NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar outfielder Mookie Betts' hip injury has been diagnosed as a bone spur. 

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Friday that surgery is not being considered at this point, and they are still taking a day-to-day approach with Betts. 

The Dodgers placed Betts on the 10-day injured list Wednesday. He was a late scratch from Tuesday's lineup against the Philadelphia Phillies because of lingering hip problems. 

The 28-year-old has endured an injury-plagued 2021 season. Betts missed time during the early stages of the campaign because of back, wrist and shoulder injuries, and he's landed on the injured list twice since the All-Star break amid lingering hip problems.

The five-time All-Star has remained productive when healthy, compiling an .899 OPS with 17 home runs through 87 appearances this year.

While the Dodgers have tested out a variety of different lineups in order to keep their best hitters on the field as others rest, including Betts at second base, things are more straightforward when he's out, as Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger and AJ Pollock are in the outfield and Trea Turner at second.

Los Angeles' talent level is clearly enough to keep the club on pace for the postseason, but if Betts isn't at full strength come playoff time, the Dodgers' chances of a repeat will take a hit.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are hoping a stint on the injured list will give Mookie Betts enough time to rest the nagging right hip injury that's had him in and out of the lineup lately.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Wednesday that Betts will head back to L.A. that night to begin his rehab plan:

#Dodgers manager says Mookie Betts is going on the IL today (sore right hip). He'll fly back tonight with his family to LA. "Hopefully with some rest, he'll respond well."

— Dan Gelston (@APgelston) August 11, 2021

Betts was pulled from Friday's contest against the Los Angeles Angels in the sixth inning because of hip discomfort, was back in the lineup Saturday, out Sunday and again Tuesday despite the Dodgers having an off-day Monday.

Through 87 games, the outfielder—who has recently also spent time at second base—is slashing .277/.378/.521 with 17 home runs and 44 RBI.

Mookie Betts will get another opinion on his hip with doctors back in Los Angeles, but is going on the IL. They're hoping rest can help it respond well.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 11, 2021

Betts went on IL for the first time in three years on July 25 when his hip became too much to manage with general day-to-day treatment. Now Roberts and the outfielder agree another stint may help keep him fresher down the stretch.

"As far as symptomatically, it is what it is," Roberts said. "It's difficult for him to navigate and move around. We're making this move because we still have to have a functional roster. To get him some rest, that's the next, no-brainer step for us."

Right-handed reliever Edwin Uceta is being recalled in a corresponding move.

In the meantime, the Dodgers are 68-45, four games back of the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West and three games up on the San Diego Padres, who are right behind L.A. in third.

The team's East Coast road trip continues Wednesday with the second of three games against the Philadelphia Phillies followed by four contests against the New York Mets at Citi Field. The Dodgers return home Monday to face the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Look for Billy McKinney, Matt Beaty, Cody Bellinger and Trea Turner to see some opportunities in the outfield while Betts is recovering.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters before Tuesday's game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies that a stint on the injured list "is very probable" for star outfielder Mookie Betts.

He was a late scratch from the game due to a sore right hip. 

Hip inflammation forced the five-time All-Star to go on the injured list in July. The injury added to what he described as a "bad" season by his usual standards.

Of course, plenty of players around MLB would settle for a "bad" year like this. Through 87 games, Betts is batting .277 and slugging .521 with a 141 OPS-plus, per Baseball Reference. He also has 17 home runs and 44 RBI.

Into early May, the Dodgers were falling short of expectations when they slipped to 17-16. They've since put themselves in a good position to return to the playoffs, and they didn't leave anything to chance by adding Max Scherzer and Trea Turner ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

Even for a team with the depth Los Angeles has in its lineup, losing Betts clearly makes the offense worse. But manager Dave Roberts still has some stars on whom he can rely to cover for the 28-year-old's absence.

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is day-to-day after leaving his team's 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday with left groin discomfort.

"He'll be down for a few days and then we'll re-evaluate," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

As Blake Harris of True Blue LA noted, Turner appeared to injure himself in the top of the second inning after he fielded a ground ball to his right and threw across the diamond to get Angels shortstop Jose Iglesias out.

What a play by @redturn2!

Catch the rest of @Angels-@Dodgers FREE on @MLBTV. pic.twitter.com/lCMNu3MjNS

— MLB (@MLB) August 8, 2021

The 36-year-old finished the second inning at third base, but Albert Pujols pinch hit for him in the bottom half of the frame. Pujols then took over at first while Max Muncy moved to the hot corner.

