Milwaukee — The manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers expressed surprise the night the team tied for the best record in baseball. or comfort. or a combination of the two.
“It’s remarkable,” Dave Roberts said Monday. “It doesn’t feel like it.”
He is accurate. More days and production have been lost on the injured list by the Dodgers than by any other major league team. The players who have continued to play have put in extended periods of mediocre baseball play. Playing poorly combined with an injury is not a good mix. So it sounded more like bravado than anything else when Will Smith said that they were the “greatest team in baseball” following their sweeping of the Padres at the end of July.
The Dodgers are facing a real threat to win the division, which they have dominated for the majority of the previous ten years, in mid-August for the first time since 2021. But, it is been sufficient in an MLB field where no club is on pace to win 100 games.
The Dodgers won, 7-2. They are 71-49, tied with the Guardians for the best record in baseball.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 14, 2024
Gavin Stone threw the ball well. Will Smith hit the ball well, as did his teammates (including homers from Smith, Shohei Ohtani, Gavin Lux and Andy Pages).
Time of game: 2:34.
“I believe it emphasizes the fairness (of the game),” general manager Brandon Gomes of the Dodgers stated on Monday afternoon. At 71-49, the Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians are tied. The New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and Baltimore Orioles are all just one hot weekend away from taking first place.
The Dodgers believe that it speaks more to what is possible than anything else. Their starting lineup is nearly back to full strength, with Mookie Betts’ return this week being the most significant boost to the team’s prospects.
“We’re having our team look like what we want our team to look like,” Clayton Kershaw said this week. “I think you’ll see us start to take off here soon.”
Tuesday night, in a 7-2 victory over a Milwaukee Brewers team vying for a postseason spot, the Dodgers showed it in spades. The Dodgers are still ahead by four games in a division that is destroying the game of baseball. Since July 20, all four of the top winning percentages in MLB have been held by teams in the National League West.
They’ve won five in a row and, for once, have plenty to be pleased with.
Gavin Stone went five innings, giving up his one run on a perfectly placed fastball that William Contreras hit out of the ballpark on the tenth pitch of the at-bat, to record his first victory since his shutout against the White Sox on June 26. Since that brilliant night in Chicago, Stone has struggled in his six outings, posting a 6.91 ERA, raising fears that the outstanding rookie had reached a breaking point.
Nevertheless, a few adjustments to the 25-year-old’s approach to the plate and his mechanics were able to end some of the matches with inadequate command. Stone was also helped by pitching with a lead.
Shohei Ohtani maintained his onslaught of power at major league ballparks, launching his 37th home run of the season into the second deck at American Family Field to lead the National League.
Since the All-Star break, Gavin Lux has been one of the top hitters in baseball, and he is continuing to revive his season by homering once more. Lux was impressed by his two-run blast into the second deck, demonstrating his exuding confidence. He keeps making aggressive cuts in an effort to increase exit velocities.
“I think this is the best version of Gavin Lux I’ve seen,” Roberts said. “He’s owning the plate. … Right now, he’s letting his bat speak and I like that little edge. He went bridge tonight, and you watch his demeanor hitting a homer and there’s a little swagger. That’s a good thing.”
Even Smith, who has fallen to sixth in the order due to his struggles over the past two months (hitting.191/294/.341 since June 1), had his best offensive night in more than a month.
“He hasn’t struggled like this in his big-league career,” Roberts said.
According to Smith, the diagnosis and symptoms have changed in the last few months. His weight was reduced. His hands were not coming to rest in the proper place. His swing’s components were not synchronized perfectly. Unlike the two-time All-Star, he was not exerting force with his legs in contact with the ground. He had the most unusual difficulty hitting fastballs.
Smith hit his first home run since July 6 to start the Dodgers’ second-inning scoring. On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, he crushed an inside sinker from Brewers starter Colin Rea to end a 100-plate appearance power slump. Since launching four home runs in a row against the same Brewers team, Smith had not had a long ball.
His second at-bat on Tuesday came against another inside fastball in the fourth, which he lofted into the outfield for a single. In the fifth, Rea attempted him with an inside sinker that was left around Smith’s belt, and the catcher finished the night with three hits by smoking one into left.
“That’s a good sign,” Smith said. “Just comes to getting my swing in the right positions.”
All nine batters in the order reached safely at least once, so nobody was left out of the fun. Andy Pages, who has minor league options and is now on the roster bubble, hit a home run to left that was fair and high enough to be the rookie’s first since June 18.
In less than a week, the Dodgers should be able to restock their roster with the scheduled activations of Walker Buehler, Ryan Brasier, Max Muncy, and Tommy Edman. There are more upward-pointing arrows.
Tuesday night, it felt like it.
“We’re playing good baseball,” Smith said. “Just trying to keep it going.”
(Photo of Gavin Lux being congratulated by Mookie Betts after he hit a home run against the Brewers: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
