LOS ANGELES (AP) – Even in the midst of the turmoil of a pandemic, one is predictable: the Los Angeles Dodgers are very good.
In fact, it is the most productive baseball team, with a 22-8 record in the middle of the short season.
They were 13-4 with a 17-game winning streak that ended Sunday, topped with an 11-3 win over Colorado in which the Dodgers connected seven home runs.
Instead of being on the track, director Dave Roberts said, “We all feel good.”
This can be noticed in its balanced attack and launch. The Dodgers lead the majors in home races (59) and runs scored (171). They also have the lowest team effectiveness (2.65), while their WHIP (1.04) is only Cleveland’s lead with 1.03. Los Angeles staff do so without David Price, who decided not to participate in the season due to coronavirus.
They also remained healthy, avoiding instances of COVID-19 that wreaked havoc on team schedules.
The Dodgers begin Tuesday in the opposite part of the Giants in San Francisco.
“The last 30 games have more to do with identifying roles, lineup, winning baseball games,” Roberts said, “but we have more days in September, so it’s a smart thing to do in terms of workload management.”
The strength of the Dodgers allowed Roberts to rest for his players and pitchers, even with starter Alex Wood and reliever Joe Kelly on the disabled list. Tony Gonsolin, smart enough to be in a rotation elsewhere, went from practice of choice to be the sixth starter in the 17-game series. Roberts also kept the number of pitches below 100.
The National League has the batter appointed because of the pandemic, and the Dodgers have made the most of it. Another nine players were used in the additional place, either to rest or to bring to the game those who are trapped in the bank.
The Dodgers won a franchise record of 106 games last season to win their seventh consecutive National League West title. They made an even bigger list with the addition of Mookie Betts, who was the first Dodger to connect two home races and borrow two goals in the same game on Sunday. He scored three home races in a game on August 13.
“It’s unbelievable,” Kiké Hernandez momently said. ‘He’s one of the guys we haven’t had a chance to see in another league. Now you can see it every day and you know what all Mookie Betts’ hype is all about. Actually, there’s nothing he can’t do.”
Betts’ influence extends to the infrequent days when he doesn’t play. He’ll be on the bench looking at his teammates and he’ll get back to the batting.
“Mookie comes from this school that only asks questions, inserts information, gives his thoughts, which is welcome,” Roberts said.
The back of the product diversity as well. Three of the Dodgers’ seven home races on Sunday went from sixth to ninth base in order. The team leads the biggest in running production from those locations. Only one player in Sunday’s line-up untouched.
“I don’t think there’s a one-to-five-plus in baseball, so when you have to go from one to five, you might have a tendency for the boys to fall,” Hernandez said.
Some of the team’s top racing manufacturers, current National League MVP Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy and Joc Pederson, have made slow starts. Ross Stripling has had problems in his last three starts, but believes his team is still strong. Walker Buehler recovered in his final start and is starting to look like the dominant pitcher who last year.
The Dodgers took a four-game lead over San Diego in the National League West Division in the middle.
“We’re going to escape with the division, ” said Hernandez. “This is the first step of the main goal.”
The ultimate goal, of course, is a World Series championship, anything the Dodgers haven’t won since 1988 despite back-to-back appearances in 2017 and 2018.
A shorter season would make it less sweet.
“Only a year, ” said Roberts, “but it’s still a lot of fun.”
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