How the Dodgers are adjusting to this year’s wonky baseball

We are officially in the Wonky-Ball Era, says Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic, and while the Dodgers aren’t the only ones feeling the effects, they’re certainly not immune to them, either.

The league’s OPS overall is down to .676, its lowest since 1968. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have an OPS of .712, with most batters performing about the same as they were a year ago.

“The offense is suppressed,” said manager Dave Roberts on Sunday. “I think...we’ve hit the ball on a line, we’re taking more walks, we try to create things on the base and not continue to just hit deep fly balls.”

While those strategies have been helping the Dodgers along at the plate, Roberts is also hoping that some of the team’s biggest hitters can become more reliable. He hopes that Trea Turner can stop chasing pitches in and off the plate, and that Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, and Max Muncy can all find their rhythms soon. Chris Taylor, meanwhile, has seen a rising strikeout rate.

“It’s pretty amazing, 26 games in, that we’re not completely clicking and we’re 19-7,” Freddie Freeman said. “And I think you could talk to a lot of us, who feel like we’re not doing what we should be doing.”

Dodgers Links

Mike Petriello at MLB.com breaks down the Dodgers’ pitching, and yes, it really is that good.

Magic Johnson is joining another ownership group, this time bidding for a piece of the Denver Broncos, write Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams at Sportico.

Why are the Padres so good this year, and should the Dodgers be worried? Molly Knight breaks it down in her newsletter, The Long Game (which you really should be reading if you aren’t already).