Turner reached base in the first inning on a fielder's choice and later stole second.

The oft-injured infielder has missed extended time in six of his previous seven seasons with the Dodgers because of various ailments. He missed 18 games in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.

The Dodgers are deep enough to withstand Turner's absence should he miss time, but his continued injury issues may hamper his excellent campaign. Turner remains a solid corner infielder when healthy, however.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without pitcher Clayton Kershaw until at least next month.

Manager Dave Roberts said he expects the southpaw to return from his forearm injury "sometime in September," per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

Kershaw last appeared in a July 3 victory over the Washington Nationals and has a 3.39 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 127 strikeouts in 106.1 innings this season. That he is still so effective at the age of 33 in his 14th season is particularly impressive, although the injury concern is lingering over the team at this point.

Fortunately for Los Angeles, it bolstered its rotation with a top-end acquisition by trading for Max Scherzer prior to the deadline. He can help cover for Kershaw until the future Hall of Famer is eventually ready to return.

Whether Kershaw is quite as effective when he does return remains to be seen, but the combination of him, Scherzer and Walker Buehler taking the mound in a playoff series is surely worrisome for the rest of the National League contenders.

Winning a series against the powerhouse Dodgers will require figuring out how to prevail against at least two of those starters, which is no easy task.

After all, Kershaw coming back from injury may just be the biggest question mark of the entire group, and he is an all-time great with a resume that includes an MVP, three Cy Youngs, five ERA titles and eight All-Star selections.

Yet the uncertainty on the timeline of his return raises questions that weren't there before, and perhaps meant more depth was needed. The team decided to add veteran Cole Hamels on Wednesday.

The Dodgers are still chasing the San Francisco Giants in the NL West and are four games back, but they at least have a cushion in the wild-card race. They are 3.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres for the top spot and seven games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the final spot.

That means a playoff spot will likely be comfortably in hand when Kershaw returns in September.

Warning: This story contains graphic allegations of sexual assault.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer will remain on administrative leave through at least Aug. 13. According to MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the league and the players association reached an agreement to extend Bauer's leave by another seven days on Thursday. 

Bauer had been on administrative leave since July 2 but it has already been extended multiple times, most recently to Aug. 6. 

Bauer has been under investigation by police and MLB after a woman filed an ex parte domestic violence restraining order petition in a civil court against Bauer on June 28 saying the 30-year-old physically and sexually assaulted her on two different occasions, according to Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang of The Athletic.

The woman said in the 67-page ex parte document that the two agreed to meet for sex twice, but she said she suffered injuries during the meetings that included "two black eyes, a bloodied swollen lip, significant bruising and scratching to one side of her face."

The woman's official filing stated Bauer strangled the woman "to the point where she lost consciousness multiple times," per Ghiroli and Strang. The woman also said she came out of consciousness to discover Bauer had penetrated her anally, which she said she had not agreed to.

The woman said she sought medical care for her injuries and was told there were signs of a basilar skull fracture, though Bauer's representatives said a later CT scan "found no acute fracture," per Ghiroli and Strang. She underwent a sexual assault response team examination and spoke with police about the assaults.

The pitcher has denied the allegations, with his agent Jon Fetterolf telling TMZ Sports that Bauer's relationship with the woman was "wholly consensual."

His legal team also issued a statement saying, "We continue to refute [the woman's] allegations in the strongest possible terms and Mr. Bauer vehemently denies her account of their two meetings. Her basis for filing a protection order is nonexistent, fraudulent, and deliberately omits key facts, information, and her own relevant communications. Any allegations that the pair's encounters were not 100% consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Attorneys for both Bauer and the woman agreed to delay a hearing on the restraining order to Aug. 16.

Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reported in July that "a majority of players do not want Bauer back under any circumstances" and that the player is "a pariah in his own clubhouse."

Los Angeles also reinforced the starting rotation without him by adding pitchers Max Scherzer and Danny Duffy in trades before the July 30 deadline.

Bauer signed a three-year, $102 million contract in the offseason after winning the NL Cy Young in 2020 with the Cincinnati Reds. He began the 2021 campaign with a 2.59 ERA and 1.003 WHIP in 17 starts, adding 137 strikeouts in 107.2 innings.

