Dodgers Territory - Justin Wrobleski Opens Up, Talks First Season in the Rotation and More

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

Alanna Rizzo, Katie Woo, and Clint Pasillas welcome Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski to the show! We get into Wrobo's thoughts on his first season in the starting rotation, quieting the doubters, his path to the big leagues, and his thoughts on being in All-Star consideration.  (26:41) The Dodgers took 2 of 3 from the Padres. The hosts dive into the series, including Mookie Betts' continued resurgence and more! (32:26) Plus, a look ahead at the series with the A's in Sacramento. 🌶️ Go to Quince.com/foul for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns Subscribe on YouTube!https://www.youtube.com/@DodgersTerritory Follow our social media channels for more content!https://x.com/LADTerritory https://www.instagram.com/ladterritory/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578546105253  Check out DT merch at https://dodgersterritoryshop.com Support Guidry's Guardian at https://guidrysguardian.org Find Clint on YouTube at https://youtube.com/@alldodgers Follow Katie's work at The Athletic https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/katie-woo/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I'm Munga Shatikula and I'm back with a new season of my podcast, Skyline Drive. This time I talked to scientists, biopunks, curmudgens, blues owners, super seniors, and Goa's top cryotherapy lab to try to understand this obsession with living forever and what it means for all of us. And I get into a bit of trouble along the way. I'd say probably start bone smashing. That doesn't work. To make it look more defined.

They say it works. I don't know. Listen to Skyline Drive, How to Live Forever on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. You know, I was going to find a way to succeed. And I think that was regardless of role. I think, you know, I've had that confidence in myself to be able to go out there and get

out whenever I need to. And welcome to a live episode of Dodgers Territory on this Monday, June 29th. We appreciate the fact that you guys are here. Don't forget to subscribe to us. on YouTube wherever you get your podcast. You know the deal. Apple, Spotify, any of those places. We have a lot to get to, but we're going to skip all of the pleasantries because it is always an honor and a privilege when we have a current Los Angeles Dodger

able to join us today, and that is the case. Third-year Dodger two-time World Series champion, Justin Rubleski, joining Dodgers territory. Justin, thanks so much, man. We appreciate you being here. I know you guys are pulled in so many different directions, but to have you on here is a privilege. I appreciate you. First and foremost, this has been a pleasure to watch you pitch this season. How would you assess your first big league season as a starter?

Yeah, I think it's, you know, it's going well. I'm learning on the fly, you know, just kind of as I've been doing the past couple of years, is just trying to learn and trying to, you know, improve as I can. And, yeah, it's been a lot of fun. And I'm having a good time. So I guess that checks that box too. So I'm not going to say Hater

They're entering the season You get in that starting rotation There are some haters There are some doubters about Justin Robleski's ability as a starter For me, I'm not saying I was a hater or doubter I just saw you dominate dudes out of the bullpen And I was like, I want that guy there He's so damn good at this

Like how How good is it feel to know like you You are succeeding in this role that you always hoped you can do. That was always the goal for you to be a starter. I don't know how much, you tune out the outside noise. I'm certain. That's the only way to do this job well.

But at some point, too, you also need to be, like, given one of these to people who said, no, this guy needs to be in the bullpen. How does it feel just to, you know, know that you can do this job so well? No, it feels good. I mean, I mean, you know, I never, you know, I never doubted kind of my ability to succeed in this role.

I always felt like, you know, I have the ability, I have the, I don't know, like the work effort, like the work ethic and everything else. Like I know that, you know, I was going to find a way to succeed. And I think that was regardless of role. I think, you know, I've had that confidence in myself to be able to go out there and get outs whenever I need to, whether that's in a bullpen capacity, whether that's as a starter. And as you guys know, it's on this team, it's not always, you know, it's not easy to find your spot, especially as a young guy.

it's tough to kind of figure out where you fit in. But at the end of the day, you know, I felt like, you know, if I was given the opportunity, if I was finally given, you know, a run of more than, you know, two or three starts in a row that I could figure this thing out and be a starter. And, you know, yeah, it feels good to kind of be able to prove that. You know, when everyone's telling you, you can't do that. And, oh, you don't have the stuff.

