Dodgers defeat the White Sox, 5-1
Ninth inning
White Sox: Right-hander Tayler Scott now pitching for the Dodgers. Andrew Vaughn doubled. Yoan Moncada grounded to the pitcher, who tried to get Vaughn at third and failed. First and third, one out. Jake Burger struck out swinging. Brusdar Graterol now pitching for the Dodgers. Yasmani Grandal flied to center, Vaughn scoring. Clint Frazier grounded to first.
Final score: Dodgers 5, White Sox 1
We go to the ninth, 5-0 Dodgers
Eighth inning
White Sox: Evan Phillips now pitching for the Dodgers. Tim Anderson lined to center. Andrew Benintendi grounded to first. Luis Robert Jr. struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Left-hander Tanner Banks now pitching for the White Sox. J.D. Martinez struck out on an automatic strike call. Miguel Rojas flied to left. Miguel Vargas grounded to second.
Score after eight: Dodgers 5, White Sox 0
Dodgers lead 5-0 after seven
Seventh inning
White Sox: Caleb Ferguson now pitching for the Dodgers. Yasmani Grandal popped to second. Clint Frazier, batting for Gavin Sheets, struck out swinging. Romy Gonzalez struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts doubled to center. Freddie Freeman struck out swinging. Will Smith struck out swinging. Jonny DeLuca, batting for Heyward, singled to right, with Betts thrown out at home trying to score.
Score after seven: Dodgers 5, White Sox 0
Dodgers extend lead to 5-0 after six innings
Sixth inning
White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. grounded to third. Andrew Vaughn struck out swinging. Yoan Moncada hit a bouncer to second. Freddie Freeman broke from the ball, then retreated to the bag. At the same time, Gonsolin raced to first to cover the bag. Vargas threw to Gonsolin, who was facing him, but he wasn’t at the base, Freeman was. Runner safe. Jake Burger struck out looking.
Through six innings, Gonsolin has given up two hits and walked two while striking out six. He has made 90 pitches, so that might have been his last inning.
Dodgers: Jason Heyward singled to center. Heyward took second on a wild pitch. J.D. Martinez walked. Left-hander Garrett Crochet is now pitching for the White Sox. Miguel Rojas, batting for Peralta, grounded to third, everyone safe on the third baseman’s fielding errror. Miguel Vargas flied to center, Heyward scoring, Martinez to third. James Outman struck out swinging. Chris Taylor fouled to first.
Score after six: Dodgers 5, White Sox 0
Dodgers lead 4-0 after five
Fifth inning
White Sox: Gavin Sheets struck out swinging. Romy Gonzalez struck out looking. Tim Anderson walked. Andrew Benintendi grounded to short, forcing Anderson.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts flied to center. Freddie Freeman struck out swinging. Will Smith fouled to right.
Score after five: Dodgers 4, White Sox 0
Dodgers lead by four after four
Fourth inning
White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. popped to first. Andrew Vaughn singled to left. Yoan Moncada grounded to first, forcing Vaughn. Moncada took second on a wild pitch. Jake Burger was hit by a pitch. Yasmani Grandal grounded to second.
Dodgers: David Peralta lined to left. Miguel Vargas singled to center. James Outman struck out swinging. Chris Taylor grounded to third.
Score after four: Dodgers 4, White Sox 0
It’s 4-0 Dodgers after three
Third inning
White Sox: Romy Gonzalez grounded to second. Tim Anderson grounded to short. Andrew Benintendi struck out looking.
Dodgers: Will Smith struck out swinging. Jason Heyward lined to short. J.D. Martinez grounded to short.
Score after three: Dodgers 4, White Sox 0
Dodgers maintain 4-0 lead through two innings
Second inning
White Sox: Yoan Moncada grounded to second. Jake Burger beat out a roller to short. Former Dodger Yasmani Grandal flied to center. Gavin Sheets popped to second.
Dodgers: James Outman struck out swinging. Chris Taylor singled to right. Mookie Betts lined to center. Freddie Freeman grounded to first.
Score after two: Dodgers 4, White Sox 0
Dodgers take 4-0 lead on homers by Will Smith and David Peralta
First inning
White Sox: Tim Anderson lined to right. Andrew Benintendi struck out looking. Luis Robert Jr. walked. Robert stole second. Andrew Vaughn lined to first.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts struck out swinging. Freddie Freeman walked. Will Smith homered to left-center. Jason Heyward singled to center. J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. David Peralta homered to center. Miguel Vargas grounded to second.
Score after one: Dodgers 4, White Sox 0
Tonight’s starting lineups
The starting lineups for tonight’s Dodgers-White Sox game:
Dodgers trying to piece together pitching plan in wake of Julio Urías injury
Julio Urías, who suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from a left-hamstring strain last week, threw aggressively on flat ground Tuesday afternoon, but he did not throw off a bullpen mound.
The left-hander, who has been out since May 18, hopes to throw off a mound later this week. Manager Dave Roberts said Urías will need a minor league rehabilitation stint before he returns to the rotation, with a goal of him being able to throw five innings and about 75 pitches in his first start back.
