justin wrobleski

SAN DIEGO — Andrew Friedman got the last laugh last year, and another ring. At the trade deadline, you screamed he had to do SOMETHING BIG to get a left fielder and a closer. He did neither. The Dodgers rode a parade of starters to win Game 7 in Toronto, before they rode in a parade in L.A.

There are few things Friedman despises more than a deadline trade. The price in prospects is too high, the guarantees are too few.

Friedman might well face that same dilemma this year. We are two months from the trade deadline, and he just might need to trade for a starting pitcher by then.

Blake Snell undergoes elbow surgery Tuesday. Tyler Glasnow is back to square one in his recovery from back spasms. The Dodgers believe both will be back by the trade deadline, but you never really know for sure when an injured pitcher will return, and whether he will need some time thereafter to regain his sharpness.

There is something else Friedman despises: finishing second. It is not just about getting into the playoffs. It is about winning the National League West, with one of the two best records in the league, thus ensuring a first-round bye.

However, in a division race that was projected to be a runaway, the Dodgers find themselves in second place. With a 1-0 loss in San Diego Monday, the Padres leapfrogged the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West.

The Dodgers also figure to have a short time frame to determine whether they might need bullpen help at the trade deadline. The Dodgers have said closer Edwin Díaz is expected to return from elbow surgery sometime after the All-Star break, which would confine that time frame to two weeks, if that.

On Monday, Friedman said he was confident that the three key pitching injuries would not push him toward the July trade market.

“It’s more that the timing of the injuries would be way easier if they were spaced out,” Friedman said in a text message. “Obviously, injuries are part of the game and we can’t be shocked when it happens.

“It’s the overlapping nature that is tough in the moment, but that doesn’t really change July thoughts (at this point) or October outlook.”

In the third week of May, nothing is urgent.

The Dodgers are supplementing where they can, picking up three pitchers cut by their former clubs. The only one with name recognition: Eric Lauer, who posted a 6.69 earned-run average for the Toronto Blue Jays and complained about the team using an opener ahead of him.

The Dodgers can mix and match for awhile, but a team that prides itself on positioning its starters best for October success finds itself in an awkward position.

With Snell and Glasnow out, the Dodgers have little choice but to ask Shohei Ohtani, Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki to take regular turns. No one but Yoshinobu Yamamoto has done that recently.

“You have to deal with the circumstances that are presented to you,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re not pushing any of these guys right now. It could be a different conversation in September.

“Right now, they’ve got to take the baseball. In May, I don’t think it’s much cause for concern.”

Before the season, Fangraphs projected the Dodgers to win the NL West by 15 games, and to finish 17 games ahead of the fourth-place Padres. However, if what we see in the NL West right now is close to what we get all summer, that “different conversation in September” could involve not how to put a starter on a glide path toward October but whether that starter has exhausted himself to the point where he could not be counted on in an unexpected pennant race.

Ohtani is on pace to pitch 149 innings, a figure he last reached in 2022. He pitched 47 last year, none the year before.

Wrobleski is on pace to pitch 171 innings, 39 more than the professional high he set last season. He pitched 117 innings last year.

Sheehan is on pace to pitch 141 innings, 18 more than his professional high. He pitched 93 innings last season, none the year before.

Sasaki is on pace to pitch 137 innings, eight more than his professional high. He pitched 57 innings last season.

Maybe Lauer turns from a Dodger killer into a Dodger asset. Perhaps prospect River Ryan gets promoted into the starting rotation next month and sticks.

But July trades for starting pitchers need not be such a scary proposition. Friedman acquired Yu Darvish at the trade deadline in 2017 and Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline in 2024, and no one in Dodger Land is bemoaning the loss of Willie Calhoun, Trey Sweeney and Thayron Liranzo.

ST. LOUIS — Enough was enough.

The Dodgers entered Sunday on a four-game losing streak, with a lack of offense undermining solid performances from the pitching staff. They were on the verge of being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals, after losing a series to the Miami Marlins in Los Angeles.

“When it gets to a certain point, we do a good job of kind of nipping it,” manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 4-1 win. “And today is one of those days that … we’ve got to find a way to win a game. And whatever it takes, we’re all prepared to do that. And if you look at the track record, we’ve done well in moments like this.”

It took a second straight start of six scoreless innings from Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski, along with the bullpen holding St. Louis to one run.

That was enough to make the Dodgers’ offensive contributions count. Though it was far from an onslaught, the four runs were the most they scored in a game since Monday.

“Offensively we just haven’t been very good the last week,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said after the game. “Just call a spade a spade sometimes. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. We just haven’t been very good, and we’ve got to be better.

“Luckily, Wrobo, our starting pitching has been amazing. They deserve a lot more than they’ve gotten over the last two weeks. So it’s on us to start scoring some more runs. We know we’ll be fine. I understand you guys gotta ask these questions, but no one’s worried in here. And good to get a win on a day game, salvage a series, and hopefully start a better streak [Monday] in Houston.”

The Dodgers (21-13) still dropped the series to the Cardinals (20-14) and are 7-9 over the last 2½ weeks. They’ve won only one of their last five series.

