Cody Bellinger homered twice Monday night. (Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire)

Men against boys. Varsity versus junior varsity. That’s what it looked like in the Philadelphia Phillies thoroughly embarrassing 16-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night at Citizens Bank Park in front of 30,025 fans that deserved a medal if they stayed around to watch the end. While the Phillies fell to a mediocre 48-46, the Dodgers improved to 63-33.

Through four innings, both starting pitchers finished with 73 pitches, but the competing individual statistics could not have been further apart. Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw had allowed one run on three hits and had successfully dodged bases loaded threats in both the first and third innings. Conversely, mercurial Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin had surrendered six runs on six hits (více...)

Clayton Kershaw pitched six innings of one-run ball and struck out seven in a win Monday against the Phillies.

He's not what he was, but this is the kind of decline that people who drafted Kershaw this spring were hoping for. He's 8-2 with a 3.00 ERA through 16 starts. He still hasn't had any 10-strikeout games and he's given up more homers (14) in 105 innings than he did in two of his three Cy Young seasons, but he's still awfully good.

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(Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)07/15 Lineups at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PTby Rowan KavnerNot quite two weeks after the Dodgers acquired Casey Sadler from Tampa Bay and optioned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City, Sadler has been recalled to the big league club.Sadler will wear â„–65 for the Dodgers, who designated left-handed pitcher Zac Rosscup for assignment. The move leaves starters Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu and reliever Julio Urias as the lone lefty pitchers on the Dodgers’ active rost (více...)

Robbie Ray has again been connected to the Phillies. (Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire)

While the Philadelphia Phillies will square off with Clayton Kershaw this evening, they reportedly are keeping tabs on another prominent left-hander in the National League West.

And, at least as far as this report is concerned, it isn’t San Francisco Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner.

According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, the Phillies have shown “recent interest” in Arizona Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray. They aren’t alone in their interest, however, with Morosi saying that the Houston Astros have also checked in on Ray, who he says may be more coveted than Bumgarner (více...)

Max Muncy was an All-Star for the first time in 2019. (Ian D’Andrea)

Maikel Franco’s walk-off home run in the ninth inning of Sunday’s win against the Nationals was a much needed confidence booster after a miserable weekend back from the All-Star Break. The Philadelphia Phillies (48-45) will need all the confidence they get can combined with timely hitting and good bullpen performances starting Monday as they welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers (62-33) to Citizens Bank Park.

The Dodgers will send three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw to the mound. While he is not the same lights-out pitcher the Phillies have had the privilege of facing over the years, Kershaw has managed to put together a very solid season so far. In just under 100 innings pitched, Kershaw has a 3.09 ERA and has picked up seven victories for his team. He will be opposed by right-hander Zach Eflin. Eflin will look to turn his fortunes around against a powerful lineup led by the league leader in fWAR, Cody Bellinger (více...)