Dodgers’ comeback has echoes of 2017

A year ago, the Dodgers had a magical season, winning 104 games and falling one game short of a World Series title.

The baseball gods may not grant them another shot. Clayton Kershaw may end his brilliant career without a World Series ring. The Dodger faithful, waiting for a title since 1988, may have to wait longer.

But last night in Chavez Ravine the Dodgers showed a little spark that had the look and feel of 2017. After being no-hit for five innings by Philadelphia’s Vince Velasquez, the Dodgers found themselves in a 4-0 hole.

The Dodgers got out of the hole with two runs in the sixth inning and three more in the eighth to knock off the Phillies, 5-4.

LA got big hits from Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Matt Kemp, Justin Turner, Yasmani Grandal and Max Muncy and a little help from a shaky Philadelphia defense.

LA’s bullpen bailed out starter Brock Stewart, who left after four innings as Scott Alexander, Erik Goeddel, Yimi Garcia and Kenley Jansen stitched together five innings of shutout ball in relief for the win.

With the win, the Dodgers remained 3.5 games behind Colorado but slipped past San Francisco for third place in the division. LA has Colorado and Arizona in their sights, winning for the ninth time in the last 11 games.

If they keep this up, we may have to party like its 2017.

Maeda shuts down Rocks for series win

Kenta Maeda tossed two-hit, shutout ball for 6.2 innings last night, striking out 12, as the Dodgers shut out the first-place Colorado Rockies 3-0, won the three-game set and moved to 3.5 games out of first place.

With the shutout, the Dodgers won for the sixth time in the last seven outings and served notice that Los Angeles will be part of the equation in the National League West this year.

Clayton Kershaw tossed a bullpen session and is reportedly getting close to returning to the rotation. If Kershaw comes back healthy and finds his fastball, the Dodgers, suddenly clicking on all cylinders, will give Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco some competition for the NL West flag.

All but written off a few weeks ago, the Dodgers have a pulse and the heart monitor is skipping a beat or two. It lives!

Justin Turner had another two hits last night and the sizzling hot Matt Kemp knocked in another run. Logan Forsythe had a big ground-rule double for the Dodgers.

Arizona is now in a free fall; the Giants don’t figure to have the legs to go the distance and the Rockies don’t have the bats they have had in recent years.

The Dodgers, it appears, may be fortunate enough to be playing in a division where excellence will not be a prerequisite to win the division.

Last-place San Diego rolls into Chavez Ravine tomorrow night for a three-game set as the Dodgers try to keep Big Mo in town.

Pitching cavalry to the rescue

Ross Stripling, Brock Stewart and Walker Buehler did not figure to be front line starters this season as the Dodgers set out to defend the National League championship.

Yet, here we are on the cusp of June and the Dodgers’ pitching fortunes now rest on guys who at best have been on the periphery the last few seasons.

Stripling and Stewart have bounced between Chavez Ravine and Oklahoma City the last few years and Buehler has emerged as the latest rookie stud. With Hyun Jin-Ryu, Kenta Maeda and Alex Wood starting to hit their strides and Clayton Kershaw getting closer to returning to the rotation, the Dodgers are closing in on having a settled pitching staff.

The bullpen, which has struggled during the first two months of the season, is also getting its footings.

Dave Roberts continues to experiment with different relievers to pitch the seventh and eighth innings but thankfully Kenley Jansen has regained his mojo in the closer role.

Now, let’s talk about the offense.

Yasiel Puig, his average hovering above .200, has found his power stroke in the last week or so and is once again flirting with being an offensive force. We will see. Matt Kemp has been a revelation, leading the club with a .331 average, getting timely hits and playing left field like he was a youngster.

Justin Turner’s return to the batting order has been a good jolt to the offense and Cody Bellinger and Yasmani Grandal have picked up the pace.

Dodgers bats still trending cold belong to Chris Taylor, Joc Pederson, Austin Barnes, Logan Forsythe and Kike Hernandez. Rookie Max Muncy is getting playing time at first base with Bellinger in center for Chris Taylor, now playing short with the season-ending injury to Corey Seager.

