Goodbye Ely, Hello Encino Man Game Thread

In an effort to bolster the bullpen for the final game before the all-star break the Dodgers optioned spring hero John Ely to AAA and brought up his trademate Jon Link. This might pave the way for James McDonald to take over in the rotation after the all-star break. This is Link's fifth go round with the big club this year.

Dodger Notes:

How Rafy deserved to be on the all-star team:

HIT(S) AND RUN(S) – Though he doesn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title yet, Rafael Furcal’s .333 batting average leads the National League and ranks sixth in the Majors among players with 250 or more plate appearances. He also leads NL shortstops (min. 50 games) with a .384 on-base percentage and a .519 slugging percentage. The shortstop has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games, batting .450 (27-for-60) with four home runs and 15 RBI since June 26, and has been on fire since returning from the bereavement list on June 24:

Furcal’s NL Ranks since June 24

Average .420 (1)

On-base Percentage .461 (3)

Slugging Percentage .710 (4)

Hits 29 (1)

Runs 21 (1)

RBI 17 (T-1)

Source: STATS