Thursday, May 21

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Ask some of Andy Pages' teammates to describe the rising star's greatest feats of late, and they go straight to superlatives.

Justin Wrobleski, after Pages laid out for a jaw-dropping catch that saved a run on Saturday night: "I thought it was a hit, and then I thought he might get there and then I was like, "Oh he's going to try.' And then he dove and he caught it, and I was like, 'That was the coolest thing ever.'"

Freddie Freeman, after Pages' epic nine-pitch at-bat against vaunted Padres closer Mason Miller on Tuesday night: "It was one of the greatest at-bats I've ever seen in person, and I've been playing a long time. That at-bat was incredible. … To hit 95 [mph] is hard, to hit 100 is even harder, to hit 102 is even probably the hardest thing to do, and to foul off 102s back to back, sliders at 87, 88 -- one of the best at-bats I've ever seen."

The only Dodger who's sounded more or less non-plussed about what Pages has done on the field is Pages himself.

Pages, speaking through interpreter Juan Dorado, made his incredible catch sound almost simple: "If I have a chance to make a play, I'm going to go out there and try to make a play, dive, not have any fear to make a play out there."

And he certainly had no qualms about taking on Miller, who was charged with his first loss in more than a year. Speaking in Spanish, Pages said, "He’s a good pitcher, but to me, he’s simply a pitcher who throws hard, and if you’re able to get on time against him, you can do damage against him."

Pages is not lacking in confidence, and the 25-year-old puts in the work to back that up. Early last season, there was a legitimate question of whether Pages could stick as the Dodgers' everyday center fielder. This year, it's fair to ask where the back-to-back champions would be without Pages' contributions with the bat and the glove.

By the end of last season, Pages was already starting to look like a star in the making after hitting .272 with 27 home runs, the most of any Dodger not named Shohei Ohtani. Then came the postseason, when Pages struggled to historic proportions. 

Pages recorded a .211 OPS, the lowest on record in a single postseason (min. 50 plate appearances). He was out of the starting lineup for the final two games of the World Series, although he made an impact as a defensive replacement in Game 7 with an unbelievable catch to send the finale to extras.

The way Pages responded -- by pouring himself into daily work to improve his plate discipline and get even better in center field -- told the Dodgers everything they needed to know about his makeup.

“I think the way he’s responded has proved he can come back," manager Dave Roberts said. "The first tell is he didn’t blame me or anyone else for not [starting] in Game 6 or Game 7. He took full responsibility that he wasn’t good enough -- but was ready when called upon. And I think that right there was the right way to handle it and allowed for him to kind of free himself up mentally to have a springboard of a season.”

Entering Wednesday, Pages had a 3.2 bWAR. His five outs above average ranked in the 96th percentile among qualified defenders, according to Statcast. He's getting on base at a higher rate than in his breakout 2025 season. There's still plenty of swing-and-miss in his game, but sometimes that just comes with the territory.

On a loaded Dodgers roster that features several of the past few offseason's top free agents, one of the most exciting players to watch is a homegrown talent. Eight years after signing as an amateur international free agent out of Cuba, Pages has positioned himself to become one of L.A.'s many stars.

Here are a few notable things to know about the Dodgers’ next opponent, the Brewers (29-18):

• Probable pitching matchups: RHP Justin Wrobleski vs. RHP Logan Henderson on Friday, RHP Roki Sasaki vs. RHP Robert Gasser on Saturday and RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. RHP Brandon Sproat on Sunday

• Brewers' injuries of note: Milwaukee's rotation is missing right-handers Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester. Lefty reliever Jared Koenig, who was called upon to neutralize L.A.'s lefty-heavy top of the order many times last year, is also sidelined with a UCL sprain.

• Big picture: It's a rematch of the NL Championship Series, which L.A. swept after going winless in six games against Milwaukee in the regular season. The Dodgers will take postseason success over midseason wins any day of the week -- but this year, they'll look to get in the win column vs. the Brewers before the calendar flips to October.

A pair of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects advanced in the Dodgers' system this week, as outfielder Mike Sirota (L.A. No. 4, No. 42 overall) was promoted to Double-A Tulsa and shortstop Emil Morales (L.A. No. 5, No. 57 overall) was promoted to High-A Great Lakes.

Sirota, who was acquired in the 2025 trade that sent Gavin Lux to the Reds, has done nothing but mash when he's healthy. He slashed .325/.478/.602 in 35 games with Great Lakes before moving up to Double-A. He joined a stacked Tulsa outfield that also features Josue De Paula (L.A. No. 1, No. 9 overall), Zyhir Hope (L.A. No. 2, No. 20 overall) and Kendall George (L.A. No. 13).

Morales, who is still just 19 years old, picked up where he left off in A-ball at the end of last season. Morales slashed .323/.385/.570 in 36 games with Single-A Ontario before his promotion.

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