Oh, you don't have this. You know, I'm that. And, yeah, it's kind of nice to kind of show people like, hey, I can do this and I am capable of it. But at the same time, you know, it's always, people are gonna, people are gonna say what they want regardless. And you kinda gotta tune it out and just kind of stay in your own world and stay locked into what you know,

you know, gets you the results that you want. Whether those results are coming right away or whether you know they're gonna come in the future, I think that's kind of the big thing. Well, you talked about it a little bit, but coming into spring, we were kind of looking at the starting rotation and thought, you know, maybe the Dodgers would,

use a six starter, kind of a piggyback role, and you seem to be the logical fit. And then you said, I'm going to take that opportunity and run with it. And now we can't picture the Dodgers rotation without you. As you're making that adjustment, obviously you've had the stuff, you've had the experience, but what's different about pitching out of relief and then pitching in rotation? And how do you use those skills that ultimately help to become this effective of a starter? Yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with the way you manage the game. you know last year you'd see me going to my card a lot more especially back half and in the

playoffs because just the way you game plan is a little different obviously as a bullpen guy you're kind of going out there and you know you're just you're trying to create as much miss as you can you're you're not worried about you know how long can I go or how long can I last in this game to save the guys behind me it's just like I need to you know I'm coming and that was something I had to learn is like I'm coming in this game because I fit this lane that is coming up in the order and I need to throw my best stuff and I need to make these guys swing and miss

and I need to get out of this inning whatever it takes and as a starter it's definitely more of a there's more of a chess match you can tell there's more of a plan versus you just because obviously like I've been on enough teams in pro football now and being on our team

and just kind of watching how guys prepare there's a lot more preparation for a starter than there's for a reliever, just because obviously you're going to have more at bats off the starter. And I think that's something you've got to adjust to and realize being a starter is the game plan's a little different. And also the game plan is going to change sometimes, like certain guys are going to hunt you in certain spots and certain teams are going to look for certain things. And that's just kind of the fun of being a starter is trying to figure that out as fast as you can and then exploit those game plans that they have against you.

So there's a lot of different things. You know, being a start of. an reliever, but I think the most, the biggest difference is the game planning and just kind of that chess match is being played, whereas as a reliever, you're not playing that chess match as much. You still are, but it's, you know, you're not facing the guy multiple times for the most part. Justin, when you talk about the game plan, I wonder what your game plan is going to what is expected to be a start for you tomorrow in Sacramento. I mean, it is a bandbox, right? Of course, it's a very unique park. This is a weird situation for the athletics. Do you play the park? Do you go with your strengths. How will you approach that to keep the ball in the yard because that is very difficult to do in

sack town? Yeah, I mean, you know what? It's funny because in the major leagues like, yeah, this is, you know, this is a part that you're that is more hitter friendly, right? But at the same time, you know, when I played here in the PCL, I was like, thank God we're going to sack. Like this is one of the best places to pitch in the league. So it's funny that kind of, you know, the just the way It's different, but yeah, I'm not, you know, I'm not going to try to change based on what the ballpark is. You know, maybe I'll give up some cheap homers. Maybe I won't. Maybe, you know, I'll go seven scoreless. Maybe I'll go seven two runs. Whatever, whatever happens happens.

At the same time, I think it's just, again, worrying about what I can control and the things that, you know, matter within my process and making sure, you know, I understand the hitters and kind of how they are reacting. and yeah, just kind of going status quo for me, just trying to go out there and get as deep in the game as I can. And wherever that may take me, it'll take me. And you mentioned pitching deep in the game, seven innings, eight innings. Some people would call you old school throwback. I don't know if you saw this.

The Hall of Famer, Pedro Martinez, had some high praise for the kid there. It's a kid that's very unusual, good character on the mound. It hits location like an old-timer, changes speed with each pitch. I see the smile on your face a little bit there. You know, like what does it mean to hear from Pedro Martinez? Like the fact that he's watching you, he's impressed with what you're doing.

Same with the other guys in the rotation. I mean, last year, pitching with Clayton Kershaw, future Hall of Fame, learning from him, but getting in this day and age of, you know, obviously we'll probably talk about it a little bit. You know, the strikeout numbers for you probably aren't where you want to be, but it doesn't matter. You're doing what you need to do for the team. Getting deep into games.

pitching every six days getting out. That's your fucking job, you know, and you're killing it. What does it mean to see, you know, what Pedro had to say for you or about you? Yeah, it's super cool. You know, it's super cool to see, you know, anyone, you know, that played at a high level saying stuff like that, let alone, you know, a guy that that's arguably one of the best pitchers of all time, arguably the best pitchers of all time to certain people. So I think, yeah, it's super cool to see that.

