcher who has thrown against the Dodgers this year, ranked from most innings to fewest. It’s hit and miss — to be honest, more miss than hit — but if nothing else, it should cure you of the idea that the Dodgers are hopeless against lefties. Note that some abnormally unlucky batting average on balls in play against many of them. Of the 16 lefties to throw at least seven innings against Los Angeles, the Dodgers have a BABIP below .200 against half of them. As Buster Olney points out in his column at ESPN, the Dodgers’ four most likely postseason rivals in the National League (Washington, Chicago, New York and St. Louis) run mostly right-handed pitchers, citing only Washington’s Gio Gonzalez and Chicago’s Jon Lester as noteworthy lefty starters. There’s also San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner down the stretch if not in October, and given their recent success against him, he’s the exception that might disprove the rule. Or, perhaps this is the month that Bumgarner shuts down the Dodgers, while they bust out against different southpaws. “As we finish out the next 18 games, we’re going to see some left-handed pitching, and rightfully so,” Roberts said (via Padilla). “There has to be some point where we break through.” 2017 Dodgers schedule: All you need to know By Jon Weisman After beginning the 2016 regular season at San Diego, the Dodgers will open their 2017 season at home against the Padres on Monday, April 3, according to the preliminary schedule released today (click the image above to enlarge). For the second consecutive season, the Dodgers will play their 162nd game away on the road, concluding the 2017 campaign October 1 in Colorado, in the first October game ever between the two teams at Coors Field. Here’s what’s cooking for the 160 games in between … Fleeing to the Cleve: The 2017 Dodgers begin interleague play with the American League from June 13-15, when they travel to Cleveland for the first time since sweeping a three-game series in 2003. Those are the only games the Indians have hosted the Dodgers since the 1920 World Series, in which Brooklyn scored two runs in 36 innings and Clarence Mitchell hit into an unassisted triple play. Freeway Series: Following their usual pattern of recent years, the Dodgers will split four games in a row with the Angels between their two ballparks: June 26-27 at Dodger Stadium, June 27-28 at Anaheim.

More interleague play: Los Angeles hosts Kansas City (July 7-9), Minnesota (July 24-26) and the Chicago White Sox (August 15-16). On the road, in addition to the Indians, the Dodgers play the White Sox on July 18-19 and then fly to Detroit for games August 18-20. San Francisco treatment: For the first time since 2012, the Giants won’t make an April visit to Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles resumes the rivalry at San Francisco with a four-game series April 24-27, then meets the Giants for the first time at Dodger Stadium from May 1-3. The final Dodgers-Giants series of 2017 will take place in L.A. September 22-24. Longest homestands: The Dodgers have two 10-game stretches at home. The first is May 18-28, when the Dodgers host the Marlins (four games), Cardinals and Cubs. Then, from July 20-30, Los Angeles welcomes the Braves (four games), Twins and Giants. Ground control: With 16 home games plus the All-Star Break, the Dodgers only play seven road games in July. On top of that, they are blessed with opening the second half of the season in Miami, site of the 2017 All-Star Game. Since the month begins with the Dodgers in San Diego, the team will only take three plane trips the entire month: to Miami, from Miami to Chicago (to play the White Sox) and then back to Los Angeles. Dog days: After that, the Dodgers pay for enjoying their home cooking. In 35 games from July 31 through September 3, the Dodgers have all of eight games at Chavez Ravine, as opposed to 22 road games. Five off days are mixed in. Longest road trip: That August stretch doesn’t even include the Dodgers’ longest excursion of the season. That 10-game junket comes September 11-21, beginning with three games at San Francisco, followed by three at Washington and four at Philadelphia. Jackie Robinson Day: April 15 comes on a Saturday this year, with the Dodgers hosting the Diamondbacks. Holiday games: Arizona is also coming to town for Independence Day and Labor Day (September 4). The Dodgers are on the road for Mother’s Day (May 14), Memorial Day (May 29) and Father’s Day (June 18). Wrigley wiggle: The Dodgers are scheduled to play the Cubs at Wrigley Field beginning April 10, the earliest the two teams have met there since 1996. Essentially planning for bad weather, the schedule-makers have given the teams an off day April 11, before resuming the three-game series April 12-13. Do your chores in advance: The Dodgers play 20 consecutive days — the maximum allowed — from June 13-July 2, with 11 of those on the road. Off days by month: April (two, after season opens April 3), May (two), June (two), July (four, not counting four more for the All-Star Break), August (four), September (two). Long lunch: The Dodgers’ only scheduled midweek day game at home is June 7 against Washington, beginning at 12:10 p.m. On this day 100 years ago, Jerry Doggett was born

By Jon Weisman As we reach the waning moments of Vin Scully’s 67 seasons with the Dodgers, let’s pause for a moment to remember his broadcast partner for nearly half of those years, Jerry Doggett, born 100 years ago today on September 14, 1916. Like Scully, Doggett wanted from childhood to be a broadcaster, as Larry Stewart wrote in this obituary for the Times, after the 80-year-old Doggett passed away in July 1997. Doggett, born in Moberly, Mo., grew up in Keokuk, Iowa, listening to St. Louis Cardinal and Chicago Cub broadcasts and dreaming of being a baseball announcer. After graduating from Northwestern and spending three years in the Navy, Doggett got a job doing odds and ends at a Chicago radio station. He got his first full-time announcing job in 1938 at radio station KFRO in Longview, Texas. After working in Longview for three years, Doggett went to WRR in Dallas, where he spent the next 15 years announcing Texas League games and calling the Game of the Week for the old Liberty Broadcasting System. Doggett joined the Dodgers in 1956 — 60 years ago this September, as team historian Mark Langill pointed out to me, adding that Scully handed over the ninth inning of Sal Maglie’s September 25 no-hitter to the 40-year-old rookie as a kind of christening. You can also hear Doggett here from April 16, 1957, on his first Opening Day with the Dodgers — and last in Brooklyn. For the Dodgers’ first 19 seasons in Los Angeles, Scully and Doggett were the only radio voices fans knew, each calling the game separately, each working with folksy, knowledgeable styles at once distinct and complementary. In 1977, Ross Porter became a third individual voice, with the Dodgers continuing the solo booth past 1987, when Don Drysdale succeeded Doggett. For a kid like me raised in that era, Doggett was very nearly as integral to the Dodger experience as anyone. “Jerry deserves every nice thing that can be said about him,” Scully told Stewart. “He was one of my closest friends and the best partner anyone could ever have. “He never complained about not getting more of the limelight, he never showed any ego or any of that baloney. Jerry Doggett was just a terrific guy, and I will miss him forever.” Loons head to championship series, Anderson heads to Oklahoma City By Cary Osborne Jubilation on one end and frustration on the other.

