Mattingly holds meeting to set second-half agenda

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers had a team meeting on Sunday morning, with manager Don Mattingly outlining his expectations for the club coming out of the All-Star break.

While the Dodgers entered Sunday with the best record in the Major Leagues since June 22 (17-4), Mattingly wants to see the same effort from his club after the four-day layoff.

"We've kind of gotten our confidence now and we're playing well," Mattingly said before Sunday's game against the Rockies. "We've got some momentum. So the biggest thing now is to be ready to play. We need to be ready to play and not come out of the break like we're still on it."

Last season, the Dodgers led the National League West at the All-Star break. But they dropped four of five games to start the second half and fell out of first place in the National League West.

"It's a fear for all managers that you come out of that break and it takes you five days to get going and next thing you know you've lost three or four games if it goes wrong," Mattingly said. "For me, let's be ready to play when we come out of the break. Enjoy your time, take your break, but be ready to turn it back on."

The Dodgers travel to Washington for a three-game series with the Nationals coming out of the break, then head to Toronto for an Interleague series.