Adrian Gonzalez found his power stroke last night, hitting
two homers as the Dodgers completed a sweep of the Phillies to move 1.5 games
ahead of San Francisco in the NL West.
Los Angeles has made this run to catch and pass the Giants
because San Francisco has been in a free fall since the All-Star break and the
Dodgers have been wielding some very hot bats.
Since the break, five Dodgers are hitting above .300
(Seager, Kendrick, Turner, Pederson, Gonzalez) and Yasmani Grandal has warmed
up, bringing his average to .288 after hovering around .200 most of the year.
Seven Dodgers are in double figures with HRs with Turner and
Seager battling for the team lead.
But the most amazing part of the Dodgers second-half run has
been a pitching staff that couldn’t be recognized in a lineup.
Kenta Maeda (12-7) and Scott Kazmir (10-6) have been the
anchors since Clayton Kershaw (11-2) went on the DL but Brett Anderson, Ross
Stripling, Bud Norris, Brandon McCarthy, Jose Urias and a strong bullpen
have kept the Dodgers in the running.
Los Angeles acquired Rich Hill (9-3, 2.25 ERA) from Oakland but
he is still in Arizona trying to get his blisters to heal.
If Kershaw and Hill return for the stretch run the Dodgers
may have enough pitching to challenge the likes of Chicago, Washington, San
Francisco and St. Louis. The Dodgers have a good shot to get a Wild Card slot
if they can’t hold off the Giants in the NL West.
The Dodgers get San Francisco and Chicago next week, which
should give us a good indication of how we match up.
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