Los Angeles is looking to win back-to-back World Series titles, but the team currently sits in second place in the National League West.

Leave it to the angriest pitcher in Major League Baseball to give the Los Angeles Dodgers the kick in the pants they so badly needed.

And against their most hated rival, no less.

So after Scherzer capped off his dazzling debut in Dodger blue on Wednesday by firing a 95 mph fastball past Houston Astros outfielder Chas McCormick, the nearly 53,000 fans packed into Dodger Stadium justifiably gave the three-time Cy Young Award winner a standing ovation and then insisted on a curtain call.

A curtain call from the best fans in baseball. https://t.co/Qv6YJyL4xi

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 5, 2021

“To go out there and pitch well and to have the fans ask for a curtain call for me," Scherzer told reporters after the game, "I’ve never had that happen, so that’s a cool moment and something I’ll never forget.”

Scherzer's final line: seven innings, five hits, two runs, one walk and 10 strikeouts. And for the Dodgers, a 7-5 win that pushed their record to 65-44 and kept their deficit in the National League West to 3.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants.

Of course, the Dodgers didn't plan on being behind anyone by now. Not after claiming the NL West crown in each of the previous eight seasons, and especially not after winning two-thirds of their games and ending their 32-year World Series championship drought in 2020.

But if the blockbuster trade that brought Scherzer and fellow All-Star Trea Turner over from the Washington Nationals last Friday wasn't a turning of the tide in and of itself, what unfolded at Chavez Ravine on Wednesday night sure felt like it for these Dodgers.

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'Mad Max' Was as Advertised

Though nothing would have stopped the hype machine from being cranked up to maximum levels for Scherzer's first outing as a Dodger, he couldn't have drawn a more difficult assignment.

Ranking first in MLB in both batting average and on-base percentage and second in slugging percentage, the Astros offense is as good as it gets in 2021. And in spite of all the inflatable trash cans and NSFW jeers at stars Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve, the Astros showed in a 3-0 win on Tuesday that they're still very much the formidable enemy that faced and vanquished the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. 

As Houston reliever Blake Taylor, who wasn't even on the 2017 team whose sign-stealing scandal stoked widespread anger that obviously still burns especially hot in Southern California, put it:

“It takes a special player to put an Astros jersey on. If you’re not willing to withstand the craziness you’re going to get every time you walk onto the field, if you can’t handle it, it’s a tough gig. We’re going to go out there and have each other’s backs.”

Scherzer, though, left no doubt on Wednesday that he's also a special player even at the age of 37 and with over 2,500 major league innings on his right arm:

With a fastball that topped out at 97 mph, sliders and changeups that bent this way and that and more than a few obscenities and animated gestures worthy of his "Mad Max" moniker, Scherzer looked every bit like his vintage self on Wednesday.

Ultimately, he notched 10 strikeouts in a game for the fourth time this season and for the 92nd time since his first Cy Young Award-winning season for the Detroit Tigers in 2013. Nobody else has more than 74 since then.

Further, Scherzer's mastery of the Astros lowered his ERA for the season to 2.75 and upped his strikeout total to 157 over 118 innings. Like his excellent final start for the Nationals on July 29, it was also further proof that the right triceps soreness that resulted in him getting scratched from a start on July 24 is nothing to worry about. 

At his age, there isn't any guarantee Scherzer will avoid further injury trouble. But if he can, he might just claim the lead in an NL Cy Young Award race that has been wide open ever since New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was felled by a sore forearm.

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The Dodgers Needed That...Oh, and Also Mookie Betts' Homers

Lest anyone forget about the Dodgers' other big star in Wednesday's victory, Mookie Betts came through with what felt like an overdue multi-homer game:

Two homer night? Call that Mookie magic. https://t.co/h5LPx95cvv

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 5, 2021

In context of being named 2018 American League MVP and his runner-up finish in last year's race for the NL MVP, it still feels like Betts is having an off year. He was slow out of the gate offensively and has recently shifted from right field back to his old haunt at second base as a means to save himself from further nagging injuries. 

Yet Betts is suddenly red-hot, having gone 17-for-31 with six home runs in eight games since July 10. At 144, his OPS+ for the season is now nearly identical to the 149 mark he had in his first season as a Dodger last year.

If anything can mute the excitement that Dodgers fans are feeling after Scherzer's outstanding opening act and Betts' escalating level of hotness, it's...well, it's really two things.