The Low-A Great Lakes Loons made the Midwest League Championship Series for the first time in their 10-year history with a 5-2 win on Tuesday to take their series with West Michigan (Detroit Tigers) two games to one. The Loons trailed 2-0 going into the top of the seventh, but scored one in the seventh and two in the eighth and ninth innings. Dodgers No. 12 prospect Omar Estevez clubbed a two-run homer in the eighth to give the Loons a 3-2 lead. The Loons then received a gift in the ninth when Gage Green struck out with two outs but reached first base safely on a wild pitch. Brendon Davis, who was 3 for 5, singled in a run and the Loons added another score on a wild pitch. The Loons will play the Clinton LumberKings (Seattle Mariners) in Game 1 of the MLCS on Wednesday in a best-of-five series. Clinton was the top team in the Midwest League during the regular season with a .614 winning percentage. Great Lakes had a .464 winning percentage. At the top of Dodgers’ minor league chain, the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers led 5-0 through two innings and 5-4 going into the bottom of the eighth in Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series before ultimately losing 7-5 to El Paso (San Diego Padres). El Paso scored three in the eighth to take the lead for good. Micah Johnson collected two more hits to give him 12 in six postseason games. Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday, as reported here by the Times’ Andy McCullough, that Brett Anderson will get a rehab start in Game 3 of the series on Friday. That’s when the best-of-five series shifts to Oklahoma City. Game 2 is Wednesday. Julio Urías leaves early (but remains impressive), Dodgers lose late By Jon Weisman If tonight’s was in fact Julio Urías’ final start of 2016, as Dave Roberts told reporters today, what a journey it has been. And whether it’s the bullpen for the remainder of the season or the starting rotation in years to come, what a journey we have to look forward to. Urías bookended his run of starts this year where he began it — in New York. And as he did against the Mets on May 27, Urías walked more Yankees than he struck out tonight. Those are the only two nights Urías pitched this year in which that happened. As symmetrical as those moments might be on the surface, Urías seemed to improve with every outing in between. Since June 7, his ERA was 2.80. Since the All-Star Break, it was 2.02. And even tonight, when he lasted only 3 2/3 innings, opposing baturias-final-spray-chartters barely touched him. Nothing was hit hard — or far, as the spray chart at right shows.

He allowed two baserunners in the second, two in the third and three in the fourth … and yet he never really seemed in trouble. After his MLB-leading sixth pickoff in the second inning, Urías notched his two strikeouts in the third inning, both against fellow touted rookies. Behind in the count against Aaron Judge, Urías followed two 94 mph fastballs with a sweet 79 mph change to get him swinging. Then, with runners at the corners, Urías whiifed phenom Gary Sanchez on an 87 mph slider. Urías was then one strike away from a perfect fourth inning when he hit Brian McCann with a pitch (all four of Urías’ HBPs have come in the past two starts). Chase Headley hit a soft single to center, and when Aaron Judge walked on Urías’ 78th pitch, Roberts decided it was time to turn to his Coachella-sized bullpen. At the age of 20 years, one month and one day, Urías has a 3.50 ERA in 72 innings with 78 strikeouts. When Clayton Kershaw was (an older) 20, he had a 4.26 ERA in 107 2/3 innings with 100 strikeouts. On Wednesday, when Kershaw takes the mound at Yankee Stadium, the pair for the first time will make back-to-back starts. It should be far from the last. Scully’s choice not to do playoffs painful but justified By Jon Weisman Vin Scully’s confirmation to Bill Shaikin of the Times that he won’t broadcast any playoff games is shocking to many, but he’s been clear for a while about the significance of his final day, October 2. … He then connected the day he was walking home from school and heard about a World Series game that cemented him as a baseball fan (a Giants fan at the time, to be honest) and changed his life. “That little boy saw that World Series linescore — October 2, 1936,” Scully said. “My last game, my wonderful last game after 67 years with the ballclub, will be against the San Francisco Giants. It will be October the 2nd, 2016. Exactly 80 years from when that little kid saw that Giants score.” … Similar to his choice not to participate in any network postseason broadcasts at this point of his life, Vin is deservedly ending his career on his terms. If there’s any upside to this, it’s that for all of us privileged to be in his audience, the firm departure date allows the focus to be on saying goodbye to Vin, rather than having that parting diluted by playoff triumph or tragedy. It’s going to be indescribably difficult to say farewell to Vin Scully, and I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want one more game with him, one more inning, one more pitch. But if you think about it it — no surprise — Vin is right. Justin Turner nominated for Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award – vote now By Jon Weisman

Hey kid, you like voting? Well, in addition to the MLB Fan of the Year competition below, there’s a fan ballot for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award. The first step in the process is choosing who will be the finalist from each division. Justin Turner is the Dodgers’ nominee for the National League West. A regular participant of his teammate, Clayton Kershaw’s Ping Pong 4 a Purpose, Justin is always active in his local community. This past August, he joined the Los Angeles Dream Center for their annual Back to School Bash in distributing 2,000 backpacks, each field with supplies including pencils, paper, and notebooks to families from the Echo Park, Rampart District, Skid Row, Lincoln Heights, South Central and Watts neighborhoods. Kershaw won the award in 2014. Turner’s competition from the NL West is made up of A.J. Pollock, Carlos Gonzalez, Jon Jay and Jake Peavy. Vote here. Finalists will be announced September 20. Vote for MLB’s Dodger Fan of the Year By Jon Weisman You can now vote for the Dodgers’ Fan of the Year in an MLB contest sponsored by Esurance. Each of the four finalists has a video supporting his or her candidacy — click the image above to see them. They are: Laura Zimmerman: Zimmerman is passionate about all things Dodgers, as she attends every home game and follows the club’s Minor League affiliates. Vincente Reyes: Reyes dedicates his Instagram to sharing the dazzling photos he personally captures at Dodgers games in various locales. Danny Del Toro: Elvis tribute artist Del Toro has combined his love of the King and the Dodgers, and he is now renowned as Dodger Elvis. Emma X Amaya: Season-ticket holder Amaya is a savvy fan who rarely goes a day without posting about the Dodgers on her Facebook page. Voting is takes place through 10:59 a.m. PT on September 19. To vote, you must use a valid, public Twitter account to submit a tweet with the unique hashtag assigned to the nominee (limit one hashtag per tweet). 2017 Dodgers Adult Fantasy Camp drawing near By Jon Weisman

Just a quick reminder not to miss your chance to take part in the 2017 Dodgers-White Sox Adult Fantaasy Camp, taking place at Camelback Ranch in Arizona from January 15-21, 2017. Among those scheduled to appear are Tommy Lasorda, Eric Karros, Eric Gagne, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Sax. Throughout the camp, participants (21 and older) will interact with and receive instruction from Dodger and White Sox greats on the field and enjoy hours of baseball stories from the stars of the past off the field — a 24/7 first-class baseball experience. For more information or to reserve your roster spot, call (623) 302-5078, e-mail fantasycamp@camelbackranchbaseball.com or visit dodgers.com/fantasycamp and the camp registration site.

