The Los Angeles Dodgers took care of business against the Texas Rangers in the opener of a two-game Interleague series on Tuesday, breaking out the bats en route to an 8-4 victory at Globe Life Park.
As has been the case throughout their current four-game winning streak, the Dodgers offense clicked on all cylinders. This time, the club compiled 15 hits — four of them for extra bases — and continued to find success with runners in scoring position.
In that department, the Dodgers went 5-for-17 (.294). That’s right in line with their showing against the San Diego Padres over the weekend, when the team went a combined 11-for-37 with runners in scoring position (.297).
Manny Machado, who led the way with four RBI, was once again pleased with the Dodgers’ offensive production in clutch situations, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“Can’t win ballgames by just hitting home runs,” said Machado, who has nine RBIs in the last three games. “We’re preaching about passing the baton to the next guy, just taking what the pitchers give us. Today, we did a good job with that, stick to the plan and we did our job.”
Though the Dodgers have been reliant on the home run ball this season, it’s certainly refreshing to see the lineup manufacture runs in other ways as of late.
For Machado, he finds himself in the midst of his best offensive stretch since being acquired by the Dodgers during the All-Star Break.
Over his last three contests, the 26-year-old has driven in a team-high nine RBI. In that span, he has collected five hits in 14 at-bats (.357) with two home runs.