For one thing, the Dodgers still aren't on a roll even after winning three of their last four games. They're only 9-9 since the All-Star break and 12-13 in their last 25 games overall. Go back even further, and they only have the 10th-most wins in baseball since an early 13-2 run had some wondering if they could break the all-time record for wins in a season.

The degree to which the Dodgers have underperformed largely traces back to the other thing: their problems with maintaining a fully functional roster are ongoing. 

Indeed, neither the club's trade for Scherzer nor its other pre-deadline deal for Danny Duffy nor its more recent agreement with Cole Hamels would have been necessary if ascendant fireballer Dustin May hadn't undergone Tommy John surgery in May or if Clayton Kershaw, the club's resident Cy Young Award winner and MVP, hadn't gone on the injured list with forearm inflammation in July. 

As for the Trevor Bauer situation, the Dodgers' $102 million free-agent signee has been on administrative leave since July 2 after allegations of sexual assault against him came to light. Even if the 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner technically is allowed to return this season, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reported that a "majority" of Dodgers players don't want him back.

Other problems the Dodgers have experienced include shortstop Corey Seager's weeks-long absence with a broken hand and what's looking more and more like a lost season for 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger. He's been on the IL twice with a broken fibula and hamstring tightness, and he's hit just .168/.267/.291 when he has been healthy.

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And Yet They're Still the Team to Beat

All of the above provides context for not only all the starts and stops the Dodgers have experienced since April, but also for how they've generally been rendered mortal by other good teams.

To wit, they're still under water against winning clubs even after Wednesday's victory:

Records against teams with .500 record or better:

Astros: 43-25
Dodgers: 23-26

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 4, 2021

From looking at the odds, though, you'd think the Dodgers haven't sustained so much as a scratch in 2021.

According to FanGraphs, their chances of winning the NL West are more than twice as good as those of the Giants. Out of all teams, the Dodgers also still have the best chance of anyone of making the World Series (38.5 percent) and of winning it (22.9 percent).

This is hardly a prophecy that the Dodgers are indeed meant to win the NL West and then go on to their second straight Fall Classic. But sort of like how Lord of the Rings isn't defined by Frodo not wanting to destroy the one ring, these numbers are a handy reminder that a team isn't necessarily defined by its lowest points.

Simply trading for Scherzer and Turner was the Dodgers' way of saying they've just about had enough of low points. They've already gotten a big boost from one of those two, and now it's only a matter of time before the other provides yet another boost for an offense in which Betts is but one of a half-dozen well-above-average hitters.

So even though they've never been out of it at any point in 2021, "Here come the Dodgers" is an appropriate thing to say right now. Any team that would keep them from going even further had better be ready for a fight.

Lawyers for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, who remains on administrative leave from Major League Baseball after a woman said he sexually assaulted her, released text messages Tuesday in an effort to prove the interactions were consensual.

Richard Winton of the Los Angeles Times reported the text messages were some the woman exchanged with both the pitcher and others.

Winton provided further details:

In one text exchange between the woman and her cousin following the incident in May, she attached a photo of her injured face.

In response to the photo, the cousin wrote, 'As long as it is consensual, I don't have to kill him.'

The woman replied, 'It was consensual, but I didn't like the two black eyes ?? Look, he (definitely) took it too far. don't you think lol.

The woman's attorney, Bryan Freedman, issued a statement in response:

Mr. Bauer's defense team is deliberately twisting the tone of text messages exchanged with an assault victim within hours of her being attacked to try to minimize the long-lasting impact on her physical and mental well-being to this day.

In case after case, the law is extraordinarily clear: supposed 'consent' of the victim is not a defense to assault and battery, especially when it results in bodily harm, but, to be clear, this victim did not consent to be punched in her face, punched in her head, punched in her buttocks or repeatedly punched in her vagina.

Winton noted the woman previously received a temporary restraining order against Bauer.

"In seeking the restraining order, the woman has acknowledged in court papers that she consented to having sex with Bauer, but has accused him of going far beyond her comfort zone, saying he choked her unconscious and then abused her on a night in May," Winton wrote. "She also alleges he sodomized her without her consent during an earlier encounter in April, according to court records."

Bauer's team has said all the encounters were consensual.

