The Dodgers own baseball’s best record at 65-38, and the two-time defending World Series champions could soon have two key players back after they had been sidelined with injuries.
Utilityman Kiké Hernández and closer Edwin Díaz each played in another rehab game with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, and each could be back with the Dodgers as soon as next week.
Hernández, who has been on the injured list since late May due to a left oblique strain, launched a solo home run for Oklahoma City in the fourth inning of its game against Sacramento at Sutter Health Park.
Overall, he went 1-for-3 and played seven innings in left field. He could be activated off the IL as soon as next Tuesday, when the Dodgers open a homestand against the Mariners.
Prior to injuring his left oblique, Hernández, who is playing in his 10th season for the Dodgers, had appeared in only two games this season, going 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a homer. His season debut didn’t come until May 25 after he recovered from left elbow surgery during the offseason.
Díaz, meanwhile, pitched one-third of an inning for Oklahoma City on Thursday, getting the final out of the fifth. The superstar closer, who signed a three-year, $69 million deal to join the Dodgers this past offseason, is on the 60-day IL after having loose bodies removed from his right elbow.
Thursday’s rehab appearance was Díaz’s sixth after he pitched a scoreless inning for the Arizona Complex League team, three scoreless frames for Single-A Ontario and gave up one run over two-thirds of an inning for Oklahoma City on Wednesday. He is also in line to return to the Major League club on Tuesday.
The Dodgers are hoping the cleanup procedure on Díaz’s throwing elbow will result in a return to the norm for him in terms of velocity after his fastball was down a tick early this season -- it averaged 95.7 mph in seven appearances after averaging 97.2 mph in 2025.