The Dodgers (47-39) have won four in a row to climb eight games over .500 for the first time this season. They moved two percentage points ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks (48-40) for first place in the National League West after Arizona lost its series opener at the San Diego Padres 6-3 on Thursday night.

The Angels (44-44) completed a 10-game road trip with a 4-1 loss against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night Brian Burns Jersey , dropping 12 games behind the Mariners for the second wild card from the American League. They’ll try to avoid falling below .500 for the first time since losing their season opener.

Ohtani, who turned 24 on Thursday, is in his first major league season after playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters the previous five years. He began this season as a right-handed pitcher and designated hitter and was having success as a two-way player until he was placed on the disabled list June 8 with a grade 2 sprain of his right ulnar collateral ligament.

He received stem-cell therapy and a platelet-rich-plasma injection to help heal the ligament without surgery, and was activated Tuesday before the Angels opened the three-game series against the Mariners.

Maeda, 30, pitched in Japan for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 2008-15 and faced Ohtani a few times, but told the Southern California News Group earlier this week that he considers this a new challenge.

“The image I had about him as a hitter has changed http://www.pantherscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-greg-little-jersey , so my approach to the way I pitch to him will change,” Maeda said through an interpreter. “I’m just going to approach it as if I’m facing a new hitter.”

Maeda (5-5, 3.36) has pitched well since mid-May, when he didn’t allow a run in back-to-back starts against the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies.

His past two outings have been nearly as good.

Maeda blanked the Chicago Cubs for seven innings in a 2-1 victory June 25, and then allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits over seven innings in a 3-1 loss to the Rockies on Saturday.

Maeda has made two career starts against the Angels and is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA. He threw seven shutout innings in his last appearance against Los Angeles on June 27, 2017 and the Dodgers won 4-0 at Dodger Stadium.

The starting lineup the Angels used against Seattle right-hander Mike Leake on Wednesday is a combined 3-for-25 off Maeda. Angels catcher Martin Maldonado is hitless in eight at-bats against Maeda, which may open the door for rookie Jose Briceno to get his first start since Sunday.

Angels rookie right-hander Jaime Barria was originally scheduled to start the series opener against the Dodgers Will Grier Jersey , but was moved up to Thursday after left-hander Tyler Skaggs went on the 10-day disabled list with a right adductor strain, becoming the 10th starter for the Angels to go on the DL this season.

Felix Pena (1-0, 3.71 ERA) will make the start for the Angels and try to continue his transition from relief pitcher to starter.

He has made two career appearances against the Dodgers, both out of the bullpen covering three scoreless innings overall.

Early retirement is nothing new to the NFL, but as of late it's become a bit of a trend. Many experts speculate that early retirement has become a sort of epidemic and the leading cause could be related to the revelations of head trauma and the risks of brain disease associated with repeated or severe brain injuries. Other gruesome injuries are also the cause for a lot of retirements, like Joe Theismann's infamous broken leg. In rare cases, an athlete is just taken from us before their time http://www.pantherscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-christian-miller-jersey , like Washington Redskins promising safety Sean Taylor and his untimely death in 2007.The trend seems to be mainly caused by injury, and/or risk of injury. Combine that with the high impact, relentless, and tolling game of football it comes as no surprise. What this means at face value is that we'll never know when our favorite players may call it a career but we shouldn't ever condemn them for doing so. Even if a player seems to have a few more years of good football left in the tank, it could mean the difference of retiring able-bodied and healthy.This list has been composed to touch on a lot of the different reasons players leave the game too soon, but it’s not big enough to squeeze in everyone. There have been players who have been banned for life, like Stanley Wilson of the 1989’s Cincinnati Bengals for drug use. Indefinite suspensions were left out too Jordan Scarlett Jersey , like the one Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon is currently serving, thanks to his personal conduct and legal troubles. We wanted to make the list an honorable one considering some of the names we used.Now, here’s the list of the NFL’s top 15 players who could have played a lot longer.