MidValleySports.Com

By Those Deferred BenchWarmers

What a difference a weekend makes. Heading into the weekend, the Dodgers had lost four straight, were a game back of first in the NL West, and the vibes were at an all time low. Now, heading into a new week, the Dodgers just swept their chief competitor in the NL West,  are in first place by two games, and the vibes are massively high. We refuse to ride the roller coaster! It’s business as usual this week. 

The Week in Review
Headline for the Week: Dodgers Sweep Padres to Second 

Results: The Dodgers dominated the Padres: the teams were tied for two innings in the series, and the Padres held a lead just once, for an inning and a half, in the series. The Dodgers led the other 24 innings in winning the three games by a combined score of 14-6. 

Pitching Analysis: It felt like the mid 2010s on Friday night, with the Dodgers reeling and turning to Clayton Kershaw to stop the bleeding. And, just like he has countless times, he delivered. Kershaw went six strong innings, allowing only two hits. Blake Snell continued the dominance, tossing six shutout innings against his former team. Tyler Glasnow struck out 8 in 5 innings, but gave up two runs – which, comparatively, was the worst start of the series for the Dodgers. It goes to show you how dominant the Dodger starters were. The bullpen showed flashes. Each reliever who gave up a run also had a scoreless appearance in the series, and Blake Treinen came on strong throughout the whole series. It feels like the Dodger pitching staff is recovering from injuries and rounding into form.
  
Hitting Analysis: The Dodger offense worked 12 walks in the three game series. At one point in game two, they had 1 hit, six walks, and five runs. It was a testament to how the Dodger offense is built: pass the baton and take advantage of the opportunities presented. In fact, the Dodgers took advantage of sacrifice flies and errors more than clutch hitting, as they were 3 for 13 in the series with RISP, but each of those hits came in big moments. 

The biggest moments, however, belonged to Dodgers who had been struggling. In game one, Teoscar Hernandez hit his 19th homerun to pad the Dodger lead and set the vibes for the rest of the series. In game two, the Dodgers loaded the bases on walks with one out, then pushed a run home on a sacrifice fly. After yet another walk, the Padres were teetering on the brink as Michael Conforto faced a 3-2 count. Escaping with only one run across would have been a big win for the Padres, but instead Conforto smacked a single to plate two more and keep the Dodgers in command. In game three, it was Mookie Betts’ turn. The Dodgers raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first, but the lead slowly dwindled as the game went on. The Padres tied the score in the top of the eighth, and headed into the bottom of the eighth with the momentum. That momentum lasted three pitches, as Betts took Padres’ closer Robert Suarez’s 2-0 pitch into the left field bleachers. Betts finished the series 1 for 9, but he still managed to walk twice, score three times, and drive in two runs. He struck out zero times and he hit the ball hard.

Dodger Record Since We Said Not to Worry: 13-11

Next Series’ Preview
Matchups: The Dodgers head to Colorado for a four game set with the last place Rockies.

What to Look for/Analysis: We said last week that if the idea that the Dog Days of August and the Dodgers being bored about the regular season are true, then the Padres series should be one of the times the Dodgers are awake. True or not, they are definitely awake. The Rockies are sending pitchers with ERAs all over five, with three of them over 6.43. It’s Coors Field however, and the Dodgers are in San Diego over the weekend. They shouldn’t look ahead!