The Los Angeles Dodgers rallied late to earn a 7-5 victory and complete a sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, extending their winning streak to a season-best six games.
L.A. improved to an MLB-best 11-2 with the win and now lead the San Diego Padres by 2.5 games heading into their weekend matchup at Petco Park.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Dodgers’ 11-2 start is the best in MLB history for a defending World Series champion through their first 13 games of the season.
The Dodgers are the first defending World Series champion ever to start 11-2 or better through their first 13 decisions of a season. pic.twitter.com/tBF0Vk6Dsc
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 16, 2021
The Dodgers have clicked on all cylinders thus far, ranking in the top-2 in both hitting WAR and pitching WAR. Their offense in particular has put up historic numbers, with seven players owning a .950 on-base plus slugging or better through the first 13 games.
OPS leaders for the @Dodgers:
Turner 1.321
Muncy 1.201
Betts 1.028
Smith 1.009
Seager .998
Taylor .987
McKinstry .974They're the 1st team in the modern era to have 7 players with a .950+ OPS thru 13 games (min. 30 PA). The only other team to even have 6 was the 1932 Yankees.
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) April 16, 2021
Justin Turner and Max Muncy, who rank No. 1 and 2 in OPS, both played a big part in the Dodgers’ comeback win over the Rockies. Turner temporarily gave L.A. an early lead in the third with a three-run homer — already his fourth of the young season.
Then after falling behind in the sixth, Muncy put the Dodgers back in front with a three-run shot of his own one inning later.
The club is a perfect 10-0 when hitting at least one home run this season.
Roberts: Dodgers in good spot heading into Padres series
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes the team’s fast start puts them in a good position ahead of facing the Padres seven times over the next week. “Yeah, I think so. I think we’ve done what we can do up to this point and I expect us to continue to play good baseball,” he said.
“To get out of the gates and stay away from some relievers to make sure they get their feet under them, some position players to not tax them early in the season, I think we’ve done that.
“A lot of guys that don’t play every day, they’ve gotten starts and at-bats, which will help us going forward. So yeah, I think up to this point we’ve done a really nice job.”
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