Behind an overall collective effort the Los Angeles Dodgers responded to news of Clayton Kershaw’s back injury by going 10-4 heading into the All-Star break, which included a three-game winning streak to close out the unofficial first half of the season.
Los Angeles rode their momentum into the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, scoring 13 runs on a season-high 18 hits. However, Arizona responded with a walk-off victory in the 12th inning and another one-run win to take the series.
Both losses were in some part tied the Dodgers’ failure to hit with runners in scoring position. The Dodgers then rolled into the Nation’s Capital and scored eight runs on Tuesday to beat the Nationals.
The Los Angeles bats were then kept in check by Gio Gonzalez and two relievers on Wednesday. Whereas the Dodgers had just four hits on the night, the Nationals clubbed four home runs.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts nonetheless believes the offense has improved even with the lingering inconsistency, per ESPN’s Doug Padilla:
“I think so,” Roberts said. “You look up and down the lineup, guys are putting at-bats together, guys are getting hits. We got the pitch count up, and Gio made pitches when he needed to. Even Van Slyke, Kendrick, J.T., all these guys are having good at-bats and getting on base. Yasiel [Puig] is doing the same thing. I think that as a group offensively, we’re in a pretty good place, and tomorrow we have a chance to win a series.”
Although his batting line still leaves plenty to be desired, Yasmani Grandal is tied for second in the Majors with six home runs during July. Justin Turner has continued to blister the ball and is hitting .305/.373/.6576 with four doubles, six home runs and 16 RBIs over 15 games this month.
With two home runs on Thursday, Turner set a career high with 17 homers this season. Howie Kendrick, who owns a 13-game hitting streak that is the longest current streak in the Majors, is now batting .274/.337/.379 on the season after a slow start. What’s more, his .414 batting average in July leads the Majors.
Yasiel Puig has also been much improved at the plate since coming off the disabled list, hitting .300/.394/.413 with four doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs in his last 24 games. Though, Puig was removed Thursday with hamstring tightness shortly after entering Thursday’s game.
An offense that can fire on all cylinders would bode the Dodgers well, particularly when considering the once-again depleted state of their starting rotation.
