MILWAUKEE — Andy Pages’ booming two-run blast off Milwaukee Brewers reliever Shane Drohan capped a four-run fifth inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday afternoon and served as the exclamation point to an all-around strong road trip for the back-to-back champions.

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Thanks to seven innings of one-run ball from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers rolled to a 5-1 victory over the Brewers to cap a 7-2 record over a three-city swing that also featured stops in Anaheim and San Diego, Calif. They improved to a season-best 13 games over .500 and have played some of their most consistent baseball this season.

Or as Kyle Tucker put it: “The pitching’s done a great job all year, just giving us the opportunity to stay in games, and then our offense has come through when we needed it too. So it’s been nice.”

It’s been pretty nice indeed for the Dodgers (33-20), who swept the Los Angeles Angels and won two of three against the San Diego Padres before taking the rubber match against the Brewers on Sunday. Their starting pitching has been an anchor — the rotation ranks third in the National League with a collective 3.23 ERA and is tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the most strikeouts (292) — but somehow the bullpen has been even stronger. After a team-wide slump, the offense is showing signs of life, even with a few stars still struggling. And another tough roster decision looms with the impending season debut of Kiké Hernández, who will join the Dodgers on Monday ahead of their three-game set against the Colorado Rockies.

Let’s break down the latest as the Dodgers head back to Los Angeles.

Max Muncy’s status is unclear

The Dodgers are awaiting clarity on Max Muncy’s availability after the third baseman left Friday’s game in the top of the eighth after being hit by a pitch from Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby. The pitch, a 95.5 mph sinker, caught Muncy on the right wrist. Though initial imaging came back clean, Muncy did not play Saturday or Sunday.

Muncy won’t play in Monday’s game either, manager Dave Roberts said. The Dodgers did not rule out secondary testing when the team returns to Los Angeles on Monday, though Roberts indicated he’d be surprised if Muncy lands on the injured list.

“We were kind of resolved to not having (Muncy) this weekend,” Roberts said Sunday morning. “My expectation is that he’s getting a little better today and tomorrow (he’ll) maybe swing a bat. But I don’t expect him in the lineup tomorrow.”

Still, with Kiké Hernández set to be activated off the 60-day IL on Monday, the Dodgers will need to make roster moves. If the swelling in Muncy’s wrist does not subside, or if it appears Muncy will need more time to recover, the Dodgers could place Muncy on the IL and backdate the designation, meaning the minimum number of games he’d miss would be seven instead of 10. That would buy the organization more time to make a decision on Santiago Espinal or Hyeseong Kim, the logical candidates for the corresponding roster move required to activate Hernández.

The Dodgers elected to keep Kim over Alex Freeland when Mookie Betts (oblique strain) was activated off the IL two weeks ago, citing an improvement in Kim’s quality of at-bats. Since then, Kim is 6-for-34 in 11 games, with spikes in his chase rate, whiff rate and strikeout rate, all indicating regression in his approach.

“He’s back to chasing,” Roberts said of Kim. “He’s passive when he shouldn’t be, and then he’s getting into bad counts. I don’t know if it’s a mechanical thing, but he’s been grinding the last — quite honestly, the last month it’s been kind of tough for him. … He’s preparing and competing, but right now it’s just not working.”

However, with Hernández serving as another right-handed bat to pair alongside Miguel Rojas off the bench, the Dodgers could be inclined to keep the left-handed Kim for optionality, especially because there is still a path for consistent playing time at second base even with Hernández returning.

But the Dodgers also value Espinal’s role as the 26th man, so much so that they restructured the advanced consent clause in Espinal’s contract and extended the deadline by which the club would need to pay the entirety of his $2.5 million deal. However, factoring in the necessary 40-man roster spot for Hernández on top of his addition to the active roster indicates Espinal is likely to be designated for assignment, especially if Muncy avoids the IL and the team sees an avenue for Kim to continue getting consistent reps.

“(Kim) will be a part of (the conversation),” Roberts said. “Obviously we’ve got to make a decision with Kiké. I’m hopeful Max is not going to be on the IL.

“You’ve got one spot, and you’re taking Espinal and seeing the value he brings to our ballclub and the coverage, and with Kim being an infielder. That’s kind of where we’re at, in all honesty. Love both those guys, but we’ve got to have a tough conversation.”

Hernández, who missed the first two months while recovering from elbow surgery last November, will resume his usual operations as the Dodgers’ super utilityman, though if Muncy lands on the IL, he could see the bulk of the reps at third base.

Teoscar
Hernández
has found
his groove

Not much went right during the first month for Teoscar Hernández. After a disappointing 2025 season, Hernández reported to spring training noticeably trimmer and switched positions from right field to left field to accommodate the acquisition of Tucker. Then he started the year with a .235 average and a .701 OPS through April with 31 strikeouts over 27 games.

