LA is undefeated in Lauer's starts. Could he be on the move at Deadline?

LOS ANGELES -- Whenever Eric Lauer takes the mound for the Dodgers, good things seem to follow.

On Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, Lauer delivered six scoreless frames to lead Los Angeles to a 4-2 victory over the Mariners. With the win, the Dodgers improved to an unblemished 9-0 in games Lauer has started since joining the club -- continuing one of the most remarkable personal team-winning streaks of the season.

Lauer kept Seattle’s bats completely off balance all evening, allowing just three baserunners while striking out four. The left-hander needed minimal heavy lifting from his bullpen, handing off a comfortable four-run cushion after throwing 87 pitches.

Early on, however, Lauer struggled to find his release point. In a 24-pitch opening frame, he issued a walk, hit a batter and saw Randy Arozarena steal second base to put two runners in scoring position. But Lauer escaped the jam by blowing a cutter past Cal Raleigh for an inning-ending strikeout -- and then settled in completely after a quick mound visit from catcher Dalton Rushing.

Rather than relying solely on his four-seamer and cutter, Lauer established his secondary offerings to keep the Mariners guessing.

"I think the slider and the changeup have been big ones for me," Lauer said postgame. "The changeup for me has always kind of been like the holy grail of what I need to round out my repertoire and get something going armside. So being able to just be confident using that now and mixing that in a lot more has been huge to keep guys off balance."

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Manager Dave Roberts commended Lauer’s ability to adjust against a Seattle lineup that came into the game aggressively hunting high fastballs.

"Eric did a nice job of mixing speeds, mixing locations, too," Roberts said. "He’s been great ... the makeup, the preparedness and what he’s done for us as far as giving us length. It seems like every time he pitches, we win."

Lauer’s continuous success comes at a unique moment for Los Angeles. With Monday’s Trade Deadline less than a week away, Lauer's name has surfaced in trade chatter across the league as a potential rotation chip -- a reality the veteran left-hander approaches with a grounded mindset.

"It’s something that I was aware of coming over here -- that it might be like a rental thing. See a need, fill a need kind of thing," Lauer said of the rumors. "But I mean, I love it here. I think I'm thriving here, as far as I can tell, and I would love to be part of this team."

As for whether he tries to keep tabs on the front office’s plans heading into the week, Lauer prefers to keep his focus strictly on the mound.

"I don't think that that's really something that a player would necessarily even want to know, because when you start playing GM in your head then you start getting away from what your job is," Lauer said. "I try to make sure I come in, do the best I can to prepare every day, do the best I can when I get out on that mound, and whatever happens.”