It was kind of funny to see that. And, yeah, he said the whole shark thing, which is funny in the clubhouse right now. McGee's eating up on that, which is pretty good. But, yeah, it's pretty funny stuff. But, yeah, I love it. It's really cool. You know, Pedro's obviously, what a great pitcher. And, yeah, I've always thought his kind of post-pitching and his, you know, analysis and stuff is good.

And, yeah, I like watching him over there on TV. So super cool. Someone I really respect. And yeah, what a beast when he played, man. It was, I still go and watch some of his starts. Whenever I get the chance and whenever they pop up on my Instagram, I'll see like a clip of a start. And I'll be like, oh, let's go back and watch what he was doing.

So, yeah, it's pretty cool. Yeah, he was an absolute animal. Quick follow on this. So, I mean, we've grown up with you being robo. Where are you, Robo versus Shark? You're saying it's kind of taken over the clubhouse there. And in the second part, I want to know which you prefer.

And then also, have you seen this monstrosity that somebody traded? That is Justin Rebleski, the shark. So shout out Nike. You got the Nike deal there. So that's like the brain rot like shark, right? That's the tra-la-lero, tra-l-la-la-la, right? That's that that one is with me on it, which that's interesting. Good stuff.

Shout out Nick Frasso. in OkC, he's my boy. He's big on, he's big on that stuff. So that's funny. But yeah, as far as Robo, Shark, whatever, I mean, I think, I think Robo is probably more of the nickname that people were going to know me by if I had to take a guess. But yeah, whatever people want to call me, I can't, you know, I can't control that. But it has been funny.

You just kind of see that whole thing. And, yeah, it's good stuff. You know, it's funny, looking at what Pedro Martinez said about you, and I think if anyone was called unusual, like, if someone called me unusual, I'd be like, well, that's not very nice. I don't love that. But for picture, to be called unusual, that's a pretty good testament to how values you are. And then for Pedro Martinez to say it, that's like the highest tier of compliments. So I just love the picture language where the more uncommon, the insult is, the actual, like, better it is and a testament to you. Yeah, that's what we're trying to do is be unusual. That's the whole goal. If you're unusual, that's usually a pretty good thing as a pitcher, unless you're unusual in terms of walking too many guys or giving up too many homers. That's what you don't want to be.

But other than that, it's a good thing. The weirder, the better, especially for lefties. But you mentioned with watching Pedro, are there any other pictures? I know you've had so many already in your early career that you could watch in real time. Kershaw, you have Shohei once a week, Yamamoto, just a staff full of aces. But when you were growing up, or even now, were there specific pictures that you were locked in and watching Star?

on? Yeah, I mean, I think for me, I grew up a Cubs fan, so kind of anyone that was good in that Cubs rotation, especially, you know, watching the area to do what he did for that period of time. And he was a guy I liked to watch. But really, anyone, like Hendrix, Lester, that whole rotation, those are the guys that I watched a bunch. But I still, like, wasn't like super, I don't know, I wasn't like, oh, I got to watch every day. That wasn't really how I consume baseball. I just like to play it more than, you know, yeah, I'd watch the Cubs. And as I got older, like, in the high school, end of high school, I started watching every game. But I think, you know, once I got into college, that's kind of when I really started being like, okay, let's watch who's great right now. Let's watch

who's really good. And so I would watch Garrett Cole. I would watch, you know, I think a guy that I had circled and I would watch every start was DeGrom, just like anyone during that era, when he was just, like, this guy's throwing 100 every pitch. Like, this is crazy. How is this? How's how's he doing this? I'm sure the kids in college right now are watching Mizorowski kind of the same way. I mean, like, what's happening. But at the same time, yeah, like those are my guys. Obviously, I'd watch Kirsch when I could.

It's just tough being on the East Coast, you know, to stay up until 10 o'clock to watch a curse starts a little different. But whenever I could, I'd watch Kirsch's starts and just kind of anyone who was really good. Shurzer, just just all the guys, Verlander, like all those guys, just whoever was great, that's kind of who I would watch, whoever was really good and performing at a high level. That's who I'd watch. And I'd say I kind of still do that to this day. Just kind of whenever I can, tune into the guys that are really good and see what they're doing and see if I can adjust anything I'm doing to kind of match them and stay ahead of the curve that way.