Winton provided more details from court filings that revealed the woman said she underwent scans of her brain, face and neck at the hospital following the May encounter and also said she suffered "two black eyes, a swollen jaw and cheekbones, a split lip and bruising near her vagina, on her gums and her head."

Police are currently investigating. Bauer could face a suspension from MLB even if he is not charged with a crime.

MLB first announced on July 2 that he was placed on administrative leave. It has extended that leave multiple times and could look to do so again if it is agreed upon with the players' association.

Last month, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reported "a majority of players do not want Bauer back under any circumstances" within the Dodgers clubhouse. He has not appeared in a game since June 28.

Los Angeles signed him this past offseason after he previously pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland and the Cincinnati Reds.

After acquiring Max Scherzer and Danny Duffy at the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly aren't done adding pitchers. 

Veteran southpaw Cole Hamels agreed to a one-year contract with the Dodgers on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. Hamels will be guaranteed a prorated $1 million in the deal, earning an additional $200,000 for every start he makes, per ESPN's Buster Olney (h/t Gonzalez).

The 37-year-old passed his physical on Wednesday.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported the initial news that a deal was close.

Injuries limited Hamels to one start with the Atlanta Braves in 2020. He allowed three runs in 3.1 innings on Sept. 16 against the Baltimore Orioles. 

He's been a free agent since the offseason and has gone unsigned. The four-time All-Star did hold a showcase event in front of team scouts last month. 

Per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, Hamels threw two 30-pitch bullpen sessions in Texas on July 16.

"His fastball averaged 88.5 mph but touched 90 mph. He threw each of his secondary pitches," Zolecki wrote. "They had good action, although his location wasn’t sharp. Friday could be considered the beginning of spring training for him, so velocity and command are expected to improve with time."

The Dodgers have seven pitchers on the injured list, including Duffy and Clayton Kershaw, who have both had forearm trouble. Trevor Bauer's administrative leave is set to end Aug. 6, but Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association could extend it for a fourth time as he remains under investigation after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her.  

Kershaw had been expected to return from forearm inflammation soon, but manager Dave Roberts told reporters last week the three-time National League Cy Young winner experienced “residual soreness” after throwing a simulated game July 28. 

Hamels was an effective starter in his last full season with the Chicago Cubs in 2019. The southpaw posted a 3.81 ERA with 143 strikeouts in 143.2 innings over 27 starts. 

It's not clear when Hamels might join Los Angeles. Gonzalez noted Hamels will report to Dodger Stadium to throw his next bullpen session and then will go to the team's spring training facility as he continues to build up his arm strength for the stretch run.

Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story had been one of the most discussed names on the trade market for months. A sinking Rockies team in an ultra-competitive National League West and his expiring contract made the 28-year-old a virtual lock to be moved at the deadline. 

Except that didn't happen. As Friday's MLB trade deadline passed, Story found himself staying put and isn't quite sure why. 

“I’m confused," Story told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. "And I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded."

Story was later scratched from Friday's lineup against the San Diego Padres.

Trevor Story was scratched from the Rockies lineup tonight in San Diego.

— Nick Groke (@nickgroke) July 31, 2021

While Story is having a notably down year at the plate, he's still slashing .240/.312/.429 with 13 home runs, 17 stolen bases and 48 RBI in 89 games. That's without much power around him in the Rockies lineup. 

Speaking to reporters after the deadline, interim general manager Bill Schmidt said the team wasn't impressed enough with offers for Story and chose to keep him in Colorado for the rest of the season, then deal with the fallout over the winter. 

"With what we were offered, we thought the [competitive balance] pick was better suited for us and we could have Trevor on our team for another two months," Schmidt said. "If [any deals] were close, we probably would've got to the finish line."

Schmidt also chose to take starter Jon Gray off the market because the team believes it can re-sign him this offseason. 

The Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and New York Mets were all reportedly interested in Story at various points before the deadline, but those clubs were able to fulfill their needs by trading with other clubs. 

Chicago acquired second baseman Cesar Hernandez from Cleveland, the Rays added Nelson Cruz and Jordan Luplow in separate deals, the Yankees pulled off blockbuster moves for Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo and the Mets acquired Javier Baez from the Chicago Cubs. 

Notably, each of those teams gave up a number of highly-touted assets to make the deals happen, which only adds to the intrigue over what the Rockies turned down. 

In all likelihood, Story will not be on the Rockies after this season. The only difference now is he'll have to do it in free agency.