Since the all-star break, the Los Angeles Dodgers have proved that consistency is the key to winning baseball games. In July, Los Angeles was trailing the New York Yankees in terms of having the best record in baseball. Today in early September, they stand alone with a 93-42 record, 19 games better than the San Diego Padres in their division, 12 games ahead of the Yankees, and 6.5 games better than the American League-leading Houston Astros.
With a magic number of 8, Los Angeles is a cinch to win the National League West division for the 9th time in 10 years, and with a .689 winning percentage, they are projecting out to 112 wins. Every reliable sportsbook has the Dodgers as both National League (+250), and World Series (+350) favorites, only the Houston Astros (+500) come even close to Los Angeles in terms of odds.
Incredible Run Differential
The Los Angeles Dodgers have scored 726 runs through 135 games while giving up just 432, a difference of +294 runs. That is almost twice the run differential of the Houston Astros (+156). Additionally, the Dodger’s runs scored and runs allowed are the most and the least in the league, respectively.
The Dodgers’ offense is led by the trio of Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, and Freddie Freeman, and is punctuated by Will Smith batting in the cleanup spot. Still, it runs much more profound with former all-stars Justin Turner, Max Muncy, Joey Gallo, and Cody Bellinger also rotating in and out of a lineup that includes Chris Taylor, Gavin Lux, and Trace Thompson. The Dodgers are the only team in baseball with three former league MVPs playing in Bellinger, Freeman, and Betts.
While much can be made of their offense, the Dodgers’ pitching staff may be more responsible for their success this season. This despite a rash of injuries that beset the staff, including losing their number one starter Walker Beuhler for the entire season.
Much credit goes to Julio Urias, Tyler Anderson, and Tony Gonsolin. Gonsolin, who was projected as a 4/5 starter at the beginning of the season, has gone a surprising 16-1 and was selected to his first all-star game in July. Anderson, who has never won more than seven games in a season, has already won 14, while Urias continues to produce at a level that could see him opening for the team in the playoffs. Clayton Kershaw, who, despite being 34 years old, has gone 10-3, rounds out one of the deeper starting rotations in baseball.
The bullpen is arguably the best in the league. Evan Phillips, Caleb Furgeson, Alex Vesia, and Chris Hudson have been pitching strong middle relief innings, while Craig Kimbrel has seemed to find form as a closer.
The Dodgers will look to get back Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol, and starter Dustin May before the playoffs and should look even more complete than they do now.
Tim Kurkjian Approved
The Dodgers’ fantastic performance this year has been further addressed by one of the MLB analysts on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter, Tim Kurkjian. The 65-year-old sports contributor has witnessed decades of baseball history, and he couldn’t hold his astonishment at the Dodgers in 2022.
He expressed his thoughts on the LA team being one to watch this season. He further added:
“They are so good right now. What they’re doing now is remarkable. They are playing as well as any Dodgers team that I have ever seen and I’ve been covering baseball for over 4 decades.”
Kurkjian is undoubtedly a reliable professional who is about to celebrate his 50th anniversary as a sports journalist. Not once has he expressed some bold statements, but this one seems to be coming from facts rather than emotions.
