The Los Angeles Dodgers may have finally turned the corner. After suffering their fourth straight for loss for the third time in less than a month, the back-to-back World Series champs needed to do something to change their mediocre ways.
That, of course, is hyperbole, insofar as the fourth straight loss left them just half a game behind the San Diego Padres, and still the odds-on favorite (per various betting sites) to win their third straight title. But, they most certainly were not playing solid baseball. More specifically, they were not hitting.
The next night, the Dodgers took the club’s (and all of MLB’s) best hitter over the past two seasons out of the batting lineup and called on him to pitch. And all Shohei Ohtani did was throw seven scoreless innings while yielding just four hits and striking out eight. Two relievers shut down the San Francisco Giants in the eighth and ninth innings to break Los Angeles’ losing streak.
But, more importantly, the Dodgers had nine hits in their eight times to the plate, with rookie Santiago Espinal and recently-off-the-IL Mookie Betts slugging back-to-back home runs to lead off the bottom of the third inning. The struggling Kyle Tucker (.253/.356/.400 going into the game) had two hits, as did Teoscar Hernández (.241/.320/.368), who had been moved down to the eighth spot in the lineup the night before.
On Thursday, Los Angeles came up with another eight hits, and scored five runs in a 5-2 win over those same Giants. Ohtani got another day off – Manager Dave Roberts is trying to pace the four-time MVP, giving him a day off after he pitched the night before – and Tucker went 0-for-4. But Hernández had three more hits, including two doubles, and was key the team’s victory.
Los Angeles headed down to Anaheim on Friday to kick-off a series during MLB’s Rivalry Weekend. When the final out was recorded, the Dodgers had a 6-0 victory, their third in a row, and now sit half a game ahead of the Padres. As important at the outcome was that center fielder Andy Pages got his first hit in a week, and it was a three-run home run; Max Muncy continued his hitting ways with a solo homer; and Hernández hit a two-run dinger along with a single. Tucker went 0-for-3, but that is just because Jo Adell robbed him of an RBI double with an incredible diving play in right field. The Dodgers put up six runs on eight hits, but could have more but for the aforementioned Adell, and third baseman Vaughn Grissom who robbed catcher Will Smith of an RBI double.
The Dodgers have two more games against the Angels this weekend, with Ohtani ostensibly back in the lineup for both. They keep heading south on Monday to take on San Diego for three games, and then head to Milwaukee to face the always-tough-to-beat Brewers. With Roberts, who has been at the helm of this club for eleven seasons, there was never any worry or doubt that the team would right the ship and start hitting. And, to be clear, they are built for the long-haul, not getting hung up on a bad stretch in May. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been and remain focused on October. That is why they don’t seem to be losing any sleep over Blake Snell’s recent trip to the IL with loose bodies in his elbow.
With their current three-game winning streak, which netted four, five, and six runs, Los Angeles has upped their team slash line to .262/.341/.434, which looks remarkably close to what they had in 2024 (.258/.335/.446) and again in 2025 (.253/.327/.441). Three four game losing streaks may have begot headlines and provided hope to the rest of the league, but the Dodgers, it appears, are simply inevitable.