So, yeah, it's, I just like, I like watching people who are really good and seeing what I can take from them. You said that you don't care what people call you in terms of nicknames. You, to me, I'm seeing a little bit of Timothy Sholome. If Justin Rebleski, if Justin Rebleski wasn't dominating on the mound every fifth day or sixth day, depending upon the calendar, for the Los Angeles Dodgers, what would you be doing? What takes your mind off of baseball? Oh, well, that's two different questions. I think as far as like what I would like to be doing, as far as, and then what's possible are two different things.

I think if I wasn't playing baseball, I probably would have tried to pursue golf in some capacity just because, you know, golf is something that my dad and I, you know, I grew up playing. I played golf for. I played baseball. So, you know, I think that'd be something I probably would have, I don't know, that's just kind of my personality. Golf's kind of right up my alley in the fact that, like, you can just practice it and grind. And there's always ways to try and get better and whatever. So that'd probably be one thing. If I didn't have athletic ability, I think it would be probably,

something within an engineering field of some sort. I don't know which one. That's what I was doing my first year of college. So I think that probably was where it would have took me, but then obviously ended up going to junior college. So that went out the window after that freshman year. But yeah, I'd say probably something along those lines. It's funny too that you say that because your path in terms of your collegiate activity

and playing baseball was not linear by any stretch. If I'm looking at this correctly, Justin, Clemson, then Oklahoma State, State College of Florida in Bradenton. So tell me how your path kind of evolved to the point in which you were able to get to, you know, the draft type of situation and get to professional ball. It's certainly not an easy path.

No, not an easy path. I had a lot of things, you know, quote unquote, go wrong during my college career. And yeah, I struggled my freshman year pretty heavily, pretty much got cut after that year. And they kind of said, you know, you're not a fit here anymore. So I was like, dang, and this was for the transfer portal and all that stuff.

So I couldn't just, you know, go to some other D-1. I had to sit out a year if I did that. So I went to junior college and, you know, again, shout out to State College of Florida and Coach Hill and Coach Batson and, you know, Donnie, the pitching coach there. They really are great people. They gave me a shot. Just kind of went somewhere where I was able to pitch. And, you know, I was still hitting at the time.

So kind of doing all that. And then, yeah, I ended up, you know, I got, I broke my jaw while I was there. like our first practice back in the spring. So that happened. And then, you know, I come back. I actually got the wires out of my face. You know, I had five weeks mouth-wired shut. And then on the last day of that, I got the wires out.

I remember went and got some chick-fil-A, couldn't eat it because I was on, like, liquid diet. I was on liquid diet for five weeks. I was like, oh, this is a great idea. Let's just eat chick-fil-A. And then I just, like, couldn't eat it. got to the yard i started that game that day on the mound uh pitch that day is but i went from you know like a 95 guy to like an 88 91 guy and then COVID hits and then end up you know losing the rest of that season kind of doing whatever and then going to oklahoma state um finally

feeling like i'm getting back back on the saddle and feeling good and like all right i can be a top five round draft pick here if i just stay healthy and then sure enough you know tear my elbow um you know midway through that year and I get surgery and all that stuff. And then the Dodgers, Dodgers drafted me in the 11th round, which at the time I was upset about, I was like, dang, like, you know, I wanted to be a higher round pick and everything. But, you know, hindsight is, it's all worked out kind of the way, the way God wanted to. And it's all, you know, everything happened for a reason. I think it all made me stronger. And yeah, the Dodgers drafted me was obviously one of the greatest things that could have happened just because,

You know, they do such a good job with guys that are coming off surgery and such a good job with the rehab and everything else. And, yeah, thankfully, came back and I was able to have a pretty smooth ride right up to the top. So I'm hoping to keep it going. And, yeah, that's my story. That's a good one. It's a good one. It's a great story. Appreciate you being open, honest, taking some time with us.

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The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place, soccer, football, it's home. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda and this is American Football,

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Are they the only ones that don't like that? Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Coutura podcast network, available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Okay, if you know me, you know this. I'm always searching for inspiration, for support, and useful tools to help maximize joy.

So this podcast lets us uncover all of that together. We're going to have these meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people, Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges that she never saw coming. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer, and that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety. Olympic champ Sean Johnson revealed why she had no choice but to be a gymnast. There was something about gymnastics that was intoxicating to me.

It's given me a belief that we all have one of those treasures inside of us. We just have to find it. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We want to get some more out of you. We obviously know you've got to get to the ballpark at some point soon, but I have a couple here to try to rapid fire. One, I'll say, I hope Jerry Harrison, Jr. doesn't hear the golf thing because he's probably going to start blowing you up with that. Two, who has the better swing? Is it William Dill Smith or is it Justin, insert middle name?