The Dodgers now trail Colorado by 4.5 games in the NL West with Arizona and San Francisco near the front of the pack trailing the Rockies.

In a season that once seemed lost, the Dodgers are only a modest winning streak away from regaining their swagger and first place in the NL West.

Hey, it could happen.

Dodgers show some signs of life

Well, maybe we shouldn’t be too quick to sign that death certificate.

The Dodgers, looking like their 2018 season was pretty much a wrap, pulled off a three-game sweep against the Washington Nationals over the weekend, shrinking their eight-game deficit to only five behind Arizona. While the Dodgers were stunning the Nats, the Mets were sweeping the D-Backs in New York.

Arizona is 1-9 in its last 10 games and suddenly the Rockies, Giants and Dodgers are eying the top spot in the NL West. Colorado is only a half-game off the pace and the Giants are only two games out. It’s still May, and the Dodgers could get back into this thing.

Ross Stripling, Alex Wood and Kenta Maeda pitched well over the weekend and the LA bullpen, generous of late, teamed up to pitch a nine-inning combined gem when Rich Hill’s sensitive fingers got another blister. Hill left after two pitches, so Dave Roberts made it a bullpen game. The Dodgers won that one and have now won four in a row after salvaging the final game of the series against the Marlins.

Hill is on the 10-day DL but the Dodgers are hoping Clayton Kershaw will return to the mound in the short term and discover his fastball again.

Justin Turner provided a lift to the team with his return to the lineup and he was raking like he never left. Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig, Yasmani Grandal, Kike Hernandez and rookie Max Muncy hit dingers against the vaunted Washington pitching staff and Matt Kemp kept up his torrid hitting.

When you face Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg on the same weekend and still come away with a sweep you know the baseball gods are smiling on you.

The Dodgers open a critical homestand against the Rockies tonight in Chavez Ravine as LA tries to keep the winning trend rolling.

Who knows, we may need to put that wake on hold.

The demise of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Hardly six months after playing in the seventh game of the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen on hard times.

The DL is as crowded as the waiting room at the free clinic and players that had breakout years in 2017 are having breakdown years in 2018.

All-star shortstop Corey Seager is out for the year with a bum elbow, ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw is out with a sore biceps muscle and hasn’t seen his fastball lately, saddled with a 1-4 record.

Cody Bellinger, last year’s Rookie of the Year, is struggling through a sophomore slump and the once-vaunted bullpen has disintegrated before our eyes. Justin Turner played his first game of the season this week after breaking his wrist in spring training. Logan Forsythe was on the DL as well, nursing a bad shoulder.

Things are bad.

Whispers have started about Dave Roberts’ job.

Baseball writers are calling the Dodgers the biggest bust of the year, the team with the highest payroll and nothing to show for it.

Arizona has laid claim to the National League West and the Dodgers are floating near the bottom of the division standings with the likes of the San Diego Padres. LA is 8.5 games out of first place with no indications things will improve anytime soon.

Not that there haven’t been a few bright spots.

Matt Kemp, once thought to be trade bait, is hitting north of .300 and is playing an inspired left field. Rookie Walker Buehler is a flame-thrower, hitting the gun in the mid to upper 90s and showing flashes of brilliance. Yasmani Grandal is getting most starts behind the plate because he started with a hot bat. Grandal has cooled to a .270 clip but remains a better option than Austin Barnes, struggling at .222.

Then there’s the kids. Alex Verdugo had a long cup of coffee and showed he will hit in the bigs. Kyle Farmer and Max Muncy got a little playing time as well, and showed they are not far away from playing in the Show every day.

But guys like Chris Taylor (.234), Joc Pederson (.237), Yasiel Puig (.210), Kike Hernandez (.216) and Chase Utley (.250) are not putting it all together.

Starting pitching has not been any better. Hyun-Jin Ryu has been a bright spot at 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA and Buehler is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA. Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda and Alex Wood have been disappointing.

The big controversy in Los Angeles the last few years has been how many people couldn’t catch the Dodgers on television because a dispute with the cable company.

That issue may die down this year.