Dodgers enter All-Star break with win over Angels and gratitude for their record
The Dodgers’ rotation lost Dustin May because of a season-ending elbow injury in mid-May, Tony Gonsolin due to an ankle injury for all of April, Julio Urías to a hamstring strain for six weeks of May and June, Noah Syndergaard to a bruised earned-run average (7.16) in early June and Clayton Kershaw to an inflamed shoulder last week.
The bullpen was a hot mess for 2 1/2 months, ranking second to last in the majors with a 4.97 ERA in mid-June before finding its footing — but losing potential setup man Daniel Hudson because of another knee injury — over the past three weeks.
The lineup against left-handed starters often falls off a cliff after All-Stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and J.D. Martinez and slugger Max Muncy, the struggles of Miguel Vargas, James Outman and Miguel Rojas putting a drag on production.
The Dodgers are inching closer to shipping Miguel Vargas to triple-A Oklahoma City as the second baseman continues to struggle at the plate.
There are 12 front-line players on the injured list, including erstwhile ace Walker Buehler, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, and shortstop Gavin Lux, who suffered a freak season-ending knee injury in February.
But with all that has gone wrong, the Dodgers enter the All-Star break after Saturday night’s 10-5 win over the Angels at Chavez Ravine with a 51-38 record, and they’re a half-game behind Arizona in the National League West.
“We’ve been playing average baseball, but this homestand was more like what we’re about,” Muncy said after the Dodgers won five of six games from the Pirates and Angels. “We’ve had a ton of injuries. We haven’t been playing that great, and we’re still a half-game behind the Diamondbacks for first place.
“We’ve kept ourselves in a good spot, and that’s really what it’s all about. You try to keep yourself in contention, and at some point, we’re gonna go on a nice little run here, and when we do I know we’ll start putting some distance between us and other teams.”
The Dodgers put more distance between themselves and the Angels on Saturday night, crushing five solo homers and breaking the game open with a five-run second to extend their win streak over their Southern California rivals to 10 games dating to 2021.
It’s painful, but Bill Plaschke argues the Angels have no chance of retaining Shohei Ohtani and must trade him to get as much as possible in return.
Betts jump-started the offense in the first with his team-high 26th homer, giving him a franchise-record 10 leadoff homers this season and 46 in his career, which ties him with Jimmy Rollins for seventh on baseball’s all-time list.
“It’s pretty impressive, the first half that he’s had,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Betts. “I kind of made the comparison weeks ago to Rickey Henderson, you know, he steps in the box and he’s already in scoring position. It’s instant offense.”
Freeman hit a two-out, two-run double and Smith followed with a two-run single in the second, Freeman added a solo homer in the fourth, Muncy hit a solo homer in the second and an RBI single in the fourth, and Martinez (sixth inning) and David Peralta (seventh) hit solo homers to pace a 10-hit attack.
“We ended it on a good note,” Freeman said of the first half. “We played really good baseball this whole homestand. The last couple weeks, I really like how we’ve been playing. Obviously to finish strong, to finish very hot going into the All-Star break, is kind of what we envisioned, and we were able to accomplish that.”
Michael Grove threw six innings in a bulk-relief role for the Dodgers, giving up four runs and six hits, striking out six and walking one after replacing left-handed opener Alex Vesia, who threw a scoreless first inning.
Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 32nd homer, a two-run shot in the seventh, and added a single, triple and sacrifice fly, but that didn’t prevent the Angels from limping into the break having lost nine of 10 games to fall to 45-46, their first time under .500 since they were 11-12 on April 24.
More bad news for the Angels: an already overcrowded training room added another patient when left fielder Jo Adell left the game after his first-inning strikeout because of left-oblique discomfort.
The Dodgers’ pitching ranks have been ravaged. The only ace who could rescue them is Julio Urías, who must start living up to his potential.
The Dodgers are expected to aggressively pursue a starting pitcher and a reliever or two before the Aug. 1 trade deadline to bolster a rotation that ranks 20th in MLB with a 4.56 ERA and a bullpen that ranks 23rd with a 4.43 ERA.
The offense ranks second in homers (149) and walks (366), third in OPS (.786) and fourth in runs (494) thanks in part to its clutch hitting.
Betts ranks among baseball’s top 10 in OPS (.965), homers (26) and RBIs (62) and is batting .333 (26 for 78) with a major league-high 1.209 OPS, 10 homers and eight doubles when leading off games this season. He’s batting .405 (17 for 42) with seven homers, eight doubles and 15 RBIs in 12 games since June 27.
“It seems like every swing, he’s barreling up the ball,” Freeman said of Betts, who will participate in Monday’s home run derby and start in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. “Sometimes breaks can come at the wrong time, but I think Mookie found something in his swing, and he’s been able to lock it in and have an unbelievable what, 30, 35 games now? It’s been that special. It’s been fun to watch.”
Martinez has 22 homers and Muncy has 21; Freeman leads MLB in doubles (31) and is fourth in batting (.320), and Jason Heyward (.811 OPS, eight homers) and Peralta (.757 OPS, seven homers) have contributed in platoon roles.
The Dodgers are 12-5 since losing 11 of 16 games from May 31 to June 18 to fall a season-high 4 1/2 games back in the division.
“I guess there’s always room for improvement — things could be worse, right?” Roberts said. “I think our best baseball is ahead of us. Considering all that we’ve gone through, no one has wavered. We’re right in the thick of things.”
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