LOS ANGELES – The team with the best record in baseball will be well-represented at the All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Andy Pages joined Shohei Ohtani as starters in the National League lineup announced Saturday. Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named to the NL pitching staff as well, giving the Dodgers at least five All-Stars for the seventh year in a row.
Left-hander Justin Wrobleski – one of five pitchers with 10 victories and eighth in the National League with a 2.80 ERA – was not named to the initial pitching staff but would be a candidate to replace any pitcher who becomes unavailable to pitch in the game on July 14.
Freeman (10 selections), Ohtani (six), Muncy (three) and Yamamoto (two) are all repeat All-Stars. Pages earned his first selection, joining Philadelphia’s Brandon Marsh and Mets outfielder Juan Soto as starters in the outfield.
After getting off to a good start in 2025, Pages acknowledged he let the possibility of an All-Star selection get in his head and affect his play. He got off to a good start again this year and led MLB in RBIs well into the season.
“It wasn’t a goal for this year, but what happened last year – it was obviously my first year. When they announced everything (and he wasn’t chosen), I felt a little bothered,” Pages said in Spanish on Saturday. “But it was then that I understood that those things, none of us have any control over. It’s all in the control of the people who vote. That’s why this year I was more calm and simply doing what I can do.”
He went into Saturday tied for second in the National League in RBIs while batting .269 with an .808 OPS and playing Gold Glove-level defense in center field.
“It was something that until today wouldn’t be for certain,” Pages said. “I wanted to participate but that wasn’t in my control. I didn’t want to put it out there until I knew it was for sure.
“This is one of those things that … you feel proud of all the work you’ve done. It’s doing those little things that you think can make you better, keeping working, and trying to do the best every day.”
NO SHO
After leaving Friday’s game early with soreness in his right biceps, Ohtani was not in the starting lineup Saturday. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he is “hopeful” that Ohtani will be able to DH on Sunday.
“He got treatment last night. Today he feels considerably better,” Roberts said.
“If things trend the way we would expect, then he’ll be in there tomorrow.”
Ohtani is scheduled to start Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks but that could change if the Dodgers want to give Ohtani an extended break from pitching.
“I think the first step is how he feels tomorrow, and then the days forthcoming,” Roberts said. “We don’t need to make that decision today, tomorrow, the next day. So we have time. And I think for us it’s just more of reading and reacting on how he feels.”
CATCHING UP
Before Saturday’s game, the Dodgers swapped out their backup catchers, sending Chuckie Robinson back to Triple-A Oklahoma City and promoting Eliezer Alfonzo.
After nine years in the minor leagues, it is Alfonzo’s first big-league promotion and Roberts said he plans to give him his first big-league start on Sunday.
In 49 games with OKC this season, the 26-year-old switch-hitter hit .313 with an .814 OPS.
“We didn’t know initially how long Will (Smith) was going to be down, and so kind of the easy fix was Chuckie,” Roberts said. “As it became a little bit more extended, we just wanted to take this opportunity to put eyes on Eliezer.”
Smith has been out since June 5 with a neck injury. He has started throwing and hitting in the batting cage this week but won’t be back until after the All-Star break.
ALSO
Right-hander Evan Phillips completed his minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment with OKC and joined the Dodgers on Saturday. He will be activated from the injured list on Sunday. Phillips is returning from Tommy John surgery.
UP NEXT
Padres (LHP JP Sears, 1-1, 6.97 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Emmet Sheehan, 4-5, 5.08 ERA), Saturday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM