The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets, 4-2, on Friday night and improved to 66-38 on the year. Right-hander Roki Sasaki punched out nine batters across seven innings of work to earn his fourth win of the season. Evan Phillips allowed a solo home run in his lone inning on the mound while Tanner Scott earned save No. 16 on the year. Offensively, a Miguel Rojas sacrifice fly brought in the first run of the game in the fourth inning while Shohei Ohtani did the same in the seventh. A Kyle Tucker two-run home run in the eighth put the final nail in the Mets-sized coffin. In other news, rumors surrounding southpaw Eric Lauer continue to swirl, despite superstar Shohei Ohtani being shut down from pitching for the foreseeable future. The health of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow — both nearing returns to the rotation — paired with other contenders looking for a consistent veteran arm can very well dictate which jersey Lauer is wearing on Aug. 4. Addtionally, rival executives around the baseball world are still worried that LA may make a last-minute deal for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. Even though it was reported that the Dodgers were not interested in the ace earlier this month, MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Post recently reported about rivals still looking over their shoulders for a potential offer from the reigning two-time defending champions. "Rivals worry that the Dodgers might be underselling their interest in Tarik Skubal," Heyman wrote. "Dodgers people have suggested they have limited interest in Skubal since Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are working their way back to join their three All-Star starters: Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Justin Wrobleski."Finally, there is one clear deal that the Dodgers must make ahead of the trade deadline as All-Star catcher Will Smith continues to miss time. Smith has been out since early June, and backup backstop Dalton Rushing has been hitting just .205 in his last 30 games.The margin for error will only get smaller for the Dodgers as they chase a third-consecutive World Series win, and depending on when Smith can get back behind the dish, there needs to be a plan in place. Here’s all the latest Dodgers news and stories (click the headline for the full article): Dodgers Could Still Trade Eric Lauer at Deadline Despite Shohei Ohtani Injury: Report Rival Execs Worried Dodgers are Lurking in Tarik Skubal Sweepstakes One Trade Dodgers Must Make Before Deadline With Will Smith Out Indefinitely Dodgers Connected to All-Star Mets Pitcher in Potential Trade Deadline Swing Dodgers Lineup vs Mets: Max Muncy Out, Miguel Rojas StartingDodgers Tweets of the DayBig swing, Kyle! pic.twitter.com/cvBkaREqJ6— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 25, 2026Rival executives are worried the Dodgers are "lurking" in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes (read more below)👀👀Where do you think Skubal is playing come August 4?⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/SEQBbF7bP4— Dodgers On SI (@DodgersOnSI) July 24, 2026Other than Tarik Skubal, it's not like the Dodgers can find better external options at the trade deadline than those in-house coming off the IL, says @KatieJWoo. pic.twitter.com/YhkYrwkHH8— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 24, 2026Roki strikes out the side! pic.twitter.com/AI1Lsc7ria— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 25, 2026Rōki Sasaki, Devastating 3 Splitter Strikeout. 😲 pic.twitter.com/dvWFXpCfNm— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 25, 2026#Dodgers top five prospect Emil Morales launches the first pitch 439ft into the parking lot for a solo shot. GL 1 LAN 0 Top of the first. #DodgersProspects pic.twitter.com/d2K83psiFN— Dodgers_After_Duty (@msalas24) July 24, 2026Rival executives around the league believe the Dodgers “plan to be greedy” at the trade deadline and would be “all in” if Tarik Skubal becomes available.per @BNightengale pic.twitter.com/GO3D5UJUZb— DodgersMuse (@LADodgersMuse) July 24, 2026Roki Sasaki with back-to-back impressive starts on the road in New York (vs Yankees and Mets). Today vs. the Mets:7 IP3 H1 ER2 BB9 K94 pitches22 whiffsHe has 1 ER over 12.2 IP in the second half. pic.twitter.com/m67zSVugVY— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) July 25, 2026Dave Roberts confirmed that Edwin Díaz will not be activated for this weekend’s series against the Mets, per @ByJackHarrisHe’s will make one more rehab outing on Sunday before being activated. pic.twitter.com/KrYLsozRH0— SleeperDodgers (@SleeperDodgers) July 24, 2026— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 24, 2026Shohei Ohtani arrives at Citi Field for Dodgers-Mets pic.twitter.com/YFkxtI32qW— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 24, 2026— SleeperDodgers (@SleeperDodgers) July 25, 2026The Dodgers could still trade Eric Lauer ahead of this year's deadline, even with the latest injury to Shohei Ohtani👀👀Do you want to see Lauer traded before Aug. 3? Why or why not?⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/U1lM1BT3Yn— Dodgers On SI (@DodgersOnSI) July 24, 20261, 2, 3, inning for #Dodgers top 30 prospect Adam Serwinowski. Crazy breaking ball for out number three. pic.twitter.com/czMwrMYU8v— Dodgers_After_Duty (@msalas24) July 25, 2026Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on X/Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow