After falling to the Texas Rangers on Friday, the Los Angeles Dodgers were in danger of suffering their first series loss in the ensuing two games at Globe Life Field. It was a position they had just been in days prior following a loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Like they did at Oracle Park by sweeping a doubleheader, the Dodgers responded with back-to-back wins to ensure their standing as the lone team this season that has yet to lose a series. They will come out of Monday’s off day 9-0-3 thus far in 2020.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts understandably said continuing to not lose series means “a lot.”
“No. 1, we’re just trying to win as many games as possible. When you talk about winning series, you continue to win series and ultimately you’ll be the champion,” he added. “That kind of mindset of winning series is certainly at the forefront of our minds and that’s the goal every time we go into a series.”
Roberts also was pleased with his team’s resolve in twice responding after losing a series opener. “I think it just speaks to the mindset. Regardless of losing the first game of a series, we’re trying to win every game,” he said.
“There’s no panic in the clubhouse and we really take pride in how we play the game. You take how we prepare and play the game, with the talent, we’re going to win a lot of games. The goal is to keep winning series and do that indefinitely. I certainly like what we’ve done all year.”
Mookie Betts added: “It’s huge. Every series is important. It shows what kind of team we have. We can make it up in all facets of the game. That’s what a complete team does. We’ve been doing pretty well. Obviously you’re not going to win them all, but we can at least be in them all and come away with some wins when we don’t feel good.”
The 1990 Cincinnati Reds hold the MLB record for starting a season without a series loss in 17 consecutive sets. The 1977 Dodgers hold the franchise record and are tied with the with the ’97 Baltimore Orioles for the second-longest streak at 14 such series.
Dodgers NL home run record
En route to avoiding a series loss, the Dodgers set a National League record for most home runs in a calendar month with 57. They broke the record of 56 that was set by the Atlanta Braves in June 2019.
While Betts found value in the Dodgers avoiding series losses, their display of power didn’t resonate nearly as much. “I don’t think it means anything,” he said.
“It’s a pretty cool stat to accomplish, but I think the No. 1 thing is the World Series, so we have to continue to work for that.”
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