“We’re just trying to figure out when we can get him off the mound,” Roberts said before Tuesday night’s game. “Clearly today, he just kind of stretched out. The effort was really good, so that’s a good thing. I don’t know when he’s gonna get back on the mound, though.”
The Dodgers hoped Urías, who is 5-4 with a 4.39 ERA in 10 starts this season, would be able to return for Sunday’s series finale in Philadelphia, but they were forced to go with a bullpen game in a 7-3 loss to the Phillies.
Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to start Wednesday night against the White Sox, and Michael Grove is scheduled to pitch Thursday night. Roberts said Bobby Miller would start either Friday night or Saturday night against the San Francisco Giants, with the bullpen probably covering the game Miller doesn’t pitch.
If Tony Gonsolin comes out of Tuesday night’s start OK, he could start Sunday’s series finale against the Giants on regular rest. With off days next Monday and Thursday surrounding a two-game series against the Angels in Anaheim, the Dodgers shouldn’t have to use more than one bullpen game through next week.
“Bullpen games are not sustainable over the course of a long period of time,” Roberts said. “I think in their own right, they can be very positive. But I think we all agree it’s not sustainable, and we expect Julio back at some point. We’re just trying to do the best we can [on those days] to prevent runs.”
Max Muncy sidelined by mild left-hamstring strain
Max Muncy suffered a mild left-hamstring strain while running out a fielder’s-choice grounder in Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, and the third baseman is not in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox in Dodger Stadium.
Manager Dave Roberts said Muncy, who is batting .191 with a .797 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 18 homers and 45 RBIs, will undergo an MRI test Wednesday morning, but he did not expect the slugger to be put on the injured list. Muncy missed a game in late-May because of a cramp in the same hamstring.
“Is it more than a cramp? Yes, but I still think it’s very minimal,” Roberts said. “He’ll potentially be ready to come off the bench [Wednesday night], and the hope is he’ll be back in the lineup on Thursday.”
Dodgers seek bullpen improvements, but not necessarily a designated closer
Dave Roberts sat in the dugout, scanned the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup and tried to devise a late-game plan.
At the start of their recent six-game trip, the Dodgers had a three-run lead with nine outs to get at Great American Ball Park. Roberts knew the three relievers he wanted to use. But he and his staff still needed to choose how to best line them up.
In past seasons, such decisions were more straightforward: The Dodgers had a set closer (Craig Kimbrel last year, Kenley Jansen before him), a cast of reliable setup men (the role Evan Phillips served last season) and other right- and left-handed options to be deployed in specific, favorable matchups.
This year, however, the team is operating differently. The Dodgers have no designated closer. No set alignment leading up to the ninth inning.
Instead, they’ve tried rearranging their high-leverage pieces on a near-nightly basis.
And after some early-season struggles, then a short-lived turnaround, the bullpen is in danger of devolving into a mess again.
‘We lucked out.’ How Bobby Miller became the Dodgers’ newest pitching sensation
PHILADELPHIA — Two starts into his major league career, Bobby Miller was already looking for a change.
Weeks earlier, the Dodgers’ top-ranked pitching prospect had made a superb major league debut, holding the high-powered Atlanta Braves to one run in five innings.
Days later, the right-hander had looked even better, going six innings in another one-run outing against the rebuilding Washington Nationals in late May.
For a former late first-round draft pick with only eight starts in triple A, Miller had already surpassed initially modest expectations. Unleashing 100-mph fastballs from his 6-foot-5 frame, he was already on track to becoming the club’s latest rookie sensation.
Yet, he noticed an area for improvement — an opportunity to accelerate his ever-evolving development process, and add a little more polish to his rapidly improving game.
In his first two starts, the 24-year-old struck out just nine batters in 11 innings. While his sinking two-seam fastball was inducing soft contact and easy outs, he was seeking a complementary weapon to put more batters away.
“I know going into every game, guys are gonna be ready for my fastball,” said Miller, whose high-velocity heater has long overshadowed his secondary pitches. “I want to get to where they have to respect my other stuff too.”
Where does top prospect Diego Cartaya fit into the Dodgers’ future plans?
TULSA, Okla. — Diego Cartaya devoured a sandwich as he walked into the suite at ONEOK Field and noticed the high school baseball game happening below. He was told one of the teams was from Commerce, Mickey Mantle’s hometown. The Dodgers’ top prospect nodded. He continued eating. The factoid didn’t quite resonate.
Cartaya comes from a place far from this stop in Oklahoma, where tornadoes loom every spring and the Dodgers’ double-A affiliate serves as a downtown entertainment hub. Maracay is a Venezuelan city near the country’s Caribbean coast with a population of nearly 1 million. It is home to several prominent baseball players. Future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is its most famous export. Cartaya aspires to join the list.
“My goal is to be healthy and continue learning,” Cartaya said in Spanish. “Let them or God decide when it’s my opportunity to get there — whether it’s this year or next year or in two years or tomorrow.”