After alternating between winning and losing streaks to begin the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers hovered around .500 during a road trip with matchups against the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs.
The Dodgers finished 4-3 against the two teams they beat over the past two National League Championship Series but were outscored 31-26 over the seven-game stretch. The team ended the trip on a high note, defeating the Cubs, 2-1, to avoid a sweep at Wrigley Field.
Despite the ups and downs throughout the trip, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came away pleased with how his team performed, via per SportsNet LA:
“I thought it was a good road trip. I really did. You look at our last two NLCS opponents, for us to go on the road, both of those teams were playing good baseball. For us to come out of it 4-3, I thought it was very positive. Could’ve won more, could’ve lost more. But I think the way we played the games was really good.”
The Dodgers started the trip by taking three out of four games from the Brewers, getting payback after Milwaukee nearly pulled off a sweep at Dodger Stadium the weekend prior. Clutch home runs in separate games by Kiké Hernandez and Cody Bellinger off star Brewers reliever Josh Hader helped make the difference in the series.
L.A. then dropped the first two games at Wrigley Field, as the Cubs ambushed Kenta Maeda on Tuesday night before rallying against the Dodgers bullpen on Wednesday. The pitching staff rallied behind Ross Stripling, however, and turned in a sterling performance in a 2-1 win with the only Cubs run coming off Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning.
As Roberts alluded to, the Brewers and Cubs both have been playing well of late. Though, Milwaukee came out of their series with the Dodgers and were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Brewers’ and Cubs’ rosters remain largely unchanged from 2018 and both teams figure to potentially contend for the NL pennant in 2019. Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ schedule will not get easier as they head home.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, off to a better-than-expected start this season, await them for a weekend series at Dodger Stadium.
