Since the 2013 season, something of a rivalry has developed between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers. It gained steam last season when Arizona rattled off nine consecutive wins in their head-to-head meetings.
A matchup in the 2017 National League Division Series went heavily in the Dodgers’ favor as they completed a sweep, but this season has tiled back in the Diamondbacks’ favor. Entering Sunday they were in position to complete a second three-game series sweep of the Dodgers this season.
Overall, Arizona had won 11 in a row, which was the worst losing streak in Los Angeles franchise history.
Despite the Diamondbacks’ current run of success, manager Torey Lovullo conceded that the NL West still runs through the Dodgers but he’s nonetheless happy with his team’s play, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“I know the Dodgers are an incredible franchise and they’re on a great run,” said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. “This is a powerful organization. The fact that we’re doing that means we’re doing something very special. I’m very proud of that.”
Winning 11 straight games against a division opponent is certainly an impressive feat, so Lovullo does have a reason to be proud of his ballclub.
The Dodgers were able to break that streak on Sunday afternoon behind seven strong innings from Clayton Kershaw and Chris Taylor’s three RBI, resulting in a 7-2 victory.
The win moved the Dodgers to 5-9 after their slow start to the season, which still leaves them 5.5 games behind the Diamondbacks, who sit atop the NL West at 11-4.
There is a lot of baseball to be played, but one thing that Lovullo and the Diamondbacks have shown so far this season is that they have the ability to compete with the best teams in the league and could look to challenge Los Angeles for supremacy in the NL West.
The two teams next square off beginning Monday, April 30 at Chase Field for a four-game series.
