Daily Clips

July 4, 2017

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS

TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2017

DODGERS.COM Turner's Final Vote push boosted on Twitter- Ken Gurnick Bellinger and pitching dad headed to HR Derby- Chad Thornburg Bellinger earns 2nd straight NL ROM Award- Daniel Kramer Relievers of the Month: Osuna, Jansen- Mark Newman LA TIMES He's in: Dodgers' Cody Bellinger officially joins Home Run Derby field- Bill Shaikin Right-hander Brandon Morrow is at 100% and Dodgers are getting their money's worth- Mike DiGiovanna Dodgers' Adrian Gonzalez might not play until September, but whatever happens, he's at peace with it- Dylan Hernandez OC REGISTER New Era: Dodgers leading trend toward shorter starts for pitchers- Bill Plunkett Kenley Jansen blames fans for Dodgers’ lack of All-Star starters, snubs of others- Bill Plunkett Diamondbacks at Dodgers: Tuesday game time, TV channel and starting pitchers- Bill Plunkett TRUE BLUE LA Cody Bellinger to participate in Home Run Derby- Eric Stephen Tim Shibuya narrowly misses no-hitter for Tulsa- Eric Stephen International signing period 2017-18: Dodgers ink 26 prospects- Eric Stephen Alex Wood faces tough road to the All-Star Game in Miami- Eric Stephen Cody Bellinger wins NL Rookie of Month, Kenley Jansen wins Reliever of Month for June- Eric Stephen DODGER INSIDER MLB announces Bellinger officially in 2017 Home Run Derby- Rowan Kavner Dodgers announce signings of international prospects- Rowan Kavner Bellinger, Jansen earn NL June honors- Rowan Kavner NBC LA Dodgers to Celebrate the Fourth With Air Force F-15 Flyover, Fireworks- City News Service SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Kenley Jansen's criticism of Dodgers fans is a questionable response to a deep problem- Jon Tayler

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS

TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2017

DODGERS.COM

Turner's Final Vote push boosted on Twitter By Ken Gurnick LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers on Monday got busy campaigning for third baseman Justin Turner in the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote. Teammates Alex Wood, Adrian Gonzalez and Adam Liberatore tweeted pleas to fans for support of Turner. Even Turner's fiancée, Kourtney, took to Twitter with a reward for 10,000 retweets: Fans can show their support for Turner by tweeting with #VoteJT and they can cast ballots for the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile devices until 1 p.m. PT on Thursday. The winners, as chosen exclusively by online fan voting totals, will then be announced during MLB Tonight live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 6 p.m. Extensive coverage throughout the Final Vote will be provided by MLB Network and MLB.com, including interviews with the candidates, frequent updates, heat maps indicating where votes are being cast for each candidate, news on player and club campaigns and a running countdown clock leading up to the announcement. Now in its 16th season, with more than 680 million votes cast, the Final Vote again will include social votes on the last day of balloting, as Twitter support for the 10 candidates over the final six hours of balloting will count toward their vote totals. From 7 a.m.-1 p.m. PT on Thursday, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated as part of the official vote total used to determine the winners. On Tuesday, July 11, at 4:30 p.m. PT, tune in to the 2017 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 88th All-Star Game, in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com. Meanwhile, the Dodgers' organization quickly mobilized a grass-roots effort to send the 32-year-old third baseman -- who is posting staggering offensive numbers while playing Gold Glove Award defense -- to the 2017 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard in Miami. Turner would be joining four teammates -- Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger -- who were named to the game on Sunday. The Dodgers will create a voting room at Dodger Stadium that will be staffed by the Pantone 294 fan club. The team will provide a live stream and frequent live hits on Facebook Live of players and other

Dodgers personalities dropping by to encourage them to keep voting. The effort will culminate with 24 hours of non-stop voting from Wednesday at 1 p.m. until Thursday at 1 p.m. The Dodgers also are partnering with the Royals and their American League Final Vote candidate, Mike Moustakas, like Turner, a Southern California native. Turner is competing in the National League Esurance Final Vote with four fellow corner infielders: the Marlins' Justin Bour, the Cubs' Kris Bryant, the Nationals' Anthony Rendon and the Rockies' Mark Reynolds. Bellinger and pitching dad headed to HR Derby By Chad Thornburg Cody Bellinger is officially competing in the 2017 T-Mobile Home Run Derby next Monday at Marlins Park in Miami. Bellinger previously said he had been invited to participate in the Derby, but was holding off on accepting until he received confirmation his father, Clay, a former Yankees outfielder now working as a firefighter in Gilbert, Ariz., could get time off work to pitch to him. The Dodgers rookie was announced among the eight-player field for the event, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT on ESPN. He joins Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Bour and Charlie Blackmon from the National League. Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Miguel Sano and Mike Moustakas will compete for the American League. Bellinger was already headed to Miami for the July 11 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. He was named to the NL team Sunday alongside teammates Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and Corey Seager. All four players were selected via player balloting. Third baseman Justin Turner could soon join them as one of five candidates for the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote. Voting ends at 1 p.m. PT Thursday. Despite not making his big league debut until April 25, Bellinger leads the NL with 24 home runs and a .624 slugging percentage. The two-time NL Player of the Week recipient is the first Dodgers rookie with six multihomer games and he's one shy of tying the MLB rookie record set by Mark McGwire with the A's in 1987. Bellinger earns 2nd straight NL ROM Award By Daniel Kramer The secret is out in Los Angeles, as slugging sensation Cody Bellinger has risen to national prominence while the Dodgers have ascended to the perch in the highly competitive National League West.

For the second straight month, Bellinger was named the NL Rookie of the Month for June on Monday. Last month, the helicopter-swinging lefty led the Majors with 13 homers and paced all rookies in RBIs (27), slugging percentage (.743) and extra-base hits (22). Also in that stretch, Bellinger knocked in a game-winning run three times for the Dodgers, who finished June 21-7 and entered Monday with a 2 1/2-game lead in a division they've won a franchise-best four straight years. It's been a remarkable story for Bellinger, who entered the year as MLBPipeline's No. 13 overall prospect and was called up to fill a void when center fielder Joc Pederson went on the disabled list in late April. The club was adamant that Bellinger's stay would not be permanent, but he stuck around to fill in for Adrian Gonzalez when the first baseman went on the DL the day Pederson returned. Bellinger's lofty contributions have kept him with the big league club since. Bellinger ranks first in the NL with 24 homers despite not debuting until April 25, and will reportedly compete in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby next Monday at Marlins Park in Miami, according to MLB Network Insider Ken Rosenthal. On Sunday, Bellinger was selected to his first All-Star Game via the player ballot. Relievers of the Month: Osuna, Jansen By Mark Newman Roberto Osuna of the Blue Jays and Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers, who finished the month tied for the longest active save streaks in Major League Baseball at 18 in a row, were named The Hartford American League and National League Relievers of the Month for June, respectively. The awards were announced on Monday by MLB. Osuna's 19th save on June 21 against Texas was historic, because he became the youngest pitcher (age 22) to reach 75 career saves. It also marked his 18th consecutive successful save conversion, tying for fifth-longest by a Blue Jay and tying for third-longest in a single season (behind Tom Henke's 25 in 1991 and Billy Koch's 21 in 2000). But that led to a development that makes this honor seem even more remarkable. On June 23, a mental health issue prevented him from pitching in a save situation, and Osuna told media the next day that he was struggling with anxiety. Osuna told Toronto manager John Gibbons on June 25 that he felt well enough to pitch, and he returned in peak form -- striking out the side in consecutive appearances. "Every time I go out there, I have fun. That's what I like to do every day, is be on the mound and pitch," said Osuna, who has received widespread support on social media. "It's slowly getting better. But I'm getting better. And that's a good thing for me." Jansen was a perfect 10-for-10 in save situations with two wins over his 12 June appearances for the Dodgers. His 17th save of 2017 came along with his first career RBI (on a double) on June 25, securing

