The Los Angeles Dodgers overcame a slow start in April and ripped off the first 43-7 stretch since the 1912 New York Giants. That also bested the Dodgers’ remarkable 42-8 run during the summer months of the 2013 season.
At one point, the Dodgers were on pace to match the all-time MLB record of 116 wins in a single season, which is shared by the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners. At one point Los Angeles was 51 games over .500 and led the National League West by 21 games.
The past two weeks have brought about an entirely different set of results. The Dodgers fell to the Colorado Rockies on Friday night, suffering an eighth consecutive loss.
Myriad reasons for the slide have been thrown out by an increasingly frustrated fan base, including blaming Sports Illustrated for a cover jinx.
Last month, they used a photograph of Yasiel Puig dumping a bucket of Gatorade on Justin Turner after his walk-off RBI single during a July game against the Minnesota Twins.
The publication posed the question: “Best. Team. Ever?” In effort to break a purported curse and cover jinx, SportsNet LA analyst Nomar Garciaparra and studio host John Hartung burned a copy of the magazine’s cover:
.@Nomar5 & @_JohnHartung take matters in their own hands to release the curse of the #SportsIllustrated cover. 💥 pic.twitter.com/5s0wTvtT6g
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 9, 2017
The Dodgers are 4-14 since the Sports Illustrated cover was unveiled. The following night, Rich Hill lost his perfect game in the ninth inning and no-hitter in the 10th inning at PNC Park.
Despite the skid, the Dodgers enter play Saturday with a still-comfortable 10-game lead over the Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West. What’s more, they are five games ahead of the Washington Nationals for the best record in baseball.