Michael Robleski, who has the better golf swing? I think probably right now Will does. I got down to like almost a scratch, and then I've been kind of making some changes trying to improve a little bit, and we're kind of in that like, I'm going to get worse before I get better phase. So I'm swinging it okay right now,

but not where I want to be. But yeah, probably will right now if I had to guess. I actually haven't gotten to play with him yet because he's kind of had the injury stuff, so we haven't had the chance to get out there. But last year I didn't really bring my clubs much either, so this year made it a point. Also a different animal. When you know you're in the bullpen, you don't really have that freedom of every five or six days to know, all right, we're going to go to this course.

We're going to go to this course. So now you'll be locked in there. Exactly. The other part, you're talking about the, you know, obviously getting drafted, the evolution coming up through the Dodgers system. I'm always kind of curious, like, who would you say you learned the most from of the many people that make, everybody great in the Dodgers system. Who would you say, like, a coach, maybe a teammate that made you the best version of yourself as you were coming up through the org?

Yeah, I mean, that's a pretty hard one because it's like there's so many people and so many, you know, great coaches and everything in this organization. But kind of two people that come to mine are Rob Hill and David Anderson, those two, you know, really have, you know, David was my pitching coach in high A. and then, you know, last year he ended up, he was in AAA as well. So I kind of got to split some time with him and spend a lot of time with him. But he knows my throw really, really well. You know, it was still kind of asking questions every now and again.

Him and Rob just kind of trying to figure out, you know, certain things like, hey, when I was doing this, what was the blah, blah, blah. So, yeah, probably those two. And then obviously in the big leagues, you know, Mark and Connor and Bardo, they all have had a super huge impact on me. So yeah, I'd say if I had to narrow it down, it's probably all those people right there. But you can't really put it to one. I think you could ask me about any coach I've had in our system,

and they've had some sort of impact on me and kind of helped me in some way. So that's kind of the great part about our organization is those kind of relationships and those people just because they've done a great job, and they will continue to do a great job, I'm sure. All right, Robo, a couple starts ago at home. David Basset's soft-launched your 2026 All-Star campaign. So we are here to promote that further. You've pitched fantastically in the first half. It's really been one of the true –

I mean, there's several success stories with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The whole organization is that way. But to just see you come out and really take this big step forward in your career, it'd be quite an honor if you were part of Dave Roberts' staff in Philadelphia in a couple of weeks. What would being an all-star mean to you? It'd mean a ton.

It's something you know you dream of as a kid. you know, some, when you're playing baseball, you want to be an all-star, you want to be, you know, someone that's considered one of the best in the game. And I think, you know, being an all-star would be huge to me. I'd really be something that would mean a lot. So I'm hoping to do enough to get it done. But like I said before, like I can't really, you know, control whether I'm selected or not and all that stuff. So it'd be really cool. But again, it's not something that's like, oh, if I do, if I do, I'll freak out and if I don't, I'll be really, really sad. It's just kind of one of those things where I trust that, you know,

if I continue to kind of stay on my path and do what I need to do and stuff like that will come. And yeah, it's just, but super exciting to kind of even be in that conversation. So, yeah, I'm hoping I can get it done. I love the fact that you're like an officer and a gentleman. I realize you're way too young to know the movie, but you're so poised. You wanted to be an engineer if you didn't have any athletic talent. but here you are, you do have athletic talent.

Timothy Shalame, Oscar award-winning dude, but I also know that you have the dog in you, because when the Dodgers were in Toronto, there was a different Justin Rubleski that had them ball and on the mound, and I love that about you. So how many personalities do you have and tell us about that World Series

and just kind of what goes through your mind? What happens to your DNA when you're in a moment like that? Yeah, I think, you know, that's kind of something you have to, have to, that's also part of your development, figuring out, you know, where you need to be on that kind of, you know, mental, mental scale in order to pitch well. And as you guys obviously can tell, I need to be a little bit more revved up than calm. I think, you know, Yosha's a guy that needs to be a little calmer to kind of pitch well and kind of the opposite of that. So you kind of figure out who you are and it takes time. It takes, you know, trial and error. It takes, you know, sometimes you can be a little too much. sometimes you get too like not enough so that's part of it but yeah I think you know in those spots and that's I'm just not a guy that's ever going to back down I'm not you know when I'm out

there it's it's not I don't know there it's a different guy that's that's what I'll say I think you know when I'm pitching it's a different guy than then every day and I think you know you kind of have to be that way to perform at a high level because obviously if I was that way in my normal life I don't think a lot of people would like me so You've got to turn it on and off, but that's just kind of who I have to be when I'm out there. You know, I'm nothing if not a hard-hitting journalist here. I'm not. But the question I would have to follow that, if a hundred is replacement level, what was your ex-dog during that World Series?

