Dodgers Way Quick Hits: Kershaw, Toles, Trade Rumor Central

The Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres in the series opener last night by a score of 8-2.  The win pulled the Dodger to within a half-game of the first place Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Dodgers offense took a while to get going Monday night as they squandered multiple scoring chances to begin the game but eventually won easily by a score of 8-2.  Justin Turner went 3-5 and Andrew Toles made an immediate impact going 2-3 with a two-run double and scoring twice.  Toles started in centerfield and should get most of the starts against right-handed starters with Puig on the DL for several weeks at least.

Clayton Kershaw put together another solid start going six innings allowing just two hits and struck out five Padre batters.  Kershaw’s velocity on his fastball remained around 90-92 miles per hour throughout the course of the game.  The one difference in this start was that Kershaw had complete control of his slider and was able to work it on the inside and outside parts of the plate.  Kershaw is now 10-0 with a 0.89 ERA in his last thirteen starts against the Padres.  The Dodgers have won all thirteen of those games.

More from LA Dodgers News

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• Dave Roberts’ quote about Padres in NLDS should motivate Dodgers
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• Dodgers’ 2023 lineup without Trea Turner isn’t as impressive as it should be

Other news…

• With news that the New York Yankees are possibly pursuing Manny Machado, rumors broke out yesterday that the Dodgers are beginning to look into other position players.  Yahoo reported that the Dodgers are looking into Brian Dozier, Scooter Gennett, and Asdrubal Cabrera.  Of those three, Gennett is the only one that is not a rental as he is under team control via arbitration for one more season.
• Minnesota Twins beat writer Mike Berardino, also tweeted out that the Dodgers are doing their homework looking into Brian Dozier.  Berardino also listed Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison as another potential trade target. The Dodgers could also have interest in lefty reliever Zach Duke and former Diamondback reliever Fernando Rodney.  Neither option is particularly appealing but Duke has held left-handed hitters to a .200 average this season so he could be a good depth addition if Tony Cingrani suffers a setback in his recovery.

Next: Muncy and Trout battle for LA

• On the Manny Machado front, the daily change was that now the Yankees could possibly be pursuing Machado.  Just this past weekend there were rumors that the Dodgers were the front-runners for Machado and that the Brewers were the other team making a serious run at him.  The reports of the Yankees chasing Machado followed by the reports that the Dodgers are looking into other infielders feels a lot like a battle for leverage by both sides to get the other to cave in.