TRUEBLUELA.COM Dodgers’ magic number to clinch NL West is 15 By Eric Stephen As the Dodgers try to capture their fourth consecutive National League West title and a fourth straight trip to the postseason, unprecedented in franchise history, we will keep track of their magic number, the combination of Dodgers wins and Giants losses needed to clinch the division. The Dodgers did not help themselves on Tuesday night with a 3-0 loss to the Yankees in New York, but with the Giants’ stunning loss at home to the Padres — allowing five runs in the ninth inning, punctuated by Ryan Schmipf’s game-winning three-run home run — LA’s lead in the division remains four games, with 18 games remaining in the regular season. NL West standings Dodgers 81-63 (.563) Giants 77-67 (.535), 4 GB That leaves the Dodgers’ current magic number to clinch the NL West at 15, embodied below by former second baseman and former first base coach Davey Lopes. The Dodgers on Wednesday battle the Yankees in their series finale in New York with a 1:05 p.m. PT start, while the Giants finish off their home series against the Padres. Tuesday scores Yankees 3, Dodgers 0 Padres 6, Giants 4 Wednesday schedule 12:45 p.m.: Padres (Luis Perdomo) at Giants (Madison Bumgarner) 1:05 p.m.: Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw) at Yankees (Michael Pineda) Omar Estevez's home run carries Loons to championship series

By Craig Minami Great Lakes won their series (2-1) against West Michigan and will now face the Clinton LumberKings for the Midwest League Championship. Oklahoma City led from the start but saw El Paso score three runs in the eighth to beat the Dodgers 7-5 and give them a 1-0 lead in the Pacific Coast League Championship Series. Player of the day Omar Estevez was 0-for-3 until he came up with a man on and one run down in the eighth inning. The home run gave the Loons their first lead of the game and ultimately, the winning run in their 5-2 win to advance to the Midwest League Championship Series that starts today at Clinton. Triple-A Oklahoma City The Dodgers started off with four runs in the first and then a run in the second to take a 5-0 lead over the Chihuahuas (Padres). But the Dodgers would not score again and the Chihuahuas came back, scoring three runs in the eighth to win 7-5 and take Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League Championship series. The Dodgers had scored twice in the first inning when Kyle Farmer doubled home to more runs to make it 4-0. Corey Brown singled home Micah Johnson in the second inning to make it 5-0. Logan Bawcom took that 5-0 lead to the bottom of the third and the Chihuahuas scored four runs on four hits in that inning. But then Bawcom and the Dodger bullpen kept them off the scoreboard until the seventh inning. Right-handed pitcher Casey Fien, who was outrighted from Los Angeles, started the eighth inning for the Dodgers, After one out, a hit and an error by shortstop Chris Taylor put runners on first and second. Diego Goris singled home the tying run. Later the Chihuahuas scored two runs, one on a sacrifice fly and then second on a wild pitch. Fien would take the loss though all of the runs were unearned. Class-A Great Lakes The Loons and Whitecaps (Tigers) were locked in a tight 2-1 game and the Whitecaps had maintained the slim lead to the eighth inning. But then Brendon Davis singled and Omar Estevez hit a two-run home run which started the Loons on their way to next series. The Loons would score two more runs in the ninth to insure the win. Yadier Alvarez gave up two runs in his five innings of work. The runs were unearned due to an error by third baseman Zach McKinstry. Alvarez would be followed by Jose Santos, Andrew Istler and Shea Spitzbarth who kept El Paso off the scoreboard. The game continued and the Loons kept trying to come back, eventually scoring a run but leaving the tying and go-ahead runs on the bases.

That would change in the eighth and ninth and the Loons will now take on the Clinton LumberKings for the Midwest League championship. Transactions Triple-A: Outfielder Alex Verdugo assigned to Oklahoma City from Tulsa. Double-A: Left-handed pitcher Jeff Malm and right-handed pitcher Daniel Corcino assigned to Tulsa from Oklahoma City. Tuesday Scores El Paso 7, Oklahoma City 5 Great Lakes 5, West Michigan 2 Wednesday Schedule 4:30 p.m. PT - Great Lakes (TBD) at Clinton (Mariners) (Luiz Gohara) 5:35 p.m. - Oklahoma City (Chase De Jong) at El Paso (Frank Garces) Vin Scully says he won’t call playoff games By Eric Stephen Vin Scully said in his clearest terms yet that he will not call any Dodgers playoff games in 2016, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Instead, Scully plans for the final broadcast of his Hall of Fame 67-year career to be the Dodgers’ regular season finale on Sunday, October 3 in San Francisco against the Giants. Per Shaikin: “Otherwise, I’d be saying goodbye like in grand opera, where you say goodbye 12 different times,” Scully told The Times. ... Said Scully: “I’m going to say goodbye at Dodger Stadium the last game with Colorado. I will say goodbye in San Francisco. And then that will be it.” In previous years, Scully would call Dodgers postseason games on radio, splitting duties in recent seasons with Charley Steiner and Rick Monday. Scully would call innings 1-3 and from the seventh through the end of the game, with Steiner and Monday calling innings 4-6. The date of the Dodgers’ regular season finale has some significance for Scully, who grew up a New York Giants fan. Oct. 2 is the 80th anniversary of Game 2 of the 1936 World Series, when Scully, then nearly two months from his ninth birthday, became a Giants fan after noticing they lost to the Yankees by the lopsided score of 18-4. Back at FanFest in January at Dodger Stadium, Scully dropped hints that he might not call postseason games, though not in as certain terms as today.

"Rick and Charley do such a great job all year on radio. I feel like it's unfair that suddenly it's the playoffs and I do six of the nine innings,” Scully said in January. “Maybe, because it will be the last year, I might do playoffs but I don't think I'd do the World Series.” Scully’s decision means there are only 10 games remaining in his broadcast career — Sept. 20-22 against the Giants, Sept. 23-26 against the Rockies, then Sept. 30-Oct. 2 on the road in San Francisco against the Giants. Clayton Kershaw starts rubber game vs. Yankees By Eric Stephen As the Dodgers try to even their 2016 interleague record in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against the Yankees in New York, here are some notes. The Dodgers are 26-13 (.667) in day games this season, the best winning percentage in baseball. Clayton Kershaw has allowed 10 total runs in his last seven starts in American League parks dating back to 2012, with a 1.55 ERA, 62 strikeout and nine walks in 52 innings, including 10 strikeouts in seven innings, allowing two runs in seven innings on May 7 this season in Toronto. Chase Utley leads the Dodgers with 11 runs scored in interleague play this season, going 20-for-60 with three doubles and six walks in 17 games, hitting .333/.403/.383. Joc Pederson has scored 10 runs in interleague play in 2016, and leads the Dodgers with five home runs and nine RBI in 16 games. He is 10-for-43 with two doubles and seven walks in those games, hitting .233/.333/.628. The Dodgers are 14-6 in the rubber game of three-game series in 2016, including 8-3 on the road. The Dodgers’ best inning on offense in 2016 is the first inning, when they have hit .281/.351/.459 and scored 91 runs, fourth in the National League. Michael Pineda, starting for the Yankees on Wednesday, has allowed 22 runs in the first inning in his 28 starts, putting up a 7.07 ERA, his worst frame of the year. Opponents in the first inning are hitting .367/.395/.617 with seven home runs and nine doubles. Game info Dodgers (81-63) at Yankees (77-67) Time: 1:05 p.m. PT TV: SportsNet LA

