After getting off to one of the worst starts to a season in franchise history, the Los Angeles Dodgers have rebounded and again find themselves in the postseason hunt.
Propelled by hitting 55 home runs in June, the most by any Dodgers team in history, they climbed back up the National League West standings to get within striking distance of Arizona Diamondbacks. The power surge coincided with the club also getting healthy.
Justin Turner, who began the season on the 10-day disabled list, provided a spark with his return. And Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw were all activated during a two-week stretch in June.
The Dodgers won five of seven games before beginning a weekend series with the Colorado Rockies that’s resulted in back-to-back losses.
While there’s been improvement as a whole, manager Dave Roberts believes the Dodgers will reach greater heights, via Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times:
“I think that our best days are still ahead of us,” manager Dave Roberts said.
After facing the Rockies on Sunday, the Dodgers have series with Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (twice) and San Diego Padres prior to the All-Star break.
The second half of the season is expected to bring the returns of Hyun-Jin Ryu (groin) and Julio Urias (shoulder); with the latter yet to pitch in 2018. Meanwhile, Walker Buehler could potentially be recalled from High-A Rancho Cucamonga before the unofficial midway point.
The Dodgers are looking to extend their unprecedented streak of NL West titles to six, and are still searching for their first World Series since 1988.
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