the Dodgers' 10th consecutive victory in a big game against Colorado and pushing them out in front of the tight NL West pack. In that same June 25 victory over the Rockies, Jansen walked Nolan Arenado on a full count. That was noteworthy because it followed an MLB-record stretch of 51 strikeouts without allowing a base on balls. Jansen has thrown his cutter a Mariano Rivera-like 92 percent of the time, according to Statcast™, and batters are hitting only .159 against it. "I wanted to be here," Jansen told the Los Angeles Times last week, referring to his decision to turn down a Nationals offer and re-sign with Los Angeles as a free agent. "I didn't feel I could take this uniform off yet. This organization means a lot to me. They gave me my first chance. They gave me my second chance. We've been through all this stuff together. My dream is to win a championship here." The award is an extension of MLB's partnership with The Hartford, which annually presents the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year awards. The winners are determined by a panel of industry experts.

LA TIMES He's in: Dodgers' Cody Bellinger officially joins Home Run Derby field By Bill Shaikin Cody Bellinger started April in the minor leagues. If his season went well, he said, he hoped he could play in the triple-A All-Star Game. His season has gone a bit better than he had hoped. The Dodgers called him up in April, and he took the National League by storm. He spotted the league three weeks and still leads the NL with 24 home runs. On Sunday, he learned that his fellow players had voted him into the All-Star Game — the major league one, not the triple-A one. On Monday, he officially accepted an invitation to the home run derby that precedes the All-Star game. He said last week he had received an invitation but said he wanted his father to pitch to him and would not accept until he was sure his father could get time off from work. Clay Bellinger, his father, is a former major league infielder and current firefighter in Gilbert, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix. Bellinger’s participation means the Dodgers will have a derby representative for the fourth consecutive year, following Yasiel Puig in 2014, Joc Pederson in 2015 and Corey Seager in 2016. The rest of the field: Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton and Justin Bour of the Miami Marlins, Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies, Mike Moustakas of the Kansas City Royals and Miguel Sano of the Minnesota Twins. The derby takes place July 10 in Miami.

Right-hander Brandon Morrow is at 100% and Dodgers are getting their money's worth By Mike DiGiovanna He regained 15 pounds he lost during a lengthy bout with valley fever, a nasty fungal lung infection, in the winter of 2015-16. He has full strength in a shoulder that didn’t feel quite right last season after surgery to repair an impingement in August 2015. Brandon Morrow didn’t need to see “100 mph” flash on the Dodger Stadium scoreboard during the team’s last homestand to confirm what he already knew, that he was 100% after two seasons marred by injury and illness. But it didn’t hurt. “Yeah, sure,” the Dodgers reliever said, when asked whether the radar-gun reading solidified in his mind that he was all the way back. “It’s kind of like a milestone, triple digits. It’s been a while since I did that in the major leagues.” The Dodgers signed Morrow in January to a minor league deal that would pay $1.25 million in the big leagues, a relatively modest sum that was an indication of how far the right-hander’s stock had fallen. It was a no-risk investment in a veteran with the potential for a bounce-back year. Three months into 2017, Morrow, 32, looks like a steal. Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he’s given up no runs and four hits in 12 2/3 innings over 11 appearances, striking out 15, walking one and holding opponents to a .093 batting average. Morrow has been so dominant that manager Dave Roberts was recently asked whether he could seize an eighth-inning role in front of closer Kenley Jansen. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Roberts, who has used Pedro Baez as his primary setup man. “I don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where we have a dedicated eighth-inning guy or seventh-inning guy. I like to manage the bullpen with respect to what part of the lineup is coming up. “But Brandon has done a lot to build trust in me. What we’ve seen … it’s been electric.” Morrow didn’t make the team out of spring training. He had a 10.13 earned-run average over eight innings at triple-A Oklahoma City in April before righting himself in May with a 1.93 ERA in 9 1/3 innings over nine games. Morrow was promoted when Alex Wood went on the disabled list on May 29. He looked sharp in five scoreless middle-relief appearances before being sent to triple A when Wood was activated on June 10. Since he returned to the big leagues on June 21, Morrow has migrated toward the late innings, pitching the eighth of a win over Colorado on June 24 and the eighth and ninth innings of last Tuesday night’s 4-0 win over the Angels. Morrow struck out two of three batters to help the Dodgers escape a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in last Thursday’s 6-2 win over the Angels. His stuff clearly warrants a high-leverage role.

Morrow mixes a four-seam fastball that is averaging 97.1 mph, according to Fangraphs, with a cut-fastball that averages 92.0 mph and a sharp slider that averages 86.4 mph. “From our fielders to some of the rumblings from the opposition, the stuff really plays up,” Roberts said. “It’s the 99-mph fastball, the hard slider, getting right-handers and left-handers out. I’ve put him in some big spots, some higher-leverage spots, and he’s doing everything he can to showcase himself.” Triple-digit velocity was the norm for Morrow when he reached the big leagues in 2007, one year after Seattle used the fifth pick of a pitching-rich 2006 draft to select him out of the University of California. Andrew Miller (sixth), Clayton Kershaw (seventh), Tim Lincecum (10th) and Max Scherzer (11th) were taken right behind Morrow. Harnessing Morrow’s velocity at age 22 was a challenge. Morrow struck out 66 and walked 50 in 63 1/3 innings as a rookie in 2007. “Back then, I was just trying to kick and throw the ball as hard as I can,” Morrow said. “Now, I feel like I have some thought behind it. I can throw it where I’m trying to throw it.” Dodgers Dugout: Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson and the myth of the Home Run Derby jinx The Mariners moved Morrow to the rotation in September 2008, and of his 26 appearances for Seattle in 2009, 10 were starts. Morrow was traded the following winter to Toronto, where he spent five seasons as a starter, going 34-31 with a 4.40 ERA. Morrow struck out 17 in a one-hit shutout of Tampa Bay in August 2010. He had a career-best 203 strikeouts in 2011. He had three shutouts in a career-best 2012, when he went 10-7 with a 2.96 ERA in 21 starts. But there were injuries along the way — biceps tendinitis in 2009, a rib-cage strain in 2012, a nerve problem in his forearm in 2013, a torn tendon sheath in his index finger in 2014 — and the Blue Jays declined to pick up Morrow’s $10-million option for 2015. Morrow signed a one-year, $2.5-million deal with San Diego but made only five starts in 2015, a season derailed by shoulder problems and ended with surgery. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound Morrow, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., was beginning to ramp up his throwing program before Christmas that winter when he contracted valley fever, which causes fatigue, coughing, shortness of breath, headaches, night sweats, muscle aches and fever. “I literally did nothing for three or four weeks,” Morrow said. “I was in bed the whole time. I lost another 15 more pounds after losing 10 pounds after surgery. And then there was everything that comes with valley fever afterward, the reduced lung capacity, the fatigue, for about seven months.” Morrow pitched in 18 games for the Padres in 2016, all in relief. He had a 1.69 ERA in 16 innings, but with the average velocity of his fastball dipping to 94.2 mph, he struck out only eight. “I felt good, but not necessarily strong, because I didn’t have much of an offseason to work out between surgery and getting sick,” Morrow said. “But this year I had a whole offseason of standard workouts. I only took a week off. I knew I wanted to get stronger, and I feel better than I ever have.”

It shows in the crispness of Morrow’s repertoire, in his fastball velocity, in his confidence, and in his growing stature as part of one of baseball’s best bullpens. “I actually feel better now than I did earlier in my career because I know where the ball is going and I can spin it,” Morrow said. “I’ve thrown the ball about as well as I can.” Dodgers' Adrian Gonzalez might not play until September, but whatever happens, he's at peace with it By Dylan Hernandez Adrian Gonzalez sighed. “We have some hypotheticals,” he said of current plans to rehabilitate the herniated disks in his back. He sounded uncertain. “We’re being cautious,” he added. Gonzalez has played in only 49 of the Dodgers’ 84 games. He has been on the disabled list for the last three weeks and is expected to remain sidelined until mid-August. The 35-year-old conceded what many people already knew: His regular season is lost. Whatever he does between now and Game 162 is to prepare for the playoffs. “I guess a young guy might be worried about, like, ‘I need to get back to put up numbers,’” Gonzalez said. “I could care less about numbers. At this point in my career, I just want to have fun, I just want to enjoy being around the guys and win games. I don’t think there’s any other reason to play the game other than to win.” What was most striking about listening to Gonzalez was how remarkably well-adjusted he sounded in relating to his new circumstances. Many athletes of Gonzalez’s caliber don’t age with grace. The determination and stubbornness that help vault them to stardom can prevent them from accepting they are in decline. And Gonzalez is about as competitive as they come. He played an average of 159 games over the previous 11 seasons in establishing himself as one of the game’s most reliable performers. “You’re not trying to impress anybody,” Gonzalez said. “You feel confident in what you’ve done and who you are.” Gonzalez is a five-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove winner. He has more than 300 home runs and close to 1,200 runs batted in. “I know that if I’m healthy, I can go out and do really good things on the field,” he said. “If I’m not, I can’t.”

His self-awareness spared rookie Cody Bellinger a return to the minor leagues. This was back in early May, when the Dodgers were heading into a series against the Padres in San Diego. With Joc Pederson returning from the DL, the Dodgers were planning to option Bellinger to triple A. Gonzalez intervened. “The way I was feeling at the time, I told them straight up, ‘He’s a better guy to help the team win than me hurt,’” Gonzalez said. He's one of our team leaders. He's very unselfish. — Dodgers manger Dave Roberts on Adrian Gonzalez Gonzalez landed on the disabled list for the first time in his career. “He’s one of our team leaders,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s very unselfish.” Gonzalez returned two weeks later, only to land on the DL again by mid-June. Bellinger can play in the outfield, but, like Gonzalez, he is a natural first baseman. Gonzalez said he isn’t threatened by the emergence of the young All-Star. He said Bellinger’s presence actually made it easier for him to go to the DL. “People try to make it seem like it was harder,” Gonzalez said. “I’m not worried about my position. There’s a big misconception that people have that we have this competition or that we have this pride, like, ‘Oh, no, it’s my position.’ “I mean, I’m just here to win. It’s not about, ‘It’s my position,’ or, ‘It’s his position.’ It’s about winning as a team. If he’s the best guy for the team that day, he’s going to play. If I’m the best guy for the team that day, I’m going to play.” Or, because of Bellinger’s versatility, they both can play. “It’s not a him-or-me type of deal,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez has only one home run in 182 plate appearances this season, but the Dodgers lineup would be most imposing with a healthy Gonzalez at first base and Bellinger in left field. Other than maybe Justin Turner, is there another player the team would rather have at the plate in the postseason with a runner on third base? Three seasons ago, Gonzalez led the majors in runs batted in. Gonzalez said he will play in September, regardless of how his recovery unfolds over the next several weeks. Dodgers have no All-Star starters, and Kenley Jansen blames the fans “There should be no question marks,” he said. “Put it this way: Even if I’m not quote-unquote 100%, I’m still going to go in September because what I have is what I have. If it doesn’t get better with all this time off, it’s not going to get better, so I might as well learn to play with medication.”

If his body can’t withstand starting, Gonzalez said he would be open to being a pinch-hitting specialist. “I’ll definitely be ready for that if that needed to be the case,” he said. The transition from playing nine innings to pinch-hitting is said to be particularly difficult. “I know there’s guys who can really do it and guys who can’t,” Gonzalez said, “but I think I’ve had enough at-bats in my career that I can have a good at-bat.” He chuckled. “I can go hit right now and I’m sure I can have a good at-bat right now, bad back and all,” he added. Gonzalez isn’t as sure about his long-term future. He plans to dedicate the upcoming winter to strengthening the back that has troubled him over the last two seasons. He is optimistic he can play pain-free again, but said he would consider retiring at the end of next season if his condition doesn’t improve. Gonzalez is under contract for $21.5 million next year, the final year of his seven-year, $154-million deal. I love playing the game, but I don't need this game. — Adrian Gonzalez “I love playing this game, but I don’t need this game,” he said. “I feel a lot of people hang on too long because they need it, it’s who they are, it’s their identity. It’s not my identity. I love playing it. I love being around the guys. I love playing the game. I love the competition. I love the chess match and everything that goes with it. But it’s not who I am. The game doesn’t define me.” What does? “Faith, family,” he said. And that could stop him from extending his career in a significantly reduced role. “I don’t know if I would want to sign a contract as a pinch-hit guy,” he said. “I don’t know if I would want to spend all that time away from my family for one at-bat a day or one at-bat every two days.” But he isn’t looking that far ahead. He is trying to take everything in, enjoying what baseball offers him at this stage of his life. “It’s a different perspective,” he said. “You enjoy the game. You’re not worried about all the other things that a young kid would worry about. I’m not trying to make it to an All-Star game, I’m not trying to win a Gold Glove. I’m just trying to have fun. I’m just trying to help the team win.” He smiled. In his longstanding quest to help deliver the Dodgers’ first World Series in nearly three decades, Gonzalez has found something few athletes of his stature find.

He’s found peace.

OC REGISTER

New Era: Dodgers leading trend toward shorter starts for pitchers By Bill Plunkett LOS ANGELES – Starting pitching sure ain’t what it used to be. Once dinosaurs such as Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan roamed the earth, snarling at anyone who dared to approach the pitcher’s mound before the ninth inning. “Five and fly” was an insult, dripping with disdain, aimed at starting pitchers who weren’t stout-hearted enough to do a man’s job and finish what he started. Now – “Five and fly” might as well be the job description. “That’s old school,” said Bud Black, a starting pitcher in the 1980s and early ’90s, a pitching coach (for the Angels) in the early 2000s and now the manager of the Colorado Rockies. “’Five and fly’ was not a good term. Six was borderline. When a guy got taken out after six, that was borderline. I mean, 120 pitches was the norm. And that could have been six innings. “It has changed.” Indeed it has. Relievers pitched a record number of innings last season (1,070) and are on pace to challenge that this season. As recently as the 2014 season, the average start in the National League was six innings. This season, it is a hair less than 5 2/3 (5.59 through Sunday) – the lowest in history. “If you get a guy who can give you six innings on a regular basis – he’s not a fifth starter. He’s a No. 2 or 3,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, whose team has struggled to fill out its rotation this year. With the lowest starters’ ERA in the majors (3.42), the Dodgers would seem to be above this. Instead, they are at the forefront of the trend toward shorter starts. A year ago, the Dodgers’ starting rotation unraveled due to injuries from the top (Clayton Kershaw) on down. As a result, 39 times they had a starting pitcher go five innings or fewer. Dodgers relievers pitched a major-league high 590 2/3 innings and Dave Roberts made a major-league record 606 pitching changes. This year, the Dodgers have had the depth to fill out a six-man rotation (seven when Julio Urias was healthy) and use the DL as a waiting room. And yet, they have already had 37 games in which the starting pitcher went five innings or less. An ace of the old-school variety, Kershaw is responsible for just one of those. In the 67 games started by anyone else, Dodgers starters have averaged fewer than 5 1/3 innings (5.29). Even Kershaw (in the wake