ESPNLA Off bench, Ellsbury & Gregorius power Yanks past Dodgers 3-0

By Associated Press NEW YORK -- Two big swings, both off the bench. Left out of the starting lineup, Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius hit back-to-back homers on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning to power the New York Yankees past the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Tuesday night. Gary Sanchez added a leadoff home run in the eighth, CC Sabathia pitched three-hit ball for 6 1/3 innings and the Yankees helped their unexpected playoff push by winning for the eighth time in 10 games. New York pulled even with Detroit, two games behind Toronto and Baltimore for the two AL wild cards. "I think rest is helpful at this point in the season," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We've seen a couple of times when we've given Jacoby a day off, he's been really good the next day and goes on a pretty good streak. So hopefully it happens when we give him a half day." EDITOR'S PICKS Dodgers left wondering about a glaring offensive weakness The Los Angeles Dodgers ran into their old nemesis on Tuesday night in left-handed pitching, as CC Sabathia kept them at bay to lead a Yankees shutout. Prized rookie Julio Urias was lifted in the fourth by the Dodgers, who had won seven of nine before their latest offensive flop against left-handed pitching. They entered play with a four-game lead in the NL West over San Francisco, which hosted San Diego later. "As we finish out the next 18 games, we're going to see some left-handed pitching and rightfully so," manager Dave Roberts said after his team was blanked for the 10th time overall and second in three games. "So there's got to be some point where we break through." In the series finale Wednesday afternoon, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw makes his first career start at Yankee Stadium. Sabathia struck out seven and walked one as the Yankees rebounded from consecutive losses following a seven-game winning streak. Adam Warren (3-1) retired both batters he faced, and Dellin Betances got four outs for his 11th save. The five-hitter was New York's 10th shutout of the season. "This is lot of fun. This is what September baseball is about," Sabathia said. Ellsbury originally was rested against the left-hander, but entered in the fifth when rookie right fielder Aaron Judge exited with an injury.

With one out in the seventh, Ellsbury drove a hanging breaking ball from right-hander Ross Stripling (4-7) into the second deck in right field to snap a scoreless tie. "I knew at probably some point I'd come in the game," Ellsbury said. "I started getting ready about the third inning, so even with Judgie getting hurt in the fifth, I was ready to go." Gregorius, nursing a sore rib, connected on Stripling's next pitch for his first career pinch-hit homer. "It's good. I got treatment on it. If they needed me, I was ready," the shortstop said. Sanchez went the opposite way against Jesse Chavez, the rookie's 14th home run in 136 at-bats this year. Starlin Castro had three hits for New York. The 20-year-old Urias, outdone by a fellow southpaw 16 years his senior, walked three and threw 78 pitches in what is expected to be his final start this season. Los Angeles plans to put Urias in the bullpen to limit his innings and get him ready for his potential postseason role. "I'll be happy with whatever decision they take," Urias said through a translator. BIG SWINGERS The last time two Yankees hit consecutive homers in a game neither started, it was Moose Skowron and Tommy Byrne who connected in July 1957 at the Chicago White Sox, the Elias Sports Bureau said. TRAINER'S ROOM Dodgers: LHP Brett Anderson, on the disabled list with a blister on his index finger, is scheduled to make a rehab start Friday for Triple-A Oklahoma City in Game 3 of the Pacific Coast League championship series against El Paso. Yankees: Judge was removed with a right oblique strain and will have an MRI on Wednesday. "We won't see him for a while," Girardi said, acknowledging it's possible Judge could miss the rest of the season. Judge was batting in the fourth when he was checked by Girardi and a trainer, but initially stayed in and drew a walk. He said he got hurt on one particular swing. "Just wanted to try to finish out the at-bat," he said. "It's tough. No one wants to go through it, especially right now." ... Girardi said he thinks Gregorius feels better and will be able to start Wednesday. UP NEXT Dodgers: Kershaw (11-3, 1.89 ERA) is set to make his second start since missing more than two months with a back injury. The ace left-hander threw 66 pitches over three innings last Friday in a 4-1 loss at Miami, but Roberts wouldn't say how many Kershaw might throw this time. "It'll be more than his last start," Roberts said. "We expect Clayton to be Clayton." Kershaw has faced the Yankees twice at Dodger Stadium, allowing two earned runs over 15 innings (1.20 ERA) in a pair of no-decisions -- the last in July 2013.

Yankees: RHP Michael Pineda (6-11, 5.07) is 0-1 with a 4.65 ERA in his past six starts. Dodgers left wondering about a glaring offensive weakness By Doug Padilla NEW YORK – Every Los Angeles commuter can tell you that three inflated tires are not enough to get the car from the front door to the office. And so it is with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have much of the offense clicking, but one aspect still needs proper inflation. So even though the Dodgers' offense is far better than it was during the first two months of the season, there remains an issue with producing against left-handed pitching. New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia is just the latest lefty to make life miserable for the Dodgers. He led the Yankees to a 3-0 victory Tuesday in the Bronx. The Dodgers know the flaw and are trying to fix it. Talking about it hasn't improved the situation. "It's just making a bigger deal out of it than it is," said Justin Turner, who had a sixth-inning single off Sabathia and went 1-for-4. "We know there are lefties in our division and we have to win games. Just to sit around and talk about it all the time isn't a solution to fix anything, so hopefully we don't have to spend too much time talking about it." The veteran Sabathia might be in the midst of an up-and-down season, but he looked to be in control while holding the Dodgers to three hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Justin Turner and the Dodgers were frustrated by veteran lefty CC Sabathia on Tuesday. Rich Schultz/Getty Images The Dodgers' left-hander issue is far from an unknown. And the problem is not just with starting pitchers. The Yankees got a glimpse of it Monday in their 8-2 loss to L.A.. While Yanks right-hander Bryan Mitchell started the game, giving up six runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings, left-handed relievers Chasen Shreve, Richard Bleier and James Pazos gave up a combined one run on one hit over 5 2/3 innings. The Dodgers are stacked with left-handed hitting options such as Joc Pederson, Chase Utley, Corey Seager, Josh Reddick and Adrian Gonzalez. Yasmani Grandal is a switch hitter, but most of his damage has come from the left side. And, in an interesting twist this season, the right-handed hitting Turner has been far better against right-handed pitching than left-handed. He entered play Tuesday batting .299 with a .920 OPS against right-handers and .193/.627 marks against lefties.

