Dodