At the beginning of the season, I, and I would venture many other fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers, didn’t think this team would amount to what we have been previously accustomed.
So many fan favorites moved on over the past two seasons, like Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner. Sure Cody had a down season last year, but look what’s he’s accomplishing in Chicago. JT also is producing in his new home to Boston.
Andrew Friedman and Co went out and brought in a bunch of ‘old’ guys, like J.D. Martinez, Miguel Rojas, and David Peralta. Jason Heyward also was thought to be well past his prime. The thought was this season was to see what young talent they had and hold off on giving any big contracts so maybe a certain pitcher/hitter across the freeway might come over after next season.
But what has this team done, even with a laundry list of injuries, is nothing short of impressive. The Dodgers currently have an 11 game winning streak, and are 10.5 (!) games ahead of the second place San Francisco Giants in the NL West.
The guys that were acquired before the trade deadline seemed meh. Lance Lynn had the highest ERA among qualified started in the league. Amed Rosario didn’t seem to move the scale either offensively or defensively. Kiké Hernandez was a fan favorite for sure, but wasn’t having the greatest season. Ryan Yarbrough? How was he going to help?
Lynn has gone 4-0 in his four starts as a Dodger, he’s sporting these stats – 1.44 ERA, 3.94 FIP, .189 AVG, 0.88 WHIP, 26.3 K%, 1.44 HR/9. Not too shabby. He’s also giving the bullpen a rest, going 7.0 innings in two of his starts.
Rosario has hit three homers in his first 13th games with the Dodgers, while he had three in 94 games with Cleveland. Hernandez is hitting over .300 since his return with several key hits. Yarbrough has become an incredible long man, already having a three inning save.
Old friend Joe Kelly has also returned, and while he is currently on the IL, has also had some great outings.
Never underestimate a change in scenery, I guess.
This team has incredible vibes to it. Manager Dave Roberts has said it’s his favorite team he’s ever managed. That 111 win team last year was missing that spark, and this year’s team has it. If the pitching holds up, this could be The Year.
A note on this weekend’s series with the Miami Marlins. Because Hurricane Hilary is expected to impact Southern California on Sunday, Sundays game has been moved to a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The first game will be at 12:10 PST, and the second will start at 6:10 PST.
Julio Urías will pitch the night game, as scheduled, and the day game will feature the season debut of Ryan Pepiot, who has been on the IL up until this point. Yarbrough will also be in equation.