"I think that we have had spurts where we were OK," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "But if we plan to do what we want to as a team, accomplish what we want to and go deep into the postseason, we have to be better against left-handed pitching." An option like the righty-hitting Enrique Hernandez was key for the Dodgers against lefties last season, but he has hardly done the same damage this season in sporadic playing time. Yasiel Puig has produced about the same numbers against left-handers as right-handers, but overall, it has not been one of his best seasons. The lefty issue is why Rob Segedin was called up from the minor leagues in early August, and why the club traded backup catcher A.J. Ellis for backup catcher Carlos Ruiz. Tuesday was a rare start behind the plate for Ruiz, who went 0-for-2. Asked if a certain type of left-hander is a bigger problem, Gonzalez said there is no reason to be specific. "It's everybody," he said. "Once in a while we'll have a good day, but for the most part it’s any lefty." Hernandez and Segedin have helped the Dodgers get the best of San Francisco Giants starter Madison Bumgarner this season, and he's one of the best lefties in the game. So there is reason for hope. The Giants' ace is 0-2 against the Dodgers in three starts this season with a 5.63 ERA. "We know we can do it," Gonzalez said. "I hope we do it when it counts. We're not going to look too much into it, other than the fact that we're pissed that we lost and we didn't score any runs today. But we're not going to look too much into those struggles until we don't do it when it counts." First asked about the concern hitting lefties, then asked about the success against Bumgarner, an agitated Turner was quick to reply. "I think that answers your first question, right?" Turner said. "It's not a lefty thing; we just have had a tough run the last couple of times we have faced them." The numbers show the issue is more than a recent development, though. Roberts addressed the subject pregame and said the club's right-handed hitters are too anxious against lefties, swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. They have been less jumpy against right-handers, at least since the start of June, when the offense started to improve. "Every time we get a left-hander, we feel good about it and are optimistic, but it has been a tough year against left-handed pitching," Roberts said afterward. "The numbers, obviously, as they say, don't lie. We have to look back at the video with C.C., but it seemed like he kept us at bay and off balance and we didn't get very many good swings against him. Regardless, we have to find a way to produce baserunners and ultimately runs." The Dodgers know they will probably see Bumgarner two more times down the stretch. They figure to get other left-handed tests, as well, since division play resumes Thursday at Arizona. "As we finish out the next 18 games, we're going to see some left-handed pitching, and rightfully so," Roberts said. "There has to be some point where we break through."

Vin Scully: 'I will say goodbye in San Francisco, and then that will be it' By Associated Press NEW YORK -- Vin Scully says the last ballgame he will broadcast is the Los Angeles Dodgers' regular-season finale -- regardless of whether they reach the playoffs. The 88-year-old announcer tells the Los Angeles Times his Hall of Fame career will end Oct. 2 in San Francisco. Scully had already said this will be his final season in the booth after 67 years, but until Tuesday had not announced whether he planned to call any potential postseason games on radio. Scully says if he stayed on the air, he would be "saying goodbye like in grand opera, where you say goodbye 12 different times." His decision was not a surprise to the team, Dodgers spokesman Joe Jareck says. Scully has two farewells coming up: First, on Sept. 25 during the Dodgers' final home game of the regular season and then a week later at San Francisco. Looking for their first World Series appearance since winning the 1988 championship, the Dodgers ended the night with a four-game lead in the NL West over the Giants. Scully switched from television to radio in recent years during the playoffs, when national broadcasters have exclusive TV rights. Not this time. "I'm going to say goodbye at Dodger Stadium the last game with Colorado. I will say goodbye in San Francisco. And then that will be it," he told The Times. Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias heading to the bullpen after New York start By Doug Padilla NEW YORK -- Julio Urias, the Los Angeles Dodgers' standout rookie pitcher, not only had his first career start at New York, it appears his last one of the season will be there as well. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that in all likelihood, Urias will be making his final start this year on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium before he transitions into the bullpen. "I think to probably get the best usage for us this year, it's to put him in the bullpen after this start and get him acclimated to that," Roberts said before Urias took the mound Tuesday. Urias made his first major league appearance on May 27, a start at Citi Field against the Mets. It did not go well, as he lasted 2 2/3 innings, giving up three runs with five hits and four walks. But he has steadily improved to the point that Urias was arguably the Dodgers' best pitcher in August. He made five appearances in August and had a 1.99 ERA over 22 2/3 innings.

Urias was just 19 when he made his debut, though, so the Dodgers always had their young pitcher on an innings limit, even though they never revealed exactly what that limit was. The intent always seemed to be to transition Urias to the bullpen at some point this year, with the idea that he would become a starter again next season. Urias made his first relief appearance Aug. 3 and another Aug. 13, but injuries to other members of the rotation required the Dodgers to move their talented youngster back into the rotation. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Dodgers now want to get Urias acclimated to the bullpen. "And I think that for us to expect him to potentially pitch in the postseason, if given the opportunity, it makes no sense to not prepare him," Roberts said. "Obviously there is still a small window where we can get him used to that setting." The Dodgers have not specified if Urias will be a long man in relief, will be called on to pitch one inning at a time, or will be used as a left-handed specialist. They could end up trying all three roles as the regular season winds down. Roberts mentioned Jose De Leon, Bud Norris, Brock Stewart and Ross Stripling as pitchers who could assume the starting spot Urias held of late. Urias headed into his start against the Yankees with a 5-2 record in 15 appearances, with a 3.69 ERA that had been as high as 4.98 as recently as Aug. 3. Next on Clayton Kershaw's run of comeback tests? First Yankee Stadium start By Doug Padilla NEW YORK -- When you are the staff ace and one of the best pitchers in baseball, you are used to extreme challenges, and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw has one of his sternest tests ahead. Scrambling to return from a back issue is one thing, but Kershaw will now run the gamut of challenges -- all while trying to build himself back into shape for 100 pitches a game. Oh yeah, and your team has expectations that you will be able to carry a heavy load again -- if not in the next few outings, at least in about three weeks. Kershaw missed 75 days this season with a lower back injury. The only diagnosis given was a mild disk herniation, but it hardly seems to portray the struggle Kershaw went through. A setback in June essentially made it two separate back injuries that Kershaw had to rehab and overcome. With Wednesday comes Kershaw's second test in a major league game since his comeback began with his first start on baseball's main stage, better known as Yankee Stadium. Ready or not, the left-hander is pitching every five days again. Is it too much of a test for even a pitcher as accomplished as Kershaw? Don't bet against the three-time Cy Young Award winner.

