The Dodgers will face the Seattle Mariners Monday evening to begin a nine-game homestand following a 4-3 road trip that saw their lead in the National League West shrink to its smallest amount since April.
The San Diego Padres pulled within two games of the Dodgers on both Thursday and Saturday, but Dodger victories and Padres losses on Friday and Sunday made the lead grow back to three games.
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The Dodgers had a season-best nine-game lead June 18-20 and an 8 1/2- game lead as late as July 23. However, the Dodgers have been 12-11 for a .522 winning percentage while the Padres were 17-5, a .773 winning percentage, since then.
Rookie Gavin Stone will pitch for the Dodgers (73-52) Monday against fellow right-hander Bryan Woo. Stone is 10-5 with a 3.63 ERA. The Dodgers are 14-8 in his 22 starts.
Stone will be making his first start against the Mariners. He pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief at Seattle Sept. 17, allowing one hit, striking out five batters and walking two in a 6-1 victory for his lone save in four relief appearances.
Woo is 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA. The Mariners are 10-4 in Woo's 14 starts. Woo will be facing the Dodgers for the first time in his two-season major- league career.
Dodger designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is 2-for-3 with one home run, two RBIs and two walks against Woo.
Ohtani enters Monday's play second in Major League Baseball with 39 home runs, including one in each of the Dodgers' past two games, second with 73 extra-base hits, tied for second with 37 stolen bases and third with 296 total bases.
Ohtani is one home run and three stolen bases away from becoming the sixth player in MLB history -- and first Dodger -- with 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season.
Seattle (64-61) is second in the American League West, four games behind the division-leading Houston Astros and 5 1/2 games behind the Kansas City Royals in the race for the third and final American League wild-card berth.
Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman missed Sunday's 2-1 victory at St. Louis because of a jammed right middle finger sustained on a bad hop grounder Saturday. He is set to undergo a CT scan Monday. Manager Dave Roberts called Freeman "day-to-day."
The game will be former Dodger Justin Turner's first game at Dodger Stadium since leaving the team via free agency following the 2022 season.
The game is Hello Kitty Night, with the first 40,000 fans in attendance receiving a Hello Kitty plush. Hello Kitty will throw the ceremonial first pitch and be joined by what the team called "special guests" in making the "It's time for Dodger baseball" announcement.
The 7:10 p.m. game will be televised by SportsNet LA.
The homestand also includes three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays Friday through Sunday and Baltimore Orioles Aug. 27-29.
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