The Los Angeles Dodgers entered Thursday night with a chance to gain ground on the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers trailed Arizona by 1.5 games heading into the evening.

Five Dodgers have been named to the All-Star team including catcher Will Smith, who broke the silence on making his first career appearance.

With the All-Star break less than a week away, the team began making moves with an eye on the near future. The moves came swiftly.

Relief pitcher Daniel Hudson, who got emotional over his first save since rehabbing an ACL injury on Wednesday, was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right knee MCL sprain.

Manager Dave Roberts' team also made moves affecting three of the Dodgers' pitchers. Los Angeles placed RHP Yency Almonte on the paternity list. Almonte has an ERA of 5.15 with 39 strikeouts so far on the season. He is allowed to miss up to three days as he awaits the birth of his son with wife Tori.

The Dodgers also recalled RHP Nick Robertson and LHP Alex Vesia. Robertson was drafted in 2019 and has an ERA of just over seven in seven innings along with eight strikeouts. The rookie 265-pounder has an average velocity of nearly 93 miles per hour.

Vesia has a 3.67 career ERA but has also struggled this season, going 0-4 with an ERA of 7.58.

Thursday's news came on the heels of a revelation by Roberts that reliever Brusdar Graterol is dealing with an upper-body injury. Graterol has been unavailable the last few nights, a glaring issue considering he has not allowed an earned run in any of his last six appearances.