After waking up from a brief slump to open August, the Los Angeles Dodgers are right back where they want to be. The club has presently won five games in a row, and sits in first place in the National League West at 79-51. They are currently playing a three-game series at home versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. They won Friday 5-4 and Saturday 4-3. m. ET. During Friday’s win, All-Star center fielder Andy Pages exited the game early following a hit-by-pitch.
He was hit in the left hand by a 100.2 MPH sinker from Pittsburgh right-hander Bubba Chandler during the bottom of the third inning. It was announced following the game that Pages suffered a fracture in that left hand and will be out roughly four to six weeks. On Sunday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that the center fielder had a compression screw inserted to help it heal quicker. Dodgers’ center field plans for now The club called up outfielder Alek Thomas from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday, and he was in the lineup Saturday as well as Sunday.
He went 1-for-4 with an RBI single during Saturday’s game. Thomas had previously played all five of his MLB seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, usually putting up plus defense in center field. After a particularly dreary offensive start to the 2026 season, they decided to designate him for assignment. The Dodgers subsequently picked him up and now he will be playing center field for the big league club for the next few weeks. 560 OPS) with two home runs and 11 RBIs.
MORE: Padres get an update on Casey Mize 1 day after leaving his start early Pages’ importance Aug 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) is hit by a pitch in the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters) The 2026 All-Star has been phenomenal in his third MLB season. 796 OPS) with 21 home runs and 80 RBIs.
Defensively, Pages has really developed this year. In just under 1,100 center field innings, he has posted 12 fielding run value at the position. That ranks third among MLB center fielders. Pages seems to be optimistic about returning to play as soon as possible. If he returns after the low-side expected time of four weeks, he would return to play during the weekend of Sept_ABBR. 18-20. — Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —
