PHOENIX — All-Star voting will start this week and the most deserving Dodger might have the least name recognition – Andy Pages.
Read more Angels’ Nolan Schanuel confident his ankle is improving
Going into a four-game series in Arizona, Pages led the major leagues with 50 RBIs, was tied for seventh in the National League with 13 home runs and 10th in OPS (.881) white batting .294. According to the Fielding Bible, only the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong (13) among MLB center fielders had more Defensive Runs Saved than Pages (12).
It’s enough to get a guy thinking about the All-Star Game.
“I do. I think last year at this point in time it was also on his mind and he pressed a little for that and it didn’t go well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So hopefully he can keep doing what he’s doing and let it take care of itself.”
A year ago, Pages entered July with numbers very similar to his current statistics – a .291 average, .828 OPS and 16 home runs. It will be harder to ignore him this year, but Roberts admits Pages could get overlooked in the Dodgers’ star-filled lineup – even if those stars have largely underperformed this year.
“I think it’s easy to be overlooked on this team, in this lineup,” Roberts said. “And also, you include a guy that doesn’t self-promote at all. Doesn’t say a whole lot. So he probably doesn’t get that same fanfare.”
Pages has ascended to a more prominent spot in the Dodgers’ lineup. He made his sixth start batting second on Monday against the Diamondbacks after touching every spot from third through eighth before this.
Pages said he tries to “do the same thing, try to have good at-bats” regardless of where he’s at in the lineup. But he acknowledged that “pitchers look at where you are in the lineup” and build a game plan accordingly.
“This year, I think the secret is out as far as game planning for him,” Roberts said. “They try to crowd him. He’s done a good job of staying away from that. They try to go up. He’s managed that. They’ve spun him and he’s really hit that. So I think they are. But I still think he’s got weapons to handle whatever approach.”
Pages has invested heavily in improving his plate discipline this season. That hasn’t been shown in the statistics – he is swinging at a career-high 35.1% of pitches outside the strike zone this year (up from 33.2 last year). But Roberts said Pages has handled the move up in the batting order.
Read more Scott Pelley of ’60 Minutes’ accuses CBS News head Bari Weiss of ‘murdering’ the show, report says
“I think there were a couple attempts early in the year where I felt he came out of his approach as a hitter and it didn’t go great,” Roberts said. “This time around I felt that he was in a better place to handle it. And I’m seeing the same approach. He’s staying within himself better this time around.
“And at the end of the day, I think he’s earning five at-bats a night.”
GRATEROL SURGERY
Reliever Brusdar Graterol posted to his Instagram account from a hospital bed again. This time, Graterol had just undergone back surgery on Sunday. The surgery is likely to end Graterol’s season before it even began.
“I know God has better things in store for me,” Graterol’s post read. “I am a warrior. I do not give up – I keep fighting. I love you all. This is not goodbye, it is ‘see you soon.’”
Graterol has not pitched in a major-league game since the 2024 World Series. He underwent shoulder surgery shortly after that and spent all of 2025 recovering. He experienced multiple setbacks and was slow to recover his velocity this spring. He finally went out on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment in May but made only four appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City before being shut down with a back injury.
The 27-year-old Graterol will be a free agent this winter.
DOUBLE DUTY
Roberts confirmed Monday that Shohei Ohtani will be in the lineup at DH when he makes his next pitching start on Wednesday. Ohtani has hit a leadoff home run in each of his past two pitching starts.
Since getting a day off following his pitching start against the San Francisco Giants on May 13, Ohtani has hit .386 (22 for 57) with five doubles, one triple, three home runs and 14 RBIs in 15 games.
“I think he’s locked in on some things mechanically,” Roberts said. “I think he’s as fresh as he’s been in awhile. His intent to use the big part of the field has helped. I think all of that has led to this nice run.”
UP NEXT
Dodgers (LHP Eric Lauer, 2-5, 5.95 ERA) at Diamondbacks (RHP Michael Soroka, 7-2, 3.25 ERA), Tuesday, 6:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
Read more Pentagon bars journalists from its press office, saying it has become a ‘classified space’