Dodgers make statement in series pitting 2 of MLB's best

BALTIMORE -- Before the start of this three-game series against the Orioles, manager Dave Roberts said playing against a team with one of the best records in the Majors would be a good test for the Dodgers at this point in the season.

After Los Angeles’ 10-3 blowout win on Tuesday night at Camden Yards, the Dodgers have taken the first two games of the series against the O’s and continue to make a statement that, despite the roster turnover last offseason, they are still one of the best teams in the Majors.

"It's been really impressive,” Roberts said. “They're a good club. They're a really tough club. Fortunately for us, we've stayed away from [Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano] at the back end [of Baltimore’s bullpen]. When you play the Orioles, that's important.”

Tuesday was one of the most complete wins the Dodgers have had this season. On the mound, Michael Grove delivered arguably his best start in the Majors, allowing just one run and striking out four over five-plus innings of work.

Grove got into a handful of 3-2 counts, but he was able to execute pitches when needed. Most importantly, Grove showed improvement against left-handed hitters, which have given him trouble all season, limiting the Baltimore lefties to just two hits, largely in part because of his newly-acquired cutter.

“Just kind of needed something to throw in on lefties,” Grove said. “I’ve been working on it the last couple of weeks and kind of got in a groove with it today, and it ended up working. So I just kept sticking with it.”

With Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan and now Grove delivering solid starts, the three rotation rookies held their own this time through their turns, which will be key until Clayton Kershaw returns from injury next month.

As the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline looms, the Dodgers’ rookie pitchers know the club could look to add in the rotation. But that hasn’t seemed to faze them.

“Yeah, I know it’s an area that we probably have to address. We have three rookies in the rotation right now, that’s not a secret,” Grove said. “I feel like the growing pains are going to be there.

“But I’m also super confident in Emmet, I’m super confident in Bobby and myself that we can get the job done if we have to. I’ll leave it up to the front office.”

The vast improvement of the pitching staff, particularly the bullpen, has made the Dodgers a dangerous team over the past few weeks. Los Angeles’ lineup has been the strength of the team all season and shows no signs of slowing down.

Los Angeles posted a couple of crooked numbers on Tuesday. The first rally was a five-run second inning, which started with Jason Heyward’s three-run homer off right-hander Tyler Wells. Heyward now has nine homers this season.

“It’s nice to cash in because it’s hard to come up big in those situations,” Heyward said. “But when you get people in front of you, work good at-bats to get on base, you want to capitalize as much as possible, give your pitcher some breathing room.”

The Dodgers’ offense gave the staff even more breathing room with a four-run seventh to put the game away. There were no home runs in the frame, but they drew four consecutive walks to start the inning and five total.

“As a baseball player, you understand there are going to be stretches in the season that are going to be nicer,” Heyward said. “There’s stretches that are going to be tougher. But I think so far we’ve done a good job of executing, keeping it simple and playing good baseball.”

Los Angeles will now have a chance to sweep the Orioles on Wednesday with Julio Urías on the mound. They’ll have a chance to make yet another statement following the All-Star break.

“I think we believe we can beat anybody when we’re playing the way we’re capable of,” Roberts said. “We’ve shown that when we’re not playing good baseball, it goes the other way. But playing well at the right time is important.”