Mookie Betts finds his groove on the road

Mookie Betts made the most of his return to Boston in a weekend series against the Red Sox.

He had seven hits, drove in four runs and hit his 35th home run, tying a career-high he set last year.

He hit .467 in the three games against the Red Sox, his first games in Fenway Park since being traded to the Dodgers. 

“I’m sure he’s going to sleep well tonight. I’m sure he’s physically and emotionally exhausted,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Associated Press after Sunday’s game. “But, man, he’s a pro and he does a great job of compartmentalizing. It’s fun when you have expectations for a superstar and he delivers. And he did.”

Betts raised his batting average to .315 and has entered the conversation for MVP. When he was playing for the Red Sox, Betts won the 2018 American League MVP, the same year the Red Sox beat the Dodgers in the World Series.

Now he’s leading the Dodgers to another playoff push.

It’s no coincidence the Dodgers are 21-4 in August, the same time Betts started turning it on at the plate. The Dodgers took two of three games against the Red Sox in Boston, went 4-2 last week on the road against the Cleveland Guardians and Red Sox, and are 17-3 in their last 20 games.

It took two days for the Dodgers to win the second game of the series against the Guardians. Clayton Kershaw started the game on Wednesday and went two innings before it was suspended because of rain. The game was completed on Thursday with Ryan Pepiot picking up the win. 

Betts ended up with five hits in the game too, a 6-1 win for the Dodgers.

Betts went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs in Sunday’s game against the Red Sox. The Dodgers won 7-4. 

He had another three-hit game Saturday against the Red Sox, going 3-for-6 with an RBI in an 8-5 loss.

In Friday’s game, Betts was 1-for-4 and scored two runs. The Dodgers won that game, 7-4.

He and Freddie Freeman combined for 14 hits in the three games against the Red Sox. 

The Dodgers have four more games to play in August and have a 12-game lead over those annoying Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West standings.

Dodger starting pitcher power rankings:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Caleb Ferguson
3. Lance Lynn
4. Bobby Miller
5. Julio Urias

The Dodgers (80-49) can put some more distance over the Diamondbacks in the standings this week. The Dodgers start a three-game series against the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium tonight. They end the week at home with a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves. 

Dodgers celebrate Fernando, win eighth game in a row

The Dodgers swept the visiting Colorado Rockies in a four-game weekend series and have put together an eight-game winning streak.

The Dodgers went 6-0 against the Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks last week, have won 12 of their past 13 games and are 20-9 since the All Star break.

And for those keeping score at home, the Dodgers are 32-17 since Pride Night on June 16.

It all adds up to an 8.5-game lead in the National League West standings over those surprising San Francisco Giants.

It’s been a successful stretch since the trade deadline too, with new additions making valuable contributions. The most valuable might be Amed Rosario. He hit a solo home run in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Rockies.

In addition to sweeping the lowly Rockies, the Dodgers celebrated Fernando Valenzuela over the weekend. His No. 34 was retired on Friday night. Saturday night was his bobblehead night. Sunday was 1981 World Series ring day. 

Valenzuela was on two World Series championship teams for the Dodgers. He was the ace of the staff in 1981, a strike-shortened season that ended with Valenzuela winning the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year. The Dodgers and New York Yankees met for the third time in five years in the World Series, with the Yankees winning the first two in 1977 and 1978. The Dodgers won the World Series in six games in 1981.

Valenzuela was also on the 1988 World Series championship team for the Dodgers, although he was not as effective in that season.

Another one of his noteworthy moments, and there were many, was when he threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1990. There were reminders of all Valenzula’s greatest moments as a Dodger at the stadium all weekend.

While the Dodgers were celebrating their past heroes, the current Dodgers were putting on a show.

Tony Gonsolin and Julio Urias made encouraging starts in the final two games of the series against the Rockies.

Gonsolin started Saturday’s game and made one bad pitch. It was his first pitch. Ezequiel Tovar hit a lead-off home run to give the Rockies a short-lived 1-0 lead. 

Gonsolin settled down after that, allowing only two more hits in six innings and won his eighth game of the season.

Urias started on Sunday and matched a career high in strikeouts with 12. He improved to 10-6 in an 8-3 win over the Rockies, won his third game in a row and his fifth game in his past seven starts.

He has given up six runs and struck out 27 batters in his past 24 innings pitched. 

It’s a good sign for the Dodgers if Gonsolin and Urias return to the form that made them all stars last season.

“If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s if you get hit in the face you just keep going,” Gonsolin told the Associated Press after Saturday’s game.

Dodgers starting pitcher power rankings:

1. Julio Urias
2. Tony Gonsolin
3. Clayton Kershaw
4. Lance Lynn
5. Bobby Miller

The Dodgers (71-46) start a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. They have a weekend series with the Miami Marlins at home starting on Friday. 

Dodgers break the Sunday curse

The Dodgers won on Sunday. Normally that isn’t big news, but this year is different. It’s different for a lot of reasons for the Dodgers. But losing on Sundays has become a habit for this team.

The Dodgers lost 10 games in a row on Sunday before beating the San Diego Padres 8-2. It capped another impressive week for the Dodgers. The went 5-1 in six games against the Padres and Oakland A’s and maintained their lead in the National League West standings by four games over those surprising San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers have been on quite a roll lately. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and improved to 7-2 against the Padres this season.

It looks like all those off-season moves by the Padres aren’t working out too well.

As for the Dodgers, their recent moves are working out just fine, maybe a little better than expected.

Lance Lynn, making his second start since being traded to the Dodgers from the Chicago White Sox, looked impressive Sunday. He gave up one run on four hits in six innings to earn his second win for the Dodgers. In his two starts with the Dodgers, he is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA. He has pitched 13 innings, given up four earned runs on nine hits, and has 13 strikeouts and three walks. He has however given up four home runs in two games, which was a problem before he was traded. On the bright side, they have all been solo home runs.

Lynn told the Associated Press his first two starts with the Dodgers “have been fun.”

“The offense has given me runs early and the defense has played great behind me,” he said, adding getting off to a big lead is a chance “to get yourself in a groove.”

The other new Dodger making an impact is Amed Rosario. The Dodgers new second baseman from the Cleveland Guardians hit a two-run home run in Sunday’s game against the Padres. He has two home runs, a double and eight RBIs in his last six games. But more importantly, he gives the Dodgers a regular and healthy second baseman, something they haven’t had all season.

This Dodgers team is different. It has some familiar faces, some surprising newcomers and some grizzled veterans who are all making contributions. It might not be the best team the Dodgers have put on the field in recent years, but it is playing better than most of them lately. 

Dodgers starting pitcher power rankings:

1. Lance Lynn
2. Julio Urias
3. Tony Gonsolin
4. Bobby Miller
5. Michael Grove

The Dodgers (64-46) wrap up their four-game series with the Padres today. They head to Arizona for a two-game series against those annoying Diamondbacks on Tuesday before ending the week with a four-game weekend series against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.