of last season’s back injury) is being handled a little differently. He has pitched into the eighth inning just three times in his first 17 starts and is averaging less than seven innings per start for the first time since 2012. “What I knew before, what I thought was – you get starting pitchers to go six, seven innings and then you run a ’pen for seven, eight and nine,” Roberts said of his expectations coming into his first managerial job. “Then you start looking at the numbers that Andrew (Friedman) and the front office introduced me to – about third time through (the batting order) and things like that.” Ah, there it is. Of the multiple forces driving down the length of the average start – injury prevention and pitch limits on developing pitchers among them – analytics lead the way. It’s hard to deny the evidence. Almost universally, starting pitchers fare worse the more times they face a hitter in a game. It is much easier to find a pitcher who can throw one inning at a time than one who can go through a lineup repeatedly. “Yes. No doubt,” Black agreed. “One thing I have noticed just in filling out a lineup card every day – the number of teams using eight relievers as opposed to seven, now that’s almost the norm. And that happened almost overnight.” An eight-man bullpen – and a fleet of planes shuttling them in from Oklahoma City to hit refresh – allows the Dodgers to spread the load and (hopefully) avoid bullpen burnout. “When you’re looking at our personnel and what they’ve done over the last year or two and their workload, if I’m trying to keep these guys (the starters) strong through October and I’m pushing them an extra inning each start that accumulation is going to take a toll,” Roberts said. “So if we have an eight-man ’pen and guys are rested, to have a guy go five innings it could potentially save bullets for the back end.” For the Dodgers, the big picture has to include the additional stress of high-pressure starts in October. But the requirements of starting pitchers in the postseason have changed as well. Last year, the Cleveland Indians reached the World Series by pitching their relievers (64 2/3) nearly as many innings as their starters (69-1/3) in the postseason – and more (32 1/3 innings to 30 1/3) in the World Series. The Cubs and Indians starting pitchers averaged fewer than five innings per start in the World Series and none went beyond the sixth inning. The 2015 postseason started the trend with the Kansas City Royals winning a championship with a group of starters that averaged less than 5 1/3 innings per start in the postseason. The 2014 World Series is remembered for Madison Bumgarner’s heroics. He pitched 16 innings in his two starts. But the rest of the Giants starters managed 16 1/3 in the other five games. “I just don’t think it’s really possible to paint the topic of World Series champions with a broad stroke brush,” Friedman said. “It’s so specific to each team. They do it in different ways. I think elite teams are really good at preventing runs. But there are more ways to do that than just to have elite starting pitching. But from a quality-of-life standpoint, having elite starting pitching is still far and away the easiest way to accomplish that.” Kenley Jansen blames fans for Dodgers’ lack of All-Star starters, snubs of others

By Bill Plunkett SAN DIEGO – Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is known for his cutter. But he went with a high, hard one Sunday afternoon. “I’m sorry Dodgers’ fans,” he said. “I’ll say it loud and clear. It’s the Dodgers fans’ fault. We should have voted for those two guys. They should be starters.” Jansen was referring to third baseman Justin Turner and shortstop Corey Seager, neither of whom was voted in as a starter for the National League in the All-Star Game in Miami. Seager, at least, will be going for the second consecutive year. He and Jansen were two of the four Dodgers named to the team Sunday. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw and rookie first baseman Cody Bellinger were also named to the team. But the National League’s ERA leader (Alex Wood at 1.83 with a 9-0 record) and batting average leader (Turner) were not. “To be an All-Star would be a pretty cool deal,” said Turner, who finished Sunday with a .382 average (far and away the best in the NL though he currently falls short of the plate appearances requirement). “I can’t imagine having a better first half than I’m having right now. If it’s not in the cards, it’s probably not in the cards.” Turner could still make the team. He is one of the candidates in the “Final Five” vote. His teammates were already campaigning for him. “JT – that one hurts, just seeing what he’s done,” Seager said. Turner faces an uphill battle in the online vote, however. Kris Bryant of the Cubs is one of the other candidates along with Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds, Marlins first baseman Justin Bour and Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon. But there were no campaign speeches from Turner. “I feel like I’ve been campaigning for the past three months,” he said. “I don’t know what else I can do. It’s a popularity contest now.” Wood has an easier road to being named to the team. He would seem to be first in line to replace any pitcher who has to drop off the team due to injury or scheduling. He could very well replace Kershaw who is currently scheduled to start next Sunday and would then be ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game. “Yeah, as of now,” Kershaw said when asked if he still expected to make that start. “I don’t see any reason I wouldn’t.” If Wood is added that would bring the Dodgers’ total up to five representatives, matching the Nationals’ current total for the most on the NL squad. But it still fell short of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ expectations for the team with the best record in the NL. “Clayton is a no-brainer. Kenley is a no-brainer. Corey? No brainer,” Roberts said before Sunday’s game. “Cody, with what he’s done, I got as a no-brainer. JT, hitting .390 with a 1.000 OPS … being one of the

best players on the best team in the National League, I’ve got him as a no-brainer. And Alex Wood — 9-0 with a 1.80 – no brainer. “Yeah, I think the best team in the National League should be represented with the most All-Stars.” PITCHING UPDATES The Dodgers will start Kershaw, Wood and Rich Hill in the three-game series against the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks beginning Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu is still experiencing some discomfort in his left foot after taking a line drive off it during his start in Anaheim on Wednesday and will be bumped from the rotation. X-rays taken after that game were normal but Roberts said Ryu will get a more detailed scan (likely a bone scan) during a follow-up examination Monday. A trip to the DL is “not on the table right now,” Roberts said, because there has been some improvement. “We’re going to get another type of scan …just to make sure we don’t have the same kind of (Andre) Ethier thing or the Pedro Baez thing,” Roberts said. “So we’re going to get another scan just to make sure. We’re going to dig a little deeper.” Ethier (shin) and Baez (hand) were both hit by balls during spring training the past two years. In each case, initial X-rays did not reveal the severity of their injuries. Meanwhile, right-hander Brandon McCarthy is scheduled to throw four simulated innings to hitters at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga Monday. McCarthy is currently on the DL with tendinitis in his right knee. But the simulated-game setting will also allow the Dodgers to evaluate whether McCarthy is succumbing to another case of the yips. McCarthy acknowledged he had that issue after returning from Tommy John surgery last season. In his most recent start (a week ago against the Colorado Rockies), he seemed to slip back into it, throwing three wild pitches in one inning. “We’ll see how he comes out of that. From that point on, we’ll figure out when to plug him back in,” Roberts said of the simulated game. “It’s a controlled setting. It’ll be four innings. He’ll be facing hitters. It’s about gathering information. The conversation will be with Mac and the pitching coach there, Kip Wells, and we’ll make a decision.” And left-hander Scott Kazmir made his second rehab start for the Quakes on Sunday. Kazmir threw 53 pitches in three innings, allowed one run on two walks, a single and a wild pitch (all in the third inning) and struck out one. He is expected to continue a progression similar to spring training to build up his arm and pitch counts. Diamondbacks at Dodgers: Tuesday game time, TV channel and starting pitchers

By Bill Plunkett DIAMONDBACKS at DODGERS When: 6:10 p.m. Where: Dodger Stadium TV: SportsNet LA (where available) THE PITCHERS DODGERS LHP CLAYTON KERSHAW (12-2, 2.32) Vs. Diamondbacks: 13-8, 2.66 At Dodger Stadium: 77-30, 2.04 Hates to face: Chris Iannetta, 7 for 26 (.269), 2B, HR Loves to face: Brandon Drury, 1 for 8 (.125), 3 Ks DIAMONDBACKS LHP PATRICK CORBIN (6-7, 4.76) Vs. Dodgers: 3-8, 4.34 At Dodger Stadium: 2-3, 3.69 Hates to face: Logan Forsythe, 5 for 11 (.455), 2B Loves to face: Chase Utley, 1 for 5 (.200) UPCOMING MATCHUPS Wednesday – Diamondbacks (RHP Zack Godley, 3-2, 2.67 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Alex Wood, 9-0, 1.83 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market only) Thursday – Diamondbacks (LHP Robbie Ray, 8-4, 3.06 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Rich Hill, 5-4, 4.00 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA

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Cody Bellinger to participate in Home Run Derby By Eric Stephen Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger has hit home runs at a faster pace than anyone in major league history to start a career, so it is only natural that he was chosen to participate in the 2017 Home Run Derby. The All-Star Game is at Marlins Park in Miami this year, and defending Home Run Derby champion Giancarlo Stanton will get to defend his title in his home park. The derby will be held on Monday, July 10 at 5 p.m. PT, and will be televised by ESPN. Bellinger spent the first 20 games of the season in the minor leagues, but despite spotting everyone a head start he is tied for the National League lead with 24 home runs in just 64 games. At 57 games, he was the fastest to 24 career home runs in major league history. Both league leaders in home runs are rookies, and Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge — whose 27 home runs lead the majors — is also in the Home Run Derby field. Joining the two rookie sluggers and Stanton are Marlins first baseman Justin Bour, Twins third baseman Miguel Sano, Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas, and Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon. Bellinger was waiting on seeing if his father — former major leaguer Clay Bellinger — could get time off to join him in Miami. The plan is for Clay to pitch to son Cody. On Sunday Bellinger on MLB Network said, "I'm almost positive that I'm going to be able to do it. I'm looking forward to it." This is the third consecutive season the Dodgers will have a rookie participate in the Home Run Derby. In 2015, Joc Pederson put on a show with 39 home runs but lost in the final round to Todd Frazier. Last year, Corey Seager homered 15 times in the first round, but was beaten by Stanton, the eventual champion. Both Pederson and Seager were also named All-Stars as rookies. Bellinger got the All-Star nod on Sunday, one of four Dodgers — for now — headed for the midsummer classic. Every year with the Home Run Derby, people will complain that participating in the event will mess up a player’s swing, despite countless studies that have debunked that myth. The Dodgers are totally fine with Bellinger taking part in the exhibition. “If he wants to hit in the Home Run Derby, I support it,” manager Dave Roberts said on the last homestand. Someone asked if the event would affect Bellinger’s swing, but Roberts answered simply, “No.” Tim Shibuya narrowly misses no-hitter for Tulsa

By Eric Stephen On a night old friend Jharel Cotton started in the majors for Oakland, the Dodgers faced the other two thirds of the cost of the Rich Hill / Josh Reddick trade on Monday. But a 27-year-old stole the show in Midland. Player of the day Tim Shibuya came within one strike of a no-hitter on Monday for Double-A Tulsa, settling for a one-hit shutout of Midland on the road. Midland center fielder hit a dribbler up the middle off Shibuya’s glove with two outs in the ninth inning, easily reaching for a single to break up history. That was just the second baserunner allowed by Shibuya, who retired 15 straight after a fourth-inning walk. Shibuya struck out six on Monday and induced an absurd 17 ground ball outs, making the Drillers outfielders almost spectators. Shibuya, a right-hander out of UCSD, threw 111 pitches in his one-hitter, including pounding the zone with 80 strikes. It was the kind of outing you like to see from a seven-year minor leaguer, who has often been the odd man out this year in Tulsa, and even Triple-A Oklahoma City. There is taking one for the team, and then a few levels beyond that is what Shibuya did in a spot start for OKC on May 5, allowing 13 runs on 14 hits in just 2⅔ innings. Shibuya now has a 1.51 ERA in 35⅔ innings for Tulsa, where he has been most of the year, healthy though not always active. The Tulsa World beat writer for the Drillers put it this way: Monday was the fifth career complete game for Shibuya and the fourth shutout, his first of both since 2014, when he was in the Twins system. Triple-A Oklahoma City Alex Verdugo continued his offensive rampage, hitting a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning, lifting Oklahoma City to a 6-5 road win over the Nashville Sounds (Athletics). Down a run with two outs in the ninth, a single and an error put two runners on for Verdugo, who hit his second double of the game to give OKC the lead. Verdugo has reached base by hit or walk in 28 straight games, hitting .423/.475/.595 during that span. Joe Broussard pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the win. Old friend Frankie Montas started for Nashville, allowing two runs in four innings. Double-A Tulsa Even though Shibuya was putting up zeroes, Tulsa was held down by former Dodgers prospect Grant Holmes until the seventh inning, when the Drillers rallied for two in a 3-0 win over the Midland RockHounds (A’s). Four singles and an error brought home two runs against Holmes in the seventh, then against the bullpen in the eighth inning Edwin Rios doubled and scored in the win. Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes scored five runs in the bottom of the first, but the Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies) scored in six of the next seven innings to beat Rancho Cucamonga, 11-8. Yadier Alvarez had a mediocre start, allowing four runs in 3 innings, with more walks (three) than strikeouts (two) for the first time since his 2017 debut on Apr. 17, in Lancaster. DJ Peters had three hits, including a triple and a double, and the Quakes got home runs from designated hitter Will Smith and first baseman Luke Raley in defeat. Class-A Great Lakes A.J. Alexy struck out five in five scoreless innings, leading the Loons over the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers), 4-1 on Monday. The right-hander, drafted out of high school by the Dodgers in the 11th round in 2016, has a 2.47 ERA in 15 starts for the Loons, including three scoreless outings in his last four starts. 20-year-old Logan Crouse, the consolation prize when the Dodgers failed to sign 2015 draftee Kyle Funkhouser — LA was able to use the over-slot money they allotted for Funkhouser to lure the 30th-rounder Crouse to sign out of high school rather than go to Florida State — made his full-season debut on Monday, allowing one run in three innings in relief of Alexy. Rookie-level Ogden The Raptors beat the Idaho Falls Chukars (Royals), 7-6 on a walk-off error in 10 innings on Monday. A pair of 2017 draft picks each had good games for Ogden. Left fielder Tyler Adkison, the 32nd-rounder out of San Diego State, was 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Eighth-rounder Rylan Bannon, the third baseman from Xavier, was 2-for-5 with a double in the win. Transactions Double-A: One of those four DL stints ended for Shibuya, who was activated to make Monday’s start; Left-handed pitcher Chris Cotton was placed on the seven-day disabled list. Class-A: Pitcher Sven Schuller was promoted from Great Lakes to Rancho Cucamonga, and the Quakes placed pitcher Chris Powell on the DL; the Loons activated pitcher Jeremiah Muhammad from the DL, sent infielder Gersel Pitre to Ogden and released pitcher Kyle Grana; pitcher Logan Crouse and 2017 10th-round pick Zach Reks, the latter an outfielder out of Kentucky, were both promoted from Ogden to Great Lakes. Monday scores Oklahoma City 6, Nashville 5 Tulsa 3, Midland 0 Lancaster 11, Rancho Cucamonga 8 Great Lakes 4, West Michigan 1 Ogden 7, Idaho Falls 6 AZL Dodgers 3, AZL Athletics 2 DSL Dodgers1 4, DSL Rays1 3

