August 18, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) watches his solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports The Los Angeles Dodgers will have some extra support this week to stop their toughest opponent, as they kick off a three-game home series against the Seattle Mariners on Monday.
The Dodgers, who led the National League West by 8 1/2 games as recently as July 23, will enter the series with a three-game lead over the San Diego Padres and a four-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Los Angeles finished a 4-3 road trip with a 2-1 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. First baseman Freddie Freeman did not play because of a finger injury, but Shohei Ohtani hit his 39th home run and veteran Clayton Kershaw pitched six shutout innings.
“This road trip, every game has been a really close game for us and I think we’re playing really good baseball, doing what we want to accomplish, which is to win the division,” Dodgers veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said on the SportsNet LA broadcast. “It was an amazing job by everybody, not only this game but the whole series.”
To help for the stretch drive, the Dodgers are expected to activate infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman for the series opener on Monday. Third baseman Max Muncy (oblique) is expected to return on Monday or Tuesday. Edman was acquired by the Dodgers from the Cardinals at the trade deadline.
A former Gold Glove winner at second base who has missed this season with wrist and ankle injuries, the switch-hitting Edman has hit double-digit home runs in each of the past three seasons.
He’ll join Ohtani in the lineup, who also has 37 steals and is close to the Dodgers’ first 40-40 season.
The Dodgers will field rookie right-hander Gavin Stone. Stone (10-5, 3.63 ERA) made a 3 1/3-inning scoreless relief appearance against the Mariners last September, when he allowed one hit.
The Mariners’ trip will mark the return of former Dodger Justin Turner, who played nine seasons for his hometown club. He has since played with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and now the Mariners for the past two seasons.
This will be his first at Dodger Stadium since Turner left, but he has faced his former club the past two seasons, going 6-22 (.273) with two home runs and five strikeouts in six games.
The Mariners will field right-hander Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.06) on Monday. Woo has not allowed a run in three of his last four starts, including seven scoreless innings at Detroit on Wednesday in a game Seattle eventually lost 3-2.
Wu, a California native who is in his second major league season, will face the Dodgers for the first time.
“He has the ability to do it,” Mariners catcher Cal Raley said of Wu, according to the Seattle Times. “It’s just a matter of staying healthy, doing the work — preparing and doing all the things to keep his body right on his days off, finding a routine that works for him. That’s what I see. I think he just needs to master the process of doing it.”
Seattle, which has struggled offensively for some time, won 10-3 over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Raleigh, Josh Rojas and Dominic Canzone hit home runs, giving Seattle a hit from every player in the starting lineup.
Seattle outfielder/designated hitter Mitch Haniger missed Sunday’s game with a quadriceps strain and is now playing regularly.
–Field Level Media