Through thirty-five games, the Dodgers’ offense was on a historic pace. Now nobody in their right minds would compare this current crop of Dodgers to the Yankees of the late ’20s/early ’30s or Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine of the ’70s. Statistically though, they were on par. The lineup didn’t have a hole in it. Every injury, and there were quite a few, was filled by a player that has since outperformed his predecessor. That is what makes what has happened the last four games that much more disconcerting.
In their last four games, two against Colorado and the first two of a three game set with San Francisco, the Dodgers have scored just two runs. They have won just one of those games, a 1-0 victory against the putrid Kyle Kendrick on Sunday. Is this just a slight bump in the road for the boys in blue or is it a sign that their meteoric start has violently crashed back to Earth? Let’s take a look at the competition first.
Los Angeles has not been dominated by world beaters in the last four contests. Jorge De La Rosa came into Saturday’s start winless with a 9.56 ERA. Kendrick was 1-4 with a 7.65 ERA and hadn’t given up less than six hits in a start all season when he took the bump Sunday. Tim Hudson was battling talks of midseason retirement, but his peripherals were vastly better than what the Rockies offered the previous two games. We all know the steep decline that the former “Freak” Tim Lincecum has been on. So how did this quartet of hurlers manage to stymie an offense that had bludgeoned every opponent in their path until then?
The Dodgers thrived early on in knocking in runners in scoring position. Their ability to do so has all been sapped in the past four game days. They are a combined 1-for-20 in that situation, the one being from a fluky Yasmani Grandal single to break the 0-0 deadlock Sunday. The only other run produced came from a bases loaded hit by pitch on Justin Turner in the ninth inning Saturday. The Dodgers were down seven at the time and the next two batters struck out swinging to end the “threat.” This recent run of futility may also be proof that clock has struck midnight on some of the Cinderella moments of the Dodgers’ first month and a half.
Jimmy Rollins has reached the stage of his career where for every good game he has, there are going to be three or four abominations to follow. Rollins is slashing just .192/.274/.336 in 2015 and it is looking like this may be his ceiling. While the Dodgers may have an embarrassment of riches at the corner infield spots and the outfield, shortstop’s only potential fall back is top prospect Corey Seager. Many a Dodgers fan are clamoring for the 21 year old’s promotion, especially now that has seemed to calmed his early nerves at Triple-A. Dodgers brass doesn’t seem as keen to rush the brother of Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager to the Show that quickly. It may be unfair to keep heaping the onus to get on base at the top of the order on Joc Pederson while Rollins remains an instant out.
Speaking of Pederson, he remains one of the early stories of 2015 even as his batting average slowly inches further down. While it may not be in lines of the expectations he set when he had seven consecutive hits leave the park, Pederson still continues to get on base at an elite clip. His 30 walks are second to only Bryce Harper in the entire Major Leagues. The problem is, if he isn’t hitting home runs and the people behind him aren’t either, walks can only do so much. A few times even over these four games, Pederson didn’t even see a good pitch to hit because the pitcher would rather challenge Rollins.
There may be issues at the top of the order, but the rest of the lineup isn’t without fault either. That is, whomever is in the lineup that day. The overabundance of quality position players mentioned earlier has left manager Don Mattingly with the task of trying to keep all the hot bats in the order at one time. It is proving to be a tougher task than one would think. Justin Turner and Alex Guerrero have both been vital in the clutch for Los Angeles. Both have been utilized poorly though, as they’ve been given inconsistent at-bats and when used scattered all over the diamond. They are utility players, that is true, but in the superstition capital of the sporting world that baseball is, you don’t tinker with success. This problem will become even more daunting when Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig return to an outfield already resembling a clown car.
This four game stretch may be just a blip on the radar for the Dodgers. Adrian Gonzalez has shown this year that when he breaks out, he breaks out big. Howie Kendrick has been a refreshing and steadying force up the middle of the lineup and defense. The jury is still out as to whether Yasmani Grandal and Andre Ethier are playing to their potential, or playing for the scouts in the stands as they build their trade stock. However, one thing is abundantly clear. With a schedule in the remainder of May in which they’ll oppose Madison Bumgarner, James Shields, Julio Teheran, Michael Wacha, and others, the Dodgers need to melt the ice off their Louisville Sluggers…and quick. You don’t need to look further than the NL East and the Mets to see that a cold streak at the plate can evaporate a division lead for even the strongest of pitching staffs.