No looking back, Dodgers back in the lead with seven wins in a row
It wasn’t that long ago two Sundays ago, actually when it seemed everyone was worried about the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were losing, they were injured, and the outlook in the NL West made it look like the Dodgers, poised to challenge the winning record at the start of 2021, might not escape with another division title.
It wasn’t that long ago–two Sundays ago, actually–when it seemed everyone was worried about the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were losing, they were injured, and the outlook in the NL West made it look like the Dodgers, poised to challenge the winning record at the start of 2021, might not be able to escape with another division title.
They were without four starting position players Sunday–including Mookie Betts, who was sidelined with left shoulder soreness that has troubled him for about a week–and still won their seventh straight game. The Dodgers went on the road to sweep a surprising San Francisco Giants team that began the weekend with the better record, capturing a final 11-5 victory. A 13-2 start that was followed by a 5-15 streak has been followed by another dominant run, with 11 wins in a 12-game span. Given a comparable surge by the division rival San Diego Padres, it’s a stretch the Dodgers desperately needed.
“Even when we’re not at full strength, we have a lot of really, really, really good players, and our starting pitching has been incredible as well, our bullpen has been really good and our at-bats have been super competitive, up and down the lineup,” said Dodgers infielder Gavin Lux. “I think it’s no secret that we have a lot of depth and we’re all rolling right now. I think we just went through a funky stretch there where we all kind of slumped, and now we’re obviously picking up where we left off at the beginning of the year.”
Lux’s emergence has been one of the main reasons. When Corey Seager fractured his right hand on May 15, an injury that could keep him out until after the All-Star Game break, it meant Lux would slide from second base to shortstop, his natural but also more demanding position.
He’s handled it capably, but more importantly, his bat has come alive. Lux, 23, followed a .179/.213/.250 line in April with a .375/.500/.875 line in May. He faced Anthony DeSclafani on Sunday, a man who boasted a 2.03 ERA in his first 53 1/3 innings this season, and connected for his second grand slam in five days, giving the Dodgers a 10-0 lead before the bottom of the third inning.
Lux’s improvement, a product of being more in sync with his mechanics, has helped an offense that is without Seager and Cody Bellinger and hasn’t received enough production from the likes of Betts and Justin Turner.
Julio Urias was perfect in five innings Sunday and allowed just two runs in six innings, with no tickets and striking out 10, a day after Walker Buehler pitched seven innings of one-run ball and two days after Trevor Bauer allowed one foul run in 6 2/3 innings.
The top three starting rotations in effectiveness are currently in the NL West Division. The Dodgers’ group ranks second only to the Padres while contributing the most innings per start despite Dustin May being out for the year, David Price pitching out of the bullpen and Tony Gonsolin still working his way back. Bauer, Buehler and Clayton Kershaw have been as effective as one might expect, but Urias’ dominance in his first full season as a major league starter-3.04 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 8.57 strikeout-to-baseball ratio-has further elevated the group.
“He just understands that he’s an elite pitcher,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Urias, the 19-year-old former phenom who has pitched in a hybrid role the past two years. “When you look at our starters, the bar is high. He’s right there with the other guys, and he shows it every time he’s on the mound.”
The Dodgers trail the Padres — and only the Padres — by one game and three runs to lead the majors in winning percentage and run differential, further proof that their growing rivalry could persist throughout the season. A weekend before the Dodgers swept the Giants, the Padres swept the St. Louis Cardinals with Fernando Tatis Jr, Eric Hosmer, Wil Myers and Jurickson Profar all on the injured list for COVID-19-related reasons.
Over the last two weeks, the Dodgers have a 2.08 ERA but only a .785 OPS. Their offense has been producing timely hits, but hasn’t necessarily caught fire. And that’s what makes it possible for the Dodgers’ best baseball to remain in front of them. Bellinger, out since April 5 with a hairline fracture in his leg, could return next weekend. Soon after, Pollock, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, should join him.