DSL Dodgers2 4, DSLRays2 3 (Yes, seeing those last two scores together confused me, too) Tuesday scores 3:30 p.m. PT - Ogden (Carlos Felix) at Idaho Falls (TBD) 4:30 p.m. - Tulsa (TBD) at Midland (Heath Fillmyer) 4:35 p.m. - Great Lakes (Jordan Sheffield) at South Bend [Cubs] (Bryan Hudson) 5:05 p.m. - Oklahoma City (Trevor Oaks) vs. Iowa [Cubs] (Casey Kelly) 6:30 p.m. - Rancho Cucamonga (Devin Smeltzer) at San Jose [Giants] (Matt Krook) International signing period 2017-18: Dodgers ink 26 prospects By Eric Stephen LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers officially announced the signing of 26 foreign amateur players on Tuesday, the second day of the international signing period. Most of the players — 15 position players and 11 pitchers — gathered at the club’s facility in Campo Las Palmas in the Dominican Republic, where the picture above was taken. During the 2017-18 international signing period, the Dodgers are limited in that they can’t sign any players for bonuses of more than $300,000. Three of the players announced by the Dodgers signed for this amount — Dominican outfielder Gorge Heredia and Dominican shortstop Amin Valdez, per Ben Badler at Baseball America; and Cuban outfielder Julio Enrique, per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Dominican shortstop Eddys Leonard signed for a reported $200,000, per Badler. The other bonuses are not known, but any signing bonus above $10,000 counts towards the total. Their total bonus pool — now a hard cap with the new collective bargaining agreement — is $4.75 million plus whatever amount they received from the Orioles on Sunday for minor league pitcher Jason Wheeler. Starting with the next international period, which begins on July 2, 2018, the Dodgers will not be limited on individual bonuses. Of these 26 players, 19 are from the Dominican Republic. One is from Aruba — outfielder Mayron Cathalina. Here is an interview during his tryout with the Dodgers, from February: Another prospect, outfielder Rushenten Tomsjansen, is from Curacao, and left-handed pitcher Andrew Budier is from Nicaragua. I don’t have birthdates for all of these players, but most are 16 or 17, which means they were born in the 2000s, so before we all feel super old let’s just see the list of names.

Alex Wood faces tough road to the All-Star Game in Miami By Eric Stephen Justin Turner wasn’t the only Dodgers All-Star snub on Sunday. There was also Alex Wood, who has been sublime in 2017 but, like his third baseman, suffered from leaderboard absentia in bid for the MLB All-Star Game, among other things. Wood began the season in the bullpen, and missed another two starts with shoulder joint inflammation on a disabled list stint, limiting him to just 73⅔ innings this season. The Dodgers through Sunday have played 84 games, and the requirement to qualify for the leaderboards is one inning per team game, so Wood is just over 10 innings shy at the moment. Among the National League pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched this season -- there are 72 of them — Wood is tops in ERA (1.83), FIP (2.11), and xFIP (2.58). His strikeout rate (30.2%) ranks third in this group, just ahead of teammate Clayton Kershaw, who made his seventh consecutive All-Star team on Sunday. But with a simple leaderboard search, Wood won’t show up, because he doesn’t have enough innings to qualify. Out of sight, out of mind. Wood did get some recognition this season, winning NL Pitcher of the Month in May. He has pitched six scoreless starts this season, and has three more starts with one-run allowed. Like Turner’s .382 batting average, Wood has a gaudy, old-school stat hammer to wield — his 9-0 record. Wood is the first Dodgers pitcher to open a season 9-0 since Rick Rhoden in 1976. The avid golfer Rhoden was an All-Star that year, which is par for the course with a shiny first-half record (he was 8-0 before the break). In the last 75 years, the only pitcher undefeated at the break with at least nine wins not to make an All-Star team was reliever Arthur Rhodes in 1996. The other seven pitchers all made the midsummer classic, including Dallas Keuchel of the Astros (9-0, 1.83 ERA in 75⅔ innings — just two more IP than Wood). But Keuchel has a Cy Young Award under his belt, so it’s understandable he got the nod. There were three other pitchers in the early years of the All-Star Game to be 9-0 or better at the break and not make the team — Atley Donald (1939), Elmer Riddle (1941), and Larry French (1942). Wood’s tough road to Miami Like Turner, Wood can still be added to the NL All-Star team, replacing another pitcher if needed. Unlike Turner, Wood isn’t part of the Final Vote, so getting other pitchers to drop out is Wood’s only avenue to the midsummer classic. All-Star duos Gatorade All-Star Workout Day

Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke were All-Star teammates twice as Dodgers. Should Alex Wood find his way to Miami, he and Clayton Kershaw would be the 14th Dodgers starting pitcher duo named All-Stars since the franchise moved west in 1958. What complicates things even further is the construction of the roster. Each team needs 20 position players and 12 pitchers. Five starters and three relievers are voted in by the players, with MLB filling the rest of the staff. In the American League, all the remaining pitchers were starters, giving them a nine-starter, three-reliever split. But in the NL, the 12-man staff includes a whopping six relievers. The three relievers added by MLB — Brad Hand of the Padres, Corey Knebel of the Brewers, and Pat Neshek of the Phillies — were to make sure every club was represented by at least one player. In 2016, four NL pitchers were replaced on the All-Star roster, one (Madison Bumgarner) for starting on the Sunday before the All-Star Game. Starting pitchers who pitch Sunday are ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game. It sounds like Kershaw will go that route this year, slated to start both Tuesday and Sunday for the Dodgers this week. That would open up one slot, but it’s tough to see another such opportunity. Here are the other NL All-Star starters: Max Scherzer: started last night; likely to start the All-Star Game Zack Greinke: starting Thursday at Dodger Stadium Carlos Martinez: started last night against Scherzer Robbie Ray: last pitched Friday; won’t pitch in Dodgers series Stephen Strasburg: scheduled Monday for Nationals; could start Sunday We must also remember that Wood isn’t the only starting pitcher on the outside looking in who is under consideration. Wood is tied for third in FanGraphs WAR (2.8) with Greinke, behind only Scherzer and Kershaw. But in Baseball-Reference WAR, Wood is only eighth at 2.7, with three non-All-Stars ahead of him — Gio Gonzalez (3.6), Ivan Nova (3.2), and Mike Leake (2.9). Let’s also include Jimmy Nelson, who ranks sixth in fWAR (2.4), to see how these four outsiders compare with Wood: Wood: 9-0, 1.83 ERA, 75⅔ IP, 87 strikeouts, 20 walks Gonzalez: 7-3, 2.77 ERA, 107⅓ IP, 104 strikeouts, 47 walks Nova: 8-5, 3.08 ERA, 108 IP, 60 strikeouts, 13 walks Leake: 6-6, 2.97 ERA, 106 IP, 72 strikeouts, 23 walks Nelson: 6-4, 3.43 ERA, 97 IP, 104 strikeouts, 25 walks Is Wood an obvious call here? Or will the lack of innings continue to hurt him? He has more wins than the other four pitchers, and more strikeouts than two of them. To (roughly) match their ERA and innings totals, Wood would have to... allow 18 earned runs in 31⅔ innings (5.12 ERA) to match Gonzalez allow 22 earned runs in 32⅓ innings (6.12 ERA) to match Nova

allow 20 earned runs in 30⅓ innings (5.93 ERA) to match Leake allow 22 earned runs in 21⅓ innings (9.28 ERA) to match Nelson Of these pitchers, I think Gonzalez has the best chance to be selected before Wood, though Wood does have a strong argument to be next man up for the All-Star pitchers. Cody Bellinger wins NL Rookie of Month, Kenley Jansen wins Reliever of Month for June By Eric Stephen LOS ANGELES — A pair of Dodgers All-Stars picked up a couple more honors on Monday, with Cody Bellinger winning National League Rookie of the Month for June, and closer Kenley Jansen capturing NL Reliever of the Month. Bellinger set a Dodgers rookie record with 13 home runs in June, just two off the franchise mark for any player in a month. He hit .286/.361/.743 and drove in 27 runs in 28 games, the first Dodgers player to drive in 25 or more runs in back-to-back months since Manny Ramirez in 2008. Bellinger, who was called up to the majors on Apr. 25, has won NL Rookie of the Month honors in each of his two full months in the majors. He was named to the NL All-Star team on Sunday, just the eighth Dodgers rookie to be named an All-Star. Jansen was especially stingy in June, even though he did issue his only walk of the season during the month. He pitched 14 scoreless innings with 18 strikeouts in his 12 games, saving 10 and winning two. In June, Jansen had three saves of four outs, one five-out save, and a two-inning win. He faced 49 batters and allowed only six to reach base — two singles, two doubles, a walk, and a hit by pitch (another batter reached on an error) — with opposing batters hitting just .085/.122/.128 against him. Jansen in June inherited six runners and stranded them all. Batters were 0-for-13 with six strikeouts with runners in scoring position against him for the month. Jansen on Sunday was named an All-Star for the second season in a row, the first Dodgers reliever to make two consecutive All-Star teams since Jonathan Broxton in 2009 and 2010.

DODGER INSIDER MLB announces Bellinger officially in 2017 Home Run Derby By Rowan Kavner The fastest player to 24 career home runs in Major League history, who’s tied atop the National League in home runs, will officially be part of the 2017 Home Run Derby.

Cody Bellinger found out he’d be an All-Star in his first Major League season Sunday. The next morning, he was announced the National League Rookie of the Month for the second straight month. That wasn’t the end of a busy Monday for Bellinger, as MLB announced the rookie would officially be one of the eight contestants in the Home Run Derby. In June, Bellinger became the first rookie in Major League history to hit 10 home runs in a 10-game span. He has the club record for multi-home run games in a rookie season with six, trailing only Mark McGwire’s seven for the most multi-home run games for a rookie in MLB history. Bellinger will join defending Home Run Derby champion Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins), Aaron Judge (Yankees), Charlie Blackmon (Rockies), Justin Bour (Marlins), Mike Moustakas (Royals), Gary Sanchez (Yankees) and Miguel Sanó (Twins) in the contest, which takes place July 10th. Bellinger’s the third straight Dodger rookie to compete in the event, after Joc Pederson did it in 2015 and Corey Seager in 2016. Beyond leading the NL in homers, Bellinger also leads the NL in slugging percentage (.624), despite not getting called up to the big leagues until April 25. His latest “fastest to” mark was becoming the fastest player ever to 24 home runs, doing so in his first 57 games. Needless to say, Bellinger was an obvious choice for the Home Run Derby. Manager Dave Roberts gave Bellinger the nod of approval from the start, as long as Bellinger wanted to compete. Bellinger said recently he would participate as long as his father, a former MLB player who’s now a firefighter in Arizona, could throw to him. He’ll likely have more to say on the topic when the Dodgers start their home series this week against Arizona following Monday’s off day. Home Run Derby rules: Bracket Format: Single-elimination tournament in which loser of each bracket is eliminated. In each bracket, the higher seed will hit second. Timing: Four minutes per batter, per round. Timer starts with release of the first pitch. A round ends when the timer strikes zero. A home run shall count provided the pitch was released before the timer strikes zero. A pitcher cannot throw a pitch until a batted ball has hit the ground, was caught or left the field of play in foul territory. Bonus Time:

Thirty seconds of bonus time awarded for two home runs that each equal or exceed 440 feet. Distances will be tracked and posted using MLB Advanced Media’s Statcast powered by AWS. Any bonus time awarded will be added at the end of the initial four-minute round, and the timer will not stop during the bonus time period. Scoring/Advancement: Batter with most home runs hit in each matchup will advance to next round. Ties in any round will be broken by a 60-second swing-off with no stoppage of time or additional time added; if a tie remains after the swing-off, batters will engage in successive three-swing swing-offs until there is a winner. If the second batter hits more than the first batter in any matchup, he will be declared winner and not attempt to hit additional home runs. Each batter entitled to one 45-second “time out” in the first round and semi-finals. Each batter entitled to two “time outs” in the final round — a 45-second time out first, and then a 30-second time out. Dodgers announce signings of international prospects By Rowan Kavner The Dodgers announced the signings Monday of 26 international prospects during the international signing period. Of those 26, 19 came from the Dominican Republic, while three signed out of Venezuela and one apiece signed from Cuba, Curacao, Aruba and Nicaragua. The Dodgers signed 15 positions players (seven infielders, seven outfielders and one catcher) and 11 pitchers (nine right-handers and two left-handers). Bellinger, Jansen earn NL June honors By Rowan Kavner There are other rookies in baseball. It’s just hard to notice, considering what Cody Bellinger continues to do. Bellinger was named an All-Star in his first season Sunday, then Monday was named National League Rookie of the Month for the second consecutive month, after posting a .743 slugging percentage with nine doubles, 13 home runs and 27 RBI in June. Dodger closer Kenley Jansen also took home a monthly honor, getting named NL Reliever of the Month for the first time in his career.