And what's your ex-dog now? Replacement level. I don't know. I don't see, here's a thing. Here's a thing. I don't live in an expected world. I live in a real world. so I'd like to just use dog.

So, you know, if I lived in an expected world, everyone says that I wouldn't be very good. But no, in the real world, I'd say, you know, maybe I'd say, what's a standard deviation? Like, what, is it 10? Is 10 on this scale standard deviation? Maybe two dogs, two dogs above replacement? That's where I'm trying to be at.

That's where I'd like to be at, you know? I saw MVP levels of dog in that world series. It's bare minimum, man. We're talking like a 180, maybe weighted runs, weighted dog created plus. I don't know. I'm making this show up as we go. Perfect. There's so many stats now that, like, you know, you can say anything and someone will believe

it. It's a stat. For real. True. Wu, send us off. All right. Well, Robo, I know you got to get going. We have a first of three out in stack, but hopefully you get to golf after a solid start

tomorrow there actually are some good golf courses around Sacramento but no thank you so much for the time it has been wonderful getting to know you a little bit more and with this interview not only are you number one on the dodgers beat rankings you're number one on dodgers podcasters too so keep up the good work we'll see you later thanks against the time yeah yeah thank you guys that guy's pretty damn good at this he's pretty damn good on the mound i'm looking forward i'm really hoping that guy could make an all-star team Hey guys, we got a little bit more DT coming up. First, we got to tell you, or at least the friends of foul territory, I gotta tell you about this.

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The Dodgers take two or three from the Padres. Once again, it feels like the same old story with those series. Dodgers lose game one. everybody's heads are, you know, pet's heads are falling off because it wasn't a great loss. You know, it is what it is. But then they take the next two in that series. Katie, you were there. What were your thoughts about that series in San Diego?

They have a 10 game lead in the division. They are among the best major league baseball in starting pitching in bullpen in most offensive categories. What else is there to say? It's the dog girl. I had a great time in San Diego. watching the Dodgers make my job very easy. So 10 out of the series.

Yeah, they are really locked in. Riz, what I'm liking is Mookie. You know, we've had a lot of dialogue about Mookiee this year. Four big hits in that series, two Dingers, six runs bad at eight, is hitting 368 over the last two weeks. The OPS is just a little under 1,100. There's no sign of him cooling down. That's why first he is this week's Fandul Daily Dinger pick.

But this is a guy who is absolutely just on fire. Riz, what are you seeing with Mookie? And then we have more Mookie from Katie. Yeah, but don't tell Mookie that. He's not quite ready to say that he is all the way back, which I can appreciate. You had mentioned he's having a very, very good June. I don't even want the calendar to switch to July.

Unfortunately, it is doing that on what Wednesday it looks like. But yeah, it seems like he's kind of found his way, kind of C-ball, hitball type of situation. And it's good to see that. We had mentioned probably three weeks ago on our show, guys, that we don't need to have Muky Betts being the offensive powerhouse at the shortstop position, as long as he continues to do what he's doing defensively at short, but he seems to be finding his way at the plate as well.

It's good to see. I think anything that comes from this, a very strong June and what he does forward in terms of his offense is only, you know, icing on the cake, if you will. He looks really good at the plate right now. But again, I think it happened last year also. So when Mookie Betz completely tunes out the noise and simplifies things, that is when Mookie Betz has the most amount of success at the plate. Really quickly before Katie weighs in on Mookie,

the biggest thing that stands out to me, she's absolutely right. The Dodgers have a 10-game lead in the division, but what always will stand out to me is a plus 152 run differential. Nobody in the division has a positive run differential. That's all you need to know, kids. Yeah. that they are they are pretty damn good at they are who we thought they were uh katie your uh your counterpart

fabian ardaia penned a column about mookie and just kind of where his brain is at now i guess more so where his brain isn't which is thinking about his swing and all this stuff in the box he's saying you know hitting has been hard now he's not thinking um what what can you tell us about uh fabian's column and then also just what you've been able to pick up for Mooki being around him this season, the change as it's gone on. Yeah, for sure. I'll keep this one short because I know we're on a time crunch here. But with Moogie Betts, I thought it was interesting. We talked to him, first of all, great gick by Fabian to get a candid Moogie.

