The Los Angeles Dodgers countered a rough stretch of baseball with some of their best all around play this season that began in the series finale against the New York Mets and continued during their nine-game road trip.
The Dodgers did not perform like the well-oiled machine they were expected to be during a stretch where they lost four of five series. Instead, they were a team struggling to put together a complete game where all phases contributed in a winning effort.
The inability of the offense, starting pitching and bullpen to play complementary baseball led to a lot of winnable games slipping through the Dodgers’ fingers.
The baseball season consists of hot streaks and cold streaks, but the best teams are the ones who maintain consistency and keep the cold streaks to a minimum when they do pop up.
After going 7-2 on their road trip, it seems the Dodgers have made the necessary adjustments to get back to the baseball they expected to be playing, and manager Dave Roberts likes what he’s seen from the club, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I’m managing a lot better these last fives games,” Roberts joked. “Baseball is cyclical. Obviously those top two guys have all year been swinging the bat well. Freddie (Freeman) was in a funk before this win streak, and he’s come out of that certainly. Teo (Hernandez) is swinging the bat well, so I think that’s been really helpful. And then the bottom part of the order, those guys are really starting to carry themselves.
“But aside from that, the pitching has been fantastic, it really has. Cart before the horse whether it’s (because) we’re scoring more runs to allow our guys to go longer, or we’re getting good pitching which is allowing us to sit back and score some runs. So I don’t know. But we talked about not playing a complete game about a week ago. And you look at this last week, we’ve played a handful of complete baseball games. It’s what we can do. It’s good to see.”
The lack of production from the bottom of the lineup has been well documented, but the inability of Freddie Freeman to capitalize on Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani’s production in front of him really exasperated the problem.
The Dodgers’ offense has improved now that Freeman has busted out of his minor slump and everyone else has begun to pull their weight. Andy Pages has also contributed in a big way, helping solidify the bottom of the order and providing some run production in a spot there was none.
Dodgers pitching has been impressive
Aside from the offense finding their stride, the pitching has, as well. Both the starters and the bullpen have been impressive over their current stretch, with far more positives than negative moments.
The Dodgers are also getting Walker Buehler back from Tommy John surgery as he is scheduled to start against the Miami Marlins on May 6.
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