Are you ready for an All-Star game sans a single Dodgers position player?

Best get prepared. There will be no Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier on the team this season, nor does it appear there will be any other everyday Dodgers player.

The Dodgers probably will have starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, and possibly Hyun-Jin Ryu, on the National League squad. But if they expect to look around the clubhouse and find any other familiar face, they could be in for disappointment.

No Dodger has appeared among the top five vote-getters at any position in the ongoing All-Star voting, or among the top 15 in the outfield.

And, with possibly one exception, this is as it should be.

The last-place Dodgers have a better record than only five teams in the major leagues. They are the only team with a sub-.500 record (29-39) in the National League West.

They don’t have a single non-pitcher whose numbers demand he be placed on the All-Star team. The lone possible exception is Adrian Gonzalez, who leads the...

Not even the Pirates could right the Dodgers’ ship.

Pittsburgh was the one team the Dodgers had pretty much had their way with the past three years. The Dodgers had won six consecutive series against the Pirates, including a three-game sweep at home earlier this season.

No more, though. Not after Sunday’s 6-3 loss in Pittsburgh gave the Pirates the rubber game of the three-game series.

Zack Greinke started for the Dodgers and was a few scalpels shy of sharp. He lasted five innings, throwing 104 pitches. He gave up eight hits and a pair of walks.

Still, he was hanging in there through four innings — the game tied 2-2 — when he got into major trouble with two outs in the fifth.

Greinke (3-2) gave up a single to Garrett Jones and walked Neil Walker. After thinking he had struck out Pedro Alvarez on a 2-2 curve, he came back with another that was too far over the plate.

And it was soon over the wall in right-center for a three-run homer.

The beneficiary of all this...

PITTSBURGH — Manager Don Mattingly said he expects Yasiel Puig to remain in the major leagues for the remainder of the season.

Even when Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford return from the disabled list, Mattingly thinks there will continue to be enough at-bats for both Puig and Andre Ethier.

“I think there’s enough playing time for everybody in the outfield,” Mattingly said.

Puig started the season at double-A Chattanooga because of overcrowding in the outfield.

In the absence of Kemp and Crawford, Ethier has moved from right field to center. Puig has played in right.

Mattingly anticipates playing Ethier in center field when Kemp needs a day off. Kemp could be taking regularly scheduled days off when he returns, as Hanley Ramirez and Mark Ellis have since coming back from leg injuries.

Mattingly likes what he has seen from Ethier in center field.

“The jumps he gets and reads are really good,” Mattingly said. “Obviously, when Matt comes back, he plays...

PITTSBURGH — Clayton Kershaw said Sunday he was upset that news about his contract talks with the Dodgers had leaked out.

“I think the reason we’ve been able to continue discussions for this long is that it’s not been talked about,” Kershaw said. “And now that I’m having to talk about it, it’s a distraction because people are talking about it. I guess you’ll have to talk to the Dodgers as to why it came out now. I don’t love the fact that I have to talk about it.”

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Kershaw and the Dodgers are “making progress” on a seven-year extension that would be the most lucrative deal ever given to a pitcher. The contract would be worth more than $180 million, according to Rosenthal.

Kershaw blamed the leak on the Dodgers.

“We kind of had an agreement that we weren’t going to talk about it,” Kershaw said. “It didn’t come from our side.”

Kersha...

PITTSBURGH -- The last we heard anything about Clayton Kershaw’s potential contract extension, it was shortly after opening day, when The Times reported that nothing was imminent.

Well, it looks as if Kershaw and the Dodgers are moving toward a deal.

Exactly how close the two sides are remains unknown, but Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports is reporting they are “making progress” on a seven-year contract extension. Citing unnamed major league sources, Rosenthal is reporting the potential deal would be worth more than the record $180-million contract Justin Verlander signed with the Detroit Tigers this year.

Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti declined to comment on the report.

When spring training opened, Kershaw said he didn’t want to negotiate a new deal during the season. But that stance appears to have changed.

Kershaw will be eligible for salary arbitration next season. He will be eligible for free agency after the 2014 season. The Dodgers figure to want him...

Say this for the Dodgers, they may not win a lot, but when they do, they tend to make it interesting.

They seemed all set to win a routine game Saturday -- getting great starting pitching, a spurt of timely hitting and even a game-saving defensive play -- when things went astray in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Kenley Jansen, the newly appointed closer who had been pitching very well, gave up a game-tying home run to pinch-hitter Travis Snider.

Only this time the Dodgers shook off the disappointment and rallied for a pair of runs in the 11th inning to pull out a 5-3 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park.

The Dodgers scored off reliever Vin Mazzaro. Andre Ethier doubled to open the inning and was sacrificed to third base on a bunt by Mark Ellis. Juan Uribe singled home Ethier with the go-ahead run. After a wild pitch, pinch-hitter Nick Punto doubled in Uribe.

The Dodgers then had to survive a sketchy bottom of the inning. The Pirates had the tying runs at second and third bases with...

Ronald Belisario returns Saturday from his one-game suspension, and that’s a good thing, right?

It could be very good. Or it could be nothing but trouble.

Belisario has been wildly inconsistent this season. He’s had both horrific and terrific stretches. And right now, he’s in the midst of the former.

In his last five games, Belisario has surrendered 11 hits and eight runs while striking out four in 4 1/3 shaky innings for a 16.62 earned-run average. In his 10 games previous to that, he gave up just one earned run in 9 1/3 innings (0.96 ERA).

Overall, he has hardly been the dominant reliever the Dodgers thought they had back in the fold last season when he went 8-1 with a 2.54 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and was striking out 8.7 per nine innings.

This season overall he is 3-5 with a 4.94 ERA, a 1.81 WHIP and is striking out 7.0 per nine innings. Belisario said he is healthy, and is uncertain why he is struggling, particularly right now.

“I don’t know,” Belisario...

The Dodgers’ refrain: Wait until we get our guys back! Wait for the cavalry!

The first wave came Friday, and for one night, the new Dodgers looked a lot like those old Dodgers.

Offense continued to be mere rumor, the Dodgers going meekly in a 3-0 loss to the Pirates and left-hander Jeff Locke in Pittsburgh.

Shortstop Hanley Ramirez started his first game since June 5, the Dodgers nursing his return from a strained hamstring. Catcher A.J. Ellis was activated from the disabled list Friday, recovered from a strained oblique.

That left the Dodgers down only two starters, though significant ones in outfielders Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford.

But Ramirez and Ellis could add nothing to the Dodgers’ feeble attack, combining to go 0 for 7. Ellis struck out in all three of his at-bats.

The rest of the Dodgers could do little with Locke, who went seven smooth, easy innings for the Pirates. Locke (6-1) held the Dodgers scoreless on only two hits, walking one and striking out five. He...

PITTSBURGH – Major League Baseball was too lenient with Ian Kennedy.

That was the consensus in the Dodgers’ clubhouse Friday, after players and coaches learned of the punishment issued by Major League Baseball for the violent brawl against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kennedy was suspended for 10 games. The Diamondbacks pitcher hit Yasiel Puig in the face and struck Zack Greinke on the shoulder. Earlier, Greinke had hit Miguel Montero on the back.

“It should be 10 starts,” J.P. Howell said. “He’s an idiot. That’s stupid.”

The Dodgers were upset that Kennedy threw near Greinke’s head.

Some players privately called Kennedy a coward for walking away from the mound as the benches cleared.

“I don’t want to talk about that guy,” reliever Ronald Belisario said.

Belisario continued to say that the Dodgers’ feud with the Diamondbacks wasn’t over.

“Everybody knows it’s not over yet,” Belisario...

The Dodgers designated catcher Ramon Hernandez for assignment Friday, which if mildly surprising, is still a good sign.

The choice came down to either sending down Tim Federowicz or designating Hernandez. And however painful, the better choice for a team that is still acting like it wants to win now is to keep Federowicz.

This means the Dodgers received precious little in exchange for right-handed starter Aaron Harang, the pitcher they sent to the Rockies early in the season for Hernandez. If that’s a slightly bitter pill, it’s the one to swallow right now.

Federowicz started 10 of 14 games while starter A.J. Ellis was on the disabled list. Ellis (oblique) was activated Friday, meaning the Dodgers had to do something with the extra catcher. Carrying three on the active roster is almost unworkable, though the Dodgers did it for a period this season.

But Federowicz clearly showed he was at least the equal to Hernandez behind the plate and batting, and he’s the one with...

Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday was suspended 10 games for throwing at the Dodgers' Zack Greinke, the event that triggered an on-field brawl between the teams Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

Of the eight suspensions announced by Major League Baseball on Friday, Kennedy drew the longest one. Three Dodgers players were suspended -- pitcher J.P. Howell and utilityman Skip Schumaker for two games each, and pitcher Ronald Belisario for one game.

Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig, who was ejected from the game after the fight, was fined but not suspended. Greinke also was fined but not suspended.

Mark McGwire, the Dodgers' hitting coach, was suspended for two games. Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly was suspended for one game.

Managers and coaches cannot appeal, so McGwire and Mattingly are suspended immediately. If a player appeals, his suspension is put on hold until the appeal can be heard.

The Dodgers also were fined because at least two players on the disabled list -- pitchers Josh...