Dodgers' 8th straight win seals sweep of SF

LOS ANGELES -- When the Dodgers played the Giants back in June, manager Dave Roberts sat in the visiting dugout at Oracle Park and acknowledged that his team wasn’t playing with the sense of urgency that is needed to succeed at the Major League level.

Los Angeles ended up getting swept by San Francisco, one of its ugliest performances of the season. Since then, however, the Dodgers have looked like a completely different team. Everyone understands their role, the clubhouse chemistry appears to be clicking, and a hitters meeting in Cincinnati helped the team put things into perspective, according to Roberts.

Those changes were on full display this weekend as the Dodgers opened the second half of the season by completing a four-game sweep of the Giants with a 7-4 win on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers have won eight consecutive games, their longest streak of the season. They’ve also gone 27-7 since the sweep in San Francisco, including a 17-2 record in July.

“I just know that from that point on, we just focused on playing our type of baseball and as a result, we’ve won a lot of ballgames,” Roberts said. “We’ve done it in different ways, but that [sweep in San Francisco] was sort of a low point for us.”

A big part of the Dodgers’ success has been their starting rotation. Three of the four key members of the rotation represented the organization in the All-Star Game. The other, Julio Urías, made quite the case for himself despite not being selected.

On Sunday, Clayton Kershaw struggled in his first start of the second half, allowing four runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. Kershaw’s four runs were the only earned runs given up by a Dodgers starter during the four-game set.

But what has made the Dodgers so potent during this current stretch is their ability to beat you in multiple ways. On Saturday, the superstar trio of Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman overwhelmed the Giants with their individual talents.

On Sunday, the Dodgers leaned on the rest of the lineup to apply the pressure. Gavin Lux, Jake Lamb and Trayce Thompson, who enjoyed a visit from his brother, Klay, combined for six of the Dodgers’ 12 hits. It was yet another sign of just how deep the Dodgers’ lineup can be when they’re clicking on all cylinders.

“I think we’re just playing really good team baseball,” Lux said. “Everybody’s pulling for each other. I think that’s the biggest key, we’re playing really good team baseball. We’re doing the little things right, getting guys over, two-strike hitting, two-out RBIs, just little things that go a long way.”

With the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline approaching, most of the chatter will be on who the Dodgers should try to add to their current roster. Superstar outfielder Juan Soto will lead that conversation. The Dodgers will also dig in and evaluate the end of their bench and the rest of the bullpen.

Before Sunday’s game, Roberts acknowledged that his team could always get better. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has never been afraid to make a splash. Just last Deadline, the Dodgers acquired Turner and Max Scherzer.

With that being said, Roberts made it clear that he didn’t think his team had any “needs” heading into trade season. He’s confident in his current group, one he referred to “as close a group as I’ve been around.”

The last month has made it hard to argue against that confidence, and the Dodgers are starting to look like their best self.

“I think we’re playing really well,” Kershaw said. “Obviously the way that you hit, the way that you pitch, you’re going to have bad days every once in a while. But I think for the most part, we just have good players. And that’s what’s showing right now. … I think this is probably what we’re capable of.”