And then we talked to him after Sunday's game. I'm actually, keep checking my email here because I feel like Mookie has a really good chance to win a National League Player of the Week after his performance over the last days. But I asked him, you know, if there's anything over the first month. and a half when he came back from the injury, the oboeic injury that he felt like he learned about himself that he didn't know before. And he pondered it for a little bit. And he said, you know, he mostly just learned that the stuff that he used to do doesn't apply anymore. He's not the same guy at 33 or 54, whatever, however we could he was, that he was 27. So the work that he was putting in, the game that he was playing, it wasn't the same. So he had to

relearn to reinvent himself. And he talked about this back with me in May when he said, you know, I'm still trying to figure this out. I'm trying to figure out what works for me. It looks like he's getting there. And I find it funny how we've asked him. Are you more comfortable saying you're back? And he keeps saying, no, I'm not going to say that yet. But I think every, all the signs that we've seen over the last two and a half weeks point to Moogie Betts looking much more like Moogie Betts, just finding the newer version of him that can continue to post at 33 years old.

Yeah. He's locked in and we can say it. That's the thing. Mookie, don't listen to us. We know he deleted social media. apps on his phone, so he's not going to hear us say, Mookie, you're crushing it, playing an exceptional defense at shortstop. And again, that's why he is this week's daily Dinger pick over with the Fandul.

The MLB season, of course, is in full swing. Fan Duel's giving you a chance to call your shot with Daily Dingers. Join the action is easy. Just make your free pick on who's hitting a home run in their game. And if you're right, you'll get a profit boost to you use on your next bet for a chance at extra winnings. And Alana, I feel pretty confident that Mookiei's going to do some damage in Sacramento. No doubt about it. It is a hitters ballpark. Keep the ball in the yard if you can, Robo tomorrow. All right, head over to fanduel.com slash podcast to get started, guys. That's fanduel.com slash podcast to opt in for daily dingers, like Clint said, and make your free pick on who's hitting a homer. Play ball and swing for the fences on Fanduel, an official partner of Major League Baseball. No purchase necessary, guys. Opt-in is required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including any token, expert.

and maxed wager amount. See terms at sportsbook. Fandual.com gambling problem, call or text 1-800 gambler. Big series against the A's. Hey, listen, the A's are bad, but every team in the American.

The A's might, there's only four teams in the AL that have a winning record, a winning record above 500. The A's may make the postseason and the Mets will not. So there's your 2026 season in a nutshell. Yeah, yeah.

Good series coming up for your Dodgers, winnable series. A's are throwing some solid pitching out there as well. Dodgers getting Teo back tonight. It's going to be a good one. Woo, real quick. Dodgers win. Two of three. Sweet. What are you feeling? I feel good about two, three. I forgot about two or three. This is weird ballpark. Weird city. Weird everything.

But we'll have a blast of us. Weird everything. Appreciate you guys hanging out with us. Oh, go ahead. Go ahead. Sweep. Sweet. We got sweep. Yeah. You know what? I'm taking two or three. I think I think the weirdness will happen. But we appreciate you guys hanging out with us on this edition of Dodgers territory.

Big shout out, Justin Bleski, take you a chunk of time out of his day to join us. Share that interview with your friends. Share it with your grandma. She might appreciate the shark joining the show. But that's about it. We'll see you later this week. Okay, bye. It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for.

Why do I watch the walk up? That's like asking me, why do I breed? And it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute. and fit. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. Listen to American football on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Joy is essential, and it's also elusive. But now,

There's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence. Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotby. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. Open your free IHeart Radio app. Search Joy 101 and listen now. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby is presented by CVS.

I'm Munga Shatikula and I'm back with a new season of my podcast, Skyline Drive. This time I talked to scientists, biopunks, curmudgins, blues owners, super seniors, and Goa's top cryotherapy lab to try to understand this obsession with living forever and what it means for all of us. And I get into a bit of trouble along the way. I'd say probably start bone smashing. That doesn't work. To make it look more defined. They say it works. I don't know.

Listen to Skyline Drive, How to Live Forever on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.