NOTES: MUNCY’S RETURN, KOPECH ZEROES, WBC SCHEDULE

Max Muncy has done quite well since returning from the injured list on Monday. The Dodgers third baseman homered in his first two games back then doubled twice on Wednesday. Muncy didn’t start Friday but walked to load the bases ahead of Shohei Ohtani’s walk-off grand slam.

Muncy missed 80 games in just over three months, with an oblique strain that was exacerbated by a rib that was out of place. He explained the rehab process with Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times:

“It just wasn’t ever getting set properly,” Muncy said. “Each time I tried to come back, I felt like I was locked and couldn’t move properly.”

But then another trip to the chiropractor in late July resulted in a long-awaited breakthrough, with Muncy immediately feeling relief in the area that had bothered him for so long. When asked how his chiropractor did it, Muncy laughed.

“I’d re-show you, but I can’t actually physically get my body in that position,” he said. “It kind of felt like they almost broke my rib, but they didn’t. But it almost felt like that’s what happened.”

Michael Kopech has yet to allow a run since getting acquired by the Dodgers, but his scoreless streak dates back to his final five games with the White Sox as well.

Dating back to July 8, Kopech has allowed two singles and two walks in 16 scoreless innings, with 23 strikeouts and a 44.2-percent strikeout rate.

Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs compared Kopech before and after the trade, and found that with the Dodgers the spin rate has increased on all three of his pitches (fastball, cutter, slider), and that he’s throwing fastballs less often, especially to right-handed batters.

“With that rejiggered repertoire, Kopech is throwing a lower share of pitches in the strike zone, is getting batters to chase with greater frequency, and has boosted his swinging strike rate,” Jaffe wrote.

Schedule and location details for the 2026 World Baseball Classic were announced this week, with 16 teams already set and four more qualifiers to be added by next year. The opening rounds of the 2026 WBC will be in Puerto Rico, Houston, Tokyo, and Miami. Quarterfinals will be held in Houston and Miami, with the semifinals and championship game in Miami. The tournament will take place from March 5-17, 2026 during spring training.

Qualifying tournaments will be held in February and March 2025, with those details coming later.

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