But the reality is this: The Dodgers need Kershaw at his best if they are to first get to the postseason, then through a bevy of stacked National League challengers like the Chicago Cubs, the Washington Nationals and anybody else who might earn an opportunity. They still need to hold off the San Francisco Giants to win the National League West. That says nothing of the challenger from the American League if the Dodgers can advance to their first World Series in 28 years. "I think we talk about matchups a lot," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I don't think that matchups really come into the equation with Clayton. It's more of when he's ready to pitch and what gives the Dodgers the best chance to win. And it makes the most sense for him to pitch against the toughest opponents." So while the Dodgers could have eased Kershaw back into the fold a little easier than the schedule they created, the route they have planned now shows that they believe their best pitcher is more than capable of handling the biggest possible test. "My arm feels good," Kershaw said. "The up and downs [between innings] are what is important. I was a little bit unfortunate [Friday at Miami] that I couldn't go back out there for more innings. But my arm feels good. My pitches weren't great, but I don't think that was because I was tired or anything, it just wasn't a good night." Kershaw went just three innings on 66 pitches against the Miami Marlins to start the current road trip. Asked if Kershaw will go 10-15 pitches more Wednesday, Roberts played it coy. "It will be more than his last start," Roberts said. "We expect Clayton to be Clayton." The presence of an impressive Rich Hill seems to have settled the Dodgers' nerves when it comes to getting Kershaw back quickly. But the Dodgers will not be considered a menacing playoff threat unless Kershaw is on top of his game. Kershaw certainly isn't thinking that he has time to settle into a groove as he works his way toward 100 pitches. "Yeah, I don't get that luxury," he said. "It's not a perfect world obviously. But at the same time, it's September whatever-it-is and we've got a division to win. While there might be some rough spots for me at times, there really can't be." At Miami last weekend, Kershaw's slider and curveball showed they could still use work. With as good of a work ethic as anybody in the game, Kershaw has been seen on the field every day since his last outing fine turning his arsenal. He was playing catch in the Yankee Stadium outfield Tuesday, even before the first bus of players from the team hotel had arrived. "You know what, he bounced back well [after the Marlins game]," Roberts said of Kershaw's physical condition. "It was good to get him in the rotation and pitch. But I think for us, the big question was how

he responded the days following and outside of regular game soreness, he felt good. He's going to make his start and we will monitor inning by inning." After Kershaw pitches Wednesday, Hill will follow him Thursday at Arizona. They figure to stay connected at the hip like that until the season ends. "Obviously, when those guys are at full strength, we're a considerably better team," Roberts said. Kershaw's competitive spirit already is as healthy as ever. He didn't feel like his Miami start was up to his standard and he plans to do something about that against the New York Yankees. "I didn't really help," Kershaw said about the game against the Marlins. "I want to do that really soon."

NBC LA C.C. Sabathia, Yankees Shutout Dodgers, 3-0 in Bronx By Michael Duarte The Dodgers can't solve the riddle that is left-handed pitching. C.C. Sabathia threw six scoreless innings and the New York Yankees shutout the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-0, on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. Jacoby Ellsbury, Didi Gregorius, and Gary Sanchez all hit solo home runs for the Yankees who tied the best-of-three series with the rubber match slated for Wednesday afternoon. The Dodgers are dead last in the Major League when it comes to hitting against left-handed pitching this season. Their .215 batting average is nearly .70 points lower than the Boston Red Sox who lead the league. Dodgers Dominate Yankees in Bronx "Every time we get a left-hander we feel good about it and are optimistic but it's been a tough year against left-handed pitching and the numbers don't lie," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of facing left-handers. The struggles against southpaws continued on Tuesday as the Dodgers made Sabathia look like his 2007 Cy Young Award winning self. "C.C. kept us at bay and off balance and we didn't get good swings against him, but regardless we have to get guys on base and produce runs," continued Roberts. "I don't think we faired too well against him." Sabathia did not factor in the decision, but threw 6 and 1/3 shutout innings, scattering three hits with seven strikeouts. Julio Urias labored through four scoreless innings for the Boys in Blue, allowing no runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts in what was likely his last start of the season. "It's up to the team whether this was my last outing, whether I come out of the bullpen or they give me rest," Urias said. "It's up to the coaches and the team and I'm happy with whatever decision they make."

The 20-year-old left-hander loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, but reliever, Lou Coleman came out of the pen to get out of the jam, inducing a groundout from former Dodger Ronald Torreyes to end the inning. "Julio did a nice job and kept us in the game," added Roberts. "He found ways to get outs and gave us a chance to win." Another rookie, Ross Stripling, came into the game in relief, but allowed back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches to Ellsbury and Gregorius in the bottom of the seventh. "Ross left a breaking ball up to Ellsbury and a first pitch homer to Gregorius," finished Roberts. "But you have to score anyway." Sanchez gave the Yankees their third solo shot of the game when he homered off Jesse Chavez in the bottom of the eighth. All three homers were to right-center. Dellin Betances worked the ninth and recorded his 11th save of the season for the Yankees. Los Angeles now leads the San Francisco Giants by 4 games in the National League West with the rivals losing to the Padres at AT&T Park. Players of the Game: C.C. Sabathia: 6 and 1/3 shutout innings. Jacoby Ellsbury: Solo home run. Didi Gregorius: Pinch-hit home run. Three Takeaways: 1. Don't Pick On Me: Julio Urias leads the Major Leagues in pickoffs with 6 and has only pitched 70 innings this season. 2. Baby Bombers: Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius went back-to-back in the bottom of the seventh inning for the Yankees. According to Elias Sports, it was the first time since 1957 that two Yankees went back-to-back in games they didn't start. 3. Summer Lovin': Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias has been sensational over the summer. Since the All-Star Break, the 20-year-old is undefeated with a record of 3-0 and a 1.71 ERA. Up Next: Dodgers (81-63): Clayton Kershaw makes his first start at Yankees stadium when he takes the mound in the rubber match. Yankees (77-67): Right-hander Michael Pineda gets the start on Wednesday at 1:05 PM PST.