Bellinger is the first NL rookie to garner consecutive monthly honors since Washington’s Trea Turner was voted NL Rookie of the Month in August and September of last season. It’s the first time in Dodger franchise history a player in his first season has been named Rookie of the Month twice in the same season dating back to the award’s inception in 2001. Bellinger led all NL rookies for the month in runs (22), hits (30), doubles (9), home runs (13), RBI (27), stolen bases (4) and slugging percentage. His 13 home runs in the month matched Jimmie Hall (August 1963) for the third-most homers by a rookie in a single month in MLB history. In the process, Bellinger surpassed Adrian Beltre (20 HR, 2000) for the most home runs as a Dodger in a season at age 21 or younger. During the month, Bellinger hit 10 home runs in a 10-game span, becoming just the second player in team history to do so, joining Shawn Green, who did it in May 2002. Bellinger was the first rookie in Major League history to accomplish the feat, and he also set a club record for multi-home run games in a rookie season (6). He trails only Mark McGwire (7) for the most multi-homer games as a rookie in MLB history. Bellinger currently leads the NL in home runs (24) and slugging percentage (.624). Jansen, the Dodgers’ all-time saves leader and an All-Star for the second straight year, is in the midst of his best Major League season, which is saying something. He was 10-for-10 in save opportunities without allowing a run in June, surrendering just four hits and a walk while striking out 18 in 14 innings. He’s now 18-for-18 in save opportunities this season. Jansen set a Major League record for the most strikeouts to start a season without a walk (51). He also recorded the 200th save of his career June 11 against the Reds at Dodger Stadium. Jansen leads all qualified Major League relievers in ERA (0.79) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (53.00).

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Dodgers to Celebrate the Fourth With Air Force F-15 Flyover, Fireworks By City News Service The Los Angeles Dodgers will mark Independence Day with a pregame flyover by Air Force F-15s and a fireworks show following Tuesday night's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Country music star Billy Ray Cyrus will give a pregame performance and sing the national anthem. A large flag will be unfurled in the outfield by members of the military for the national anthem. The team is offering a ticket package including a T-shirt with a Dodger logo resembling the U.S. flag, with red and white stripes and stars in a field of blue. It is available at dodgers.com/IndependenceDay. Both teams will wear their Independence Day uniforms which incorporate the stars and stripes in the team name, player numbers and cap logo. The Dodger cap is Navy blue with a red bill.

This is the 10th consecutive season Major League Baseball teams have worn special caps on Independence Day and the third they have worn matching jerseys. This will be the first time the socks will match the rest of the uniform with a stars-and-stripes pattern. Major League Baseball will donate all royalty payments from sale of Independence Day apparel to MLB charities that support military veterans and their families. Auto gates will open at 3:40 p.m., stadium gates at 4:10 p.m. and the Diamondbacks will take batting practice from 4:25-5:20 p.m. The first pitch by Clayton Kershaw is set for 6:10 p.m.

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Kenley Jansen's criticism of Dodgers fans is a questionable response to a deep problem By Jon Tayler The path to All-Star Game rosters is rarely a straight line from the top players to a spot on the team. A lot of that is thanks to the fan vote, which leaves the process of picking the league’s best of the best to a group that’s biased and fractious. Fans make mistakes. Fans stuff the ballot box—2015’s l’affaire Royals stands out there. Or in some cases, fans don’t show up. That’s the issue at hand for Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. He’s an All-Star for the second time, but he’s incensed that a deserving teammate might not join him in Miami next week: Justin Turner, one of the National League’s better third basemen but one who lost the fan vote to the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado and the NL’s lone reserve spot to the Diamondbacks’ Jake Lamb; Turner has been relegated to a spot on the fickle Final Vote ballot. The snub of Turner, as well as Corey Seager’s failure to win the starting shortstop spot over the Reds’ Zack Cozart, left Jansen feeling none too pleased with Dodgers fans’ lack of effort in the vote. “I’ll say it loud and clear again,” Jansen said. “It’s the Dodger fans’ fault.” “[The Cubs’] Addison Russell got voted in [last year],” Jansen said. “Corey Seager was way better. It’s the same thing this year, I feel like.” As far as winning people over goes, this is a bit of a curious strategy on Jansen’s part; I’m not sure how many fans have ever felt good about having a star come out and trash them for not being supportive enough. It’s not as if Turner or Seager languished toward the bottom of the pile in terms of votes, either: In the last ballot total made public before the rosters were announced, the former was third behind the Cubs’ Kris Bryant and Arenado, and the latter was polling a close second behind Cozart (and made the team as a reserve anyway). But it’s clear this isn’t just frustration at this year’s results. Despite having won the NL West four years in a row (and well on pace for a fifth crown), Los Angeles has done rather poorly in recent All-Star Game fan votes. Since Jansen joined the team full-time in 2011, only three Dodgers players—Matt Kemp (’11), Yasiel Puig (’14) and Dee Gordon (’15)—have been selected as starters. The support hasn’t been there,

either: In 2013, for example, just two Dodgers—Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez—finished within the top eight in the voting at their respective positions. MLB The 30: The Astros and Red Sox seize control of the American League while Yankees sputter It’s easy to understand, then, why Jansen is irked to see his teammates wither on the vote vine while an endless wave of Cubs and Nationals and other contenders seem to make the squad with ease. Despite a run of success that’s nearly unprecedented in franchise history, Dodgers fans seemingly haven’t turned out to vote in the last five years. What makes that strange is that Dodgers fans are paying attention. Los Angeles leads all of MLB in both total and average attendance this season, just as it has every single year since 2013. Part of that is seating capacity—Dodger Stadium can hold 56,000 people, more than any other park in the majors—but it’s clear that the Dodgers have an active and engaged fanbase that wants to go to games. That’s part of the problem, though: Dodgers fans in southern California have to go to games, because they can’t watch the team otherwise. Since 2014, Dodgers games have only been available on TV in the greater Los Angeles area on SportsNet LA, a regional sports network created and owned by Time Warner Cable (which was then absorbed into Charter Communications). But most viewers in southern California can’t get SportsNet LA, which is only carried by Charter; other cable and satellite companies, most prominently DirecTV, have refused to pay the additional fees (or, rather, push the fees onto their customers) in order to get the channel. As such, for the last four seasons, Dodgers fans who want to watch the game locally have two options: Switch to Charter, or go to Dodger Stadium. Everyone else is blacked out. With that in mind, it’s easier to understand why Dodgers fans may not be all that invested in players when, by and large, they can’t even watch them play. Without games available on cable or via MLB’s streaming service, MLB.tv (which blacks out local customers regardless of whether or not they have a viable TV option), there’s no real way for fans to make a connection—and without that, no real incentive or push to vote. Does that make Jansen right to call out the fans? Ultimately, they’re the only people he can blame, though it’s still a bizarre choice on his part to make those words public. The fans aren’t to blame for being unable to watch games from the comfort of their home or on the cable or satellite provider of their choice. All they can do is sit and hope that all sides involved in this greedy and stupid battle can come to terms on something reasonable and affordable before they lose out on yet another season of baseball. Or maybe Dodgers fans just don’t care about All-Star Game voting. Other fanbases were equally absent: Take the Red Sox faithful, who failed to show up in any kind of force for AL MVP runner-up Mookie Betts in the outfield voting despite another stellar season; he made the team as a reserve. Red Sox fans have been able to watch their team on TV for ages, and yet they didn’t turn out for one of the league’s best and most telegenic young players. And yet there are no Red Sox players blasting the fanbase to the media, mostly because All-Star Game voting is a silly enterprise all the way around. Ultimately, trying to figure out why a group of fans does or doesn’t do something is like trying to read tea leaves: You can make all the guesses you want, but there’s no definitive answer. After all, fanbases

aren’t some monolithic block where everyone acts in perfect concert. And it wasn’t just the fans who failed Turner: The players and managers who choose the roster reserves also passed him over in favor of Lamb. (It doesn’t help that third base in the NL is probably the deepest and best position in all of baseball, either.) But it’s hard to imagine the support being there for Turner, Seager, Jansen or anyone else in Los Angeles when fans only get a good look at them a few times a month. That’s not their fault, but it is unfairly their burden to carry.