Offense lacking power

Hyeseong Kim follows through for an RBI single in the second inning for the Dodgers against the Cardinals on Sunday.

(Scott Kane / Associated Press)

The Dodgers extended their homerless streak to six games. Since April 21, they’ve hit only three home runs.

“Very surprised,” Roberts said. “And honestly, we haven’t really come close, either. So yeah, I’m surprised. It’s a team that, we can slug. I think a little bit is some of the passivity, the carefulness. And there’s going to be some swing-and-miss there, that’s just in a lot of our hitters, anyway. But what you don’t want is guys to be careful and cautious.”

The Dodgers on Sunday got an RBI double from Andy Pages and RBI singles from Freeman, Hyeseong Kim and Alex Call.

An illness swept through the clubhouse during the slump. But one of the hitters who was hit the hardest, third baseman Max Muncy, has continued to produce.

He went 10 for 17 with four home runs in Colorado. And even after cooling slightly, he entered Sunday with a team-best .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over the last 11 games, then had a hit and a walk and scored.

“There are times where he probably could have and should have had some days off in the middle of this,” Roberts said. “But he hasn’t. He’s had the one day off and then a half-game. But I’m really impressed with the way he’s persevered and got to the other side of it.”

Rotation battle heating up

Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski delivers against the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning Sunday.

(Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)

After Emmet Sheehan battled mechanical problems and gave up four runs in 4⅔ innings Friday, and Roki Sasaki authored his first quality start of the season Saturday, Wrobleski upped the ante. On Sunday, he improved his earned-run average to 1.25 over six games.

Wrobleski’s first outing of the season was in long relief, when the Dodgers needed only five starters because of days off early in the schedule. He hasn’t give up more than one run in any of his five starts since and is 5-0. And after throwing five innings in his first start, he’s pitched through at least the sixth in every game.

“He’s got a good pace to him, puts the ball in play,” Roberts said. “And obviously he’d like to get some more swing-and-miss, but those guys are swinging the bats and hitting at guys, and a lot of soft contact. I just like the way the guys stay involved behind him. And every single time he takes the baseball, we have an opportunity to win a game, most importantly.”

Efficiency and pitching to contact are Wrobleski’s calling cards, and he took that to the extreme Sunday when he navigated six innings without a strikeout.

“I had a lot of two-strike counts and they kept putting it in play,” he said with a smile. “I was, ‘All right, I’ll take the out.’”

When the time comes to clear a spot in the rotation for rehabbing left-hander Blake Snell, the Dodgers’ decision won’t be based solely on results. But Wrobleski’s strong showing to begin the season, and versatility in multiple roles, has all but guaranteed him at least a spot on the roster for the foreseeable future.

Injury updates

Dodgers minor-league affiliates have hosted a rush of rehab outings recently.

On Saturday, reliever Brusdar Graterol (shoulder surgery) played his first game since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. Throwing an inning for triple-A Oklahoma City, he retired the side in just eight pitches, recording one strikeout.

“He hasn’t pitched a whole lot in the last two, three years, so his buildup needs to be methodical,” Roberts said. “I’m looking forward to him getting going.”

Snell (shoulder fatigue) threw four innings for Oklahoma City in his third rehab start Sunday, and Brock Stewart (shoulder surgery) faced three batters after pitching on back-to-back days last week.

The Dodgers claimed a series victory over the Chicago Cubs with a 6-0 win on Sunday.

Their offensive surge from the previous game carried over into the first inning.

Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández remained patient against Cubs rotation-leader Shota Imanaga, both drawing walks. Then Andy Pages hit a sacrifice fly, Kyle Tucker doubled and Miguel Rojas drove in two runs, to give the Dodgers (19-9) a 3-0 lead.

Neither team scored for the next four innings.

Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski navigated early command issues, issuing three walks in the first two innings before finding his rhythm to get through six frames without allowing a run. He limited the Cubs (17-11) to four hits.

The Dodgers’ bats came alive again in the sixth. Pages led with a double and Kyle Tucker drew a walk, setting up Dalton Rushing’s RBI single through the right side of the field. Tucker later scored on an errant back-pick attempt by Cubs catcher Carson Kelly.

Kyle Tucker scores for the Dodgers in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

The next inning, designated hitter Shohei Ohtani homered for the first time in two weeks, suggesting the end of his short-lived slump.

Dodgers relievers Edgardo Henriquez, Jack Dreyer and Kyle Hurt completed the shutout.

Will Smith sidelined

Dodgers catcher Will Smith was out of the lineup for the second straight game because of lingering back tightness, according to manager Dave Roberts.

“It’s one of those where he could play if needed,” Roberts said. “But we just thought it was smart to give him an extra day.”

Roberts said the Dodgers were not considering putting Smith on the injured list and hoped he would return to the lineup Monday against the Miami Marlins. It helped that backup catcher Rushing entered Sunday batting .400 with seven home runs in just 11 games.

“You weigh out the positives and negatives,” Roberts said. “But Dalton going the way he’s going, it just only seems like downside to push [Smith] now.”