THE MIAMI HERALD From Brooklyn to LA — and everywhere in between — Vin Scully says goodbye By George Richards

Vin Scully announced his retirement from the broadcast booth last year. On Tuesday, he told the Los Angeles Times his final day on the job will be Oct. 2. As Scully might say, ‘what a day that’ll be.’ The longtime announcer of the Dodgers — Scully started calling Brooklyn Dodgers games in 1950 and followed the team west — told the Times he would not call any postseason games as he has in the past and will end his career at the end of the regular season when the Dodgers visit the rival San Francisco Giants. Scully, 88, said he didn’t want too many farewells. Scully’s final game at Dodger Stadium will come Sept. 25 when the Dodgers play host to the Rockies. Scully will then follow the Dodgers on the road for their final road trip of the regular season in San Francisco. “Otherwise,” Scully told the Times, “I’d be saying goodbye like in grand opera, where you say goodbye 12 different times.” Scully told The Times. “I’m going to say goodbye at Dodger Stadium the last game with Colorado. I will say goodbye in San Francisco. And then that will be it.” As for broadcasting, Scully leaves a long and varied career. He began his career in broadcasting following a two-year stint in the Navy while a student at Fordham. After taking a job with CBS Radio in 1949, Scully found himself on Dodgers broadcasts in 1950 with the legendary Red Barber. Although Barber left the Dodgers during the 1953 World Series giving Scully the chance to be the youngest to ever call a World Series. When the Dodgers won the World Series in 1955, Scully was behind the mic. When the team left Brooklyn for Los Angeles following the 1957 season, he followed and called the World Series won by the L.A. Dodgers in their second year out west in 1959. LISTEN: Some of Vin Scully’s best baseball calls Although Scully’s most famous call may be one of Dodgers’ pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson beating Oakland in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, that call was on NBC’s national broadcast. Scully was NBC’s national voice for many years and he also called the famous Bill Buckner play in the 1986 Series and called football for CBS throughout the 1970s. As will be the case next month, Scully’s final CBS call came in San Francisco. In that game, Dwight Clark and Joe Montana famously teammed up for a touchdown in the 1981 NFC title game at Candlestick Park.

FOXSPORTS.COM Yasiel Puig throws ball into crowd, sends Dodger fan to hospital By Rob Perez From getting demoted to the minor leagues due to a lack of efficiency, to almost getting traded, to coming back to the majors, and now currently in the middle of a highlight-filled hot streak ... it's truly been a roller coaster 2016 season for Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig. On Monday night, during the Dodgers' 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees -- Dodger blue completely overran Yankee Stadium, as the seats were packed with pro-Dodgers fans. After the final out was recorded, Yasiel Puig decided to throw the ball into the crowd. One of the numerous Dodger fans in attendance was Alyssa Gerharter, and she ... more specifically, her face ... was on the receiving end of Puig's souvenir, knocking out one of her front teeth: In a statement to The New York Daily News, Gerharter described the incident: "I saw it coming at me and I remember thinking, 'I don't have a glove to catch this ball ... And I think I put my hands up in front of my face. I saw it was coming at me and registered that it was coming at me, and I felt it hit me. It wasn't so much painful as it was shock. So I felt it hit me and I could feel immediately with my tongue there's a hole. And I looked down at my hand and saw there's a tooth in my hand." Per the Daily News' account: Gerharter was immediately rushed to the first aid room inside the stadium, soon followed by a trip to the hospital -- but she holds no grudges against Puig for what transpired: Everybody was going after it. And I guess we all missed," said Gerharter, who attended the game with a group of "30 or 40" Dodgers fans based in New York. "It was so fast that I don't think it's anybody's fault for not catching it. In our whole group there was only one person who had a glove. So everybody was trying to catch it with their bare hands. I caught it with my face." And as to why she took the photo: "I was full of adrenaline when it first happened, that's why I took the photo ... I started freaking out in the ambulance." Good to hear she was a good sport about it. Let's hope Puig hears about the accident and does something nice for Gerharter if/when she attends the game on Wednesday she has tickets to -- because, ya know ... #PuigYourFriend.

NEW YORK TIMES Stars Off the Bench Help the Yankees Shut Out the Dodgers

By Billy Witz The grind of a long season leaves its mark in many ways, some visible and some unseen. So, with the Yankees nearing mid-September, and with each game precious as they hunt for a playoff berth, Manager Joe Girardi faced a difficult decision. The Yankees had lost two consecutive games heading into Tuesday, but center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury looked in Girardi’s eyes as if he were dragging, and shortstop Didi Gregorius — one of the team linchpins all season — was still nursing tender ribs and a sore forearm, the result of getting hit by pitches. And so, in a game Girardi called one of the most important of the season, Ellsbury and Gregorius began on the bench, where the restorative powers of a few innings of extra rest seemed to work wonders. Ellsbury and Gregorius came off the bench to hit back-to-back homers in the seventh inning, helping to support C. C. Sabathia’s stout pitching and carry the Yankees to a much-needed 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees are two games behind Baltimore and Toronto, who occupy the two wild-card berths, and they closed to within four games behind Boston, which leads the American League East. The Yankees will travel to Boston for a four-game series starting Thursday. After ripping off a season-high seven consecutive victories, the Yankees seemed to be settling into a funk in recent days, scoring just two runs Sunday in a loss to Tampa Bay and two again Monday in a loss to the Dodgers. On Tuesday, the rookie left-hander Julio Urias and three relievers had kept them scoreless until the seventh, with one batter out. It was then that Ellsbury, often accused of failing to live up to his seven-year, $153 million contract, smacked a belt-high, full-count breaking ball from Ross Stripling into the second deck in right field. Ellsbury, who entered when right fielder Aaron Judge left in the fifth inning with a strained oblique, had fallen behind by 0-2 and fouled off three pitches before hitting Stripling’s ninth pitch into the seats. With it, he not only gave the Yankees the lead, he brought life to a ballpark that had been as somnambulant as their offense the last three days. With many of the boisterous Dodgers fans who had transformed the Stadium into Chavez Ravine East in the series opener having departed, chants of “Let’s go, Yankees” gathered momentum. The fans seemed to quiet only until Gregorius, who had been 3 for 34, followed with a home run off Stripling, another drive into the right-field seats. Brett Gardner nearly made it three in a row, but his towering fly ball was caught on the warning track. Get the big sports news, highlights and analysis from Times journalists, with distinctive takes on games and some behind-the-scenes surprises, delivered to your inbox every week. An inning later, Gary Sanchez hit another home run to right field, this one off Jesse Chavez.

The late power surge made a winner of reliever Adam Warren, but Sabathia, who was awarded a heavyweight belt — a new totem for the player of the game — did most of the heavy lifting. On the few occasions Sabathia did feel threatened, he took care of matters himself. He struck out Yasiel Puig to end the first inning with a runner at third, and he struck out Rob Segedin with a runner at third to end the second, both on changeups. Nobody else reached scoring position. Though Ellsbury had hit four home runs in his last 21 games, a relative power surge, Girardi noticed that Ellsbury has been particularly robust in the last month when given a brief respite. Twice he responded from a day off with multiple hits, and when he last sat at the start of a game — Sept. 4 at Baltimore — Ellsbury responded the next day with three hits. “Rest is helpful at this point in the season,” Girardi said. “We’ve seen a couple times when we’ve given Jacoby a day off, he’s been really good the next day and goes on a pretty good streak.” The topic is a fraught one because Girardi also benched him last season in the wild-card game in order to open a lineup spot for Chris Young, a better hitter against left-handers. Girardi said that there was no tension between Ellsbury and him over that episode — though Ellsbury fumed at the time — and that he had informed Ellsbury on Friday that he would not be in the lineup on Tuesday. “Would I like to run him out there 162 games?” Girardi asked. “Absolutely. But that’s not the world we live in.” Finding rest days for Ellsbury or Gardner, especially in a face of a stretch of left-handers — the Yankees will face Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday and three left-handers against the Red Sox — is likely to become more challenging with Judge’s injury. Judge was injured taking a mighty cut at a 2-0 letter-high changeup from Urias in the fourth inning. Chase Headley, running at first base, saw Judge wince and signaled for time as a trainer and Girardi came out to examine Judge. He told them he was fine and remained at the plate, eventually walking to load the bases. But after Ronald Torreyes grounded out to end the inning, Judge was removed from the game. Judge will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test to determine the severity of the injury. Girardi expected him to be out for some time, since the injury usually takes a minimum of two weeks to heal. “It’s tough,” said Judge, who has never encountered a similar injury. “Nobody ever wants to deal with an injury, especially now. We’re in a race right now, we’ve got a good team and we want to keep rolling.”

FANGRAPHS The Case for Corey Seager for National League MVP By Dave Cameron

Note that, as with last week’s posts, these are designed to make an affirmative argument for their subject and are not intended to serve as comprehensive looks at every candidate on their own. The authors tasked with writing these posts may not even believe their subject actually deserves to win, but they were brave enough to make the case anyway. The goal of these posts is to lay out the potential reasons for voters to consider a variety of candidates and to allow the readers to decide which argument is most persuasive. Let’s travel back to spring training, shall we? At that point, we projected the Dodgers to win 93 games and take the NL West crown, but we also thought Clayton Kershaw was going to stay healthy and pitch a full season. We thought the rotation behind him would consist of Alex Wood, Brett Anderson, and Scott Kazmir, with Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu coming back in May or June to provide depth. We thought Andre Ethier and Yasiel Puig would man the corner-outfield spots, with Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke serving as the reserves. We thought Chris Hatcher and Yimi Garcia would be effective setup guys to get the ball to Kenley Jansen. Almost nothing has gone the way the Dodgers expected. Their rotation was decimated by injuries, their outfield by injury and underperformance. The bullpen has been a tilt-o-wheel of guys coming up from the minors to throw some innings before heading back to the PCL. They spent the second half of the year without the best pitcher alive, and set the record for most players placed on the disabled list in a single season. And yet, here they are, two weeks from the end of the season, with a projected final record of 92-70. How on earth did they get here? Well, it’s easy to credit the team with building admirable depth, since that has been the focus of their roster construction. Guys like Justin Turner and Joc Pederson deserve recognition for holding the offense together. Julio Urias has been terrific as a part-time starter. But, in reality, there’s one big reason the Dodgers are likely to win the NL West despite a historic rash of injuries, and that reason is Corey Seager. The Dodgers’ rookie shortstop was projected to be a good player this year. We had him down for +3 WAR at the start of the year, helping push the Dodgers shortstops into the top tier at the position. Instead, though, he’s been a great player, and he’s going to end the year around +8 WAR, proving to about 2.5 times as valuable as we expected. It’s not hard to see why Seager’s been so great. He ranks fifth in the NL in wRC+ at the moment, behind a third baseman, two first baseman, and a second baseman with first-base defense. Seager’s hitting like a corner-infield slugger — only, you know, he plays shortstop. There’s a 26-point gap between Seager and the next-best-hitting shortstop in the NL this year; there’s no team in the NL getting this kind of production from their shortstops. Kris Bryant is having a great year, but there are other great third baseman. Joey Votto, Freddie Freeman, and Anthony Rizzo have made it so that you can’t even really tell who the best-hitting first baseman in the NL this year has been. Sure, Daniel Murphy is similarly ahead of other second baseman, but then again, Murphy hasn’t really played second base full-time this year; he’s also started 17 games at first base and one game at third base, since the Nationals acknowledge his up-the-middle defense leaves a good bit to be desired.

So Seager’s the only real true player at a premium position in the elite tier of NL hitters this year. And since Seager is giving the Dodgers a huge boost at a position where most teams just look for competency, he’s basically the walking embodiment of value to his team. The case for Seager having an MVP-caliber season is an easy one to make. But, of course, there can be multiple MVP-caliber players within the same league in the same season, and I’m not going to denigrate the work of Kris Bryant in Chicago. Bryant also has a great case (which will appear here on FanGraphs soon) and has hit better than Seager this year while also providing real value on the bases and in the field. But whenever it’s close, as it is with Bryant and Seager, I think it’s worth looking at minor factors that normally don’t get discussed, to see if we can find some details that help separate the contenders. And, in this case, I think we need to acknowledge that Bryant has benefited from his context more than Seager has. In Chicago, Bryant has hit second or third in the Cubs lineup in almost every game, and because of that, he’s come up to the plate in offensive-friendly situations with some frequency. The Cubs’ leadoff hitters have a .379 OBP, tops in the major leagues, so Bryant has regularly come up to the plate with men on base; 47% of his at-bats have come with a man on, in fact. Corey Seager has also hit second most of the time, but Dodgers leadoff hitters haven’t been as effective, putting up a .331 OBP this year. Thus, Seager has come to the plate with a man on base just 41% of the time. While the protection theory gets batted around a lot, the reality is that the most obvious way teammates can influence each other’s performance is to get on base in front of the guy coming up; almost everyone hits better with men on than with the bases empty. For one, pitchers have to throw from the stretch. Fielders also can’t shift with men on base as easily, so the defensive alignment is less optimal. The difference isn’t enormous — we’re talking a league-wide gap of a 101 wRC+ with men on base versus a 99 wRC+ with the bases empty — but it’s a small factor that can add up over a full season. A six-percentage-point difference in distribution of PAs means that Bryant will have gotten about 40 extra at-bats with men on relative to Seager this year, and that’s 40 extra chances to hit with a higher likelihood of success, since Bryant has hit behind teammates better suited to getting on base in front of him. That’s also the reason you shouldn’t care about RBI totals, of course, but since you’re reading FanGraphs, we’ll assume you already that Bryant’s 25 extra RBIs didn’t tell us anything of value. Seager has actually hit much better in his opportunities to drive in runners than Bryant has, so there’s no real “run producing” argument to be made here. When you make the slight adjustment for teammate quality, Seager has produced an offensive season very similar to that of Bryant’s while playing a more demanding position. Bryant has been terrific, and he’s certainly a worthy candidate as well, but he didn’t have to produce in a weakened batting order while the Cubs’ entire pitching staff went to go see the trainer. Both players have been excellent, but Seager has had the more difficult job, and he’s risen to the occasion. The Dodgers would be sunk if they didn’t have Corey Seager. They’d be in trouble even if they had the Corey Seager we thought they’d have back in March. But instead, they’ve gotten Corey Seager, Most Valuable Player in the National League. And while’s a mortal lock to win Rookie of the Year, he should get strong consideration for the big trophy as well.