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But Hernández has appeared to turn the page over the last few weeks. Over 20 games in May, he’s hitting .333/.410/.514 with three homers and 14 RBIs — including six in Saturday’s 11-3 win over the Brewers, tying a career-high.

“I’m just hitting the ball in the air, hitting it hard,” Hernández said after Saturday’s win. “That’s what you want as a hitter, and I think that’s what’s been the difference between the last two weeks (versus) the weeks before.”

Roberts had experimented with Hernández in several different spots in the batting order, but it wasn’t until Hernández was dropped to the eighth spot against the San Francisco Giants in early May that he started to see a turn in production. He said he doesn’t believe he’s being pitched differently based on where he hits, but that he’s started being more selective in the zone, leading pitchers to throw more pitches he can do damage with.

“I think they’ve been pitching me the same way they used to pitch me when I was hitting third or fourth, top of the lineup,” Hernández added. “I think they’re just realizing that I’m not swinging at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone, so I’m getting more opportunities for better pitches to hit.”

Hernández finding his swing comes at an optimal time, with both Betts and Will Smith scuffling. Since returning from the IL, Betts is just 7-for-43 with a .543 OPS. Smith is hitting just .211 with a .298 slugging percentage and a sub-.600 OPS in May. Roberts sat Smith on Friday and Sunday, citing the need for a reset, but Smith is expected to go back to handling the bulk of time behind the plate starting next homestand.

Kyle Hurt emerges as key right-hander as bullpen excels

When Edwin Díaz landed on the IL on April 20, it raised immediate concern about the Dodgers’ bullpen. Díaz was set to miss at least three months, leaving Los Angeles without a true closer until the second half of the season.

The bullpen responded, posting a collective 2.87 ERA since — the best mark in baseball. Thanks to a scoreless frame each from Will Klein and Tanner Scott on Sunday, Dodgers relievers have now logged 38 consecutive scoreless innings, a franchise record in the modern era. They have not allowed a run in 11 games, dating back to May 12 against the Giants.

What’s been especially notable about the streak is the quantity of relievers behind it. Los Angeles has used 12 different arms since May 12, with Scott and Edgardo Henriquez (5 1/3 innings) and Kyle Hurt (five innings) leading the charge. Hurt’s emergence as a high-leverage weapon from the right side has been a key development for the bullpen’s success sans Díaz.

That started before spring training, when the Dodgers told Hurt — who has experience as a starting pitcher — to focus solely on relief. As a starter, Hurt flirted with using a curveball to expand his arsenal. Assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness instructed Hurt to instead focus on the impact of a two-pitch mix between Hurt’s fastball and changeup.

“The Dodgers are really good at telling us what is good in our arsenal and when to use it,” Hurt said. ”So the mindset didn’t really change. It was just getting used to being a full-time reliever.”

Hurt’s average fastball velocity sits at 96 mph, compared to his changeup that clocks in on average at 88 mph. He has a slider that he’ll sometimes use as a first-pitch weapon, especially if his opponent struggles to pick up spin. But he rarely throws it. Of his total pitches this year, 61 percent have been fastballs and 35 percent have been changeups. Hurt has thrown the slider just seven times this season.

No matter how you break the mix down, it’s working. Hurt allowed an earned run in his season debut on April 15, shortly after he was recalled from Triple A when Ben Casparius went on the IL. Since then, he’s notched 14 consecutive scoreless innings, bringing his season ERA to a staunch 0.60. It’s been an impressive rise for the almost 28-year-old right-hander, especially after he missed almost all of 2025 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

“I’ve always been confident, but getting back here and getting comfortable is what I needed,” Hurt said. “In 2024, I was super ready to get the runway to be here for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I got hurt. I’m just happy the Dodgers stuck with me and kept me around after Tommy John. That shows they really saw something in me, and that helped me through the rehab process, too.”

Around
the horn

Tommy Edman (ankle surgery) was scheduled to face live pitching in Arizona over the weekend and is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week. It will likely be a lengthy stint for Edman, who has progressed slowly through baseball activities. When he does return, the Dodgers expect him to take the majority of reps at second base and to spell Pages in center field when needed.

Eric Lauer will make his Dodgers debut as the scheduled starter for Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies. He’ll slot in ahead of Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday to ensure Ohtani can maximize a full six days’ rest between starts. Wednesday’s start also lines up before a scheduled off day, which Roberts said remains a priority when planning Ohtani’s schedule. The skipper has not yet said whether Ohtani will hit on his next scheduled pitching start, but said he could elect to work in Ohtani’s starts on a seven- to eight-day schedule when the calendar allows.

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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