Dodgers take a stormy route to the playoffs

After beating the Washington Nationals on Sunday, the Dodgers magic number to win the National League West title is six.

But it looks like the Dodgers will need more than magic to make a successful playoff run.

Injuries and pitching problems, mainly the arrest and suspension of Julio Urias, has made the staff extremely thin. Reinforcements aren’t coming any time soon either with news of Walker Buehler missing the remainder of the season recovering from surgery.

That leaves Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller and Lance Lynn to hold down the rotation in the playoffs. 

Ryan Pepiot and perhaps Ryan Yarbrough will fill in when needed. It’s not a promising playoff picture, and not the rotation the Dodgers had in mind for October.

It’s a sad time for the Dodgers. Even the weather in Washington, D.C., was dark and gloomy.

All three games against the Nationals were delayed by rain. The game on Saturday was delayed by four hours. The Dodgers ended up losing that one 7-6 in 11 innings.

The Dodgers went 3-3 on their road trip last week to Miami and Washington. The Dodgers lost two of three games to the Marlins and won two of three games against the Nationals. 

It was a rough road trip for the Dodgers.

“I think right now we're all emotionally (and) physically spent,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Associated Press after Sunday’s game. “Happy to come away with what we did on this road trip and get home and get back to some good weather.”

But it was quite a weekend for Freddie Freeman. 

The Dodgers All Star first baseman broke the franchise record for doubles in a season. He hit his 53rd double of the season in Friday’s game. The Dodgers won, 8-5. Freeman broke the Dodgers record set by Johnny Fredrickson in 1929. Fredrickson, who hit 52 doubles in the 1929 season, still holds the record for most doubles in a season by a rookie.

Freeman hit another double in Saturday’s game to give him 54 with 20 games left to play. The National League record for doubles in a season is 64, set by Joe Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936. 

Earl Webb of the Boston Red Sox has the major league record for doubles in a season with 67 set in 1931. 

For good measure, Freeman went 2-for-4 and scored two runs in Sunday’s game to raise his batting average to .336.

James Outman hit his 19th home run of the season to improve his case for National League Rookie of the Year.

And Max Muncy hit his 34th home run of the season in Saturday’s game. It was a two-run shot in the eighth inning.

At least the hitters are providing a little sunshine for Dodgers fans.

Dodgers starter power rankings:

1. Ryan Pepiot
2. Ryan Yabrough
3. Clayton Kershaw
4. Emmet Sheehan
5. Bobby Miller

The Dodgers (87-55) start a three-game series with the San Diego Padres tonight and head to Seattle for a three-game weekend series with the Mariners.

Dodgers season takes a nasty turn

If it wasn’t bad enough for the Dodgers after losing three of four games at home to the Atlanta Braves, Julio Urias was arrested and charged with domestic violence after the series on Monday.

It’s the second time Urias has been accused of domestic violence.

In the wise words of Maya Angelou, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”

This couldn’t happen to Urias and the Dodgers at a worse time. What Urias is accused of is horrible, for the victim, for the team, for the Dodgers organization. 

The Dodgers said that Urias won’t be traveling with the team to Miami. The Dodgers start a series with the Marlins Tuesday. While the investigation into what happened with Urias is underway, his participation with the team is on hold.

The Dodgers pitching staff was already thin. It leaves Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller and Lance Lynn as the only reliable starters in the rotation. Perhaps Ryan Pepiot enters the rotation. After that is anyone’s guess.

But filling out the rotation is the least of the Dodgers problems.

The Dodgers can’t resign Urias after this. It’s a shame too. The image of him on the mound for the final out of the 2020 World Series is etched in Dodger lore. It will have a footnote now that joins the accomplishments of Trevor Bauer.

Instead of being the next Fernando Valenzuela, Urias will become the OJ Simpson of the Dodgers.

It was a rough weekend for the Dodgers. 

They lost the first three games of the weekend series against the Braves, what many saw as a preview to the National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers and Braves are by far the best teams in the National League.

Mookie Betts and Ronald Acuna Jr. put on a show in the first game. Betts hit two home runs. Acuna hit a grand slam. Each player looked like an MVP. But the Braves hung on to win 8-7.

The third game was another nailbiter. The score was tied 1-1 after nine innings. The Braves took a 4-1 lead in the 10th inning on a three-run home run by Orlando Arcia and won their sixth game in a row, 4-2.

The Dodgers won the fourth game of the series on Sunday night, 3-1, and avoided the sweep. Miller earned the win going seven innings and giving up three hits in only his 17th career start. He’ll need a lot more starts like that if the Dodgers are to make a deep playoff run.

“After getting our teeth kicked in a little bit after the first three games, we really needed this one today," Miller told the Associated Press after Sunday’s game. “I was really locked in. I had a great feeling going into this game. Probably the most locked in I've ever been so far. ... That’s a big goal for me, to dominate a team for the second time."

It looks like it’s going to be a rough September for the Dodgers.

Dodger starter power rankings:

1. Bobby Miller
2. Clayton Kershaw
3. Ryan Pepiot
4. Emmet Sheehan
5. Lance Lynn

The Dodgers (82-49) head to Miami to start a three-game series with the Marlins. They then travel to Washington for a three-game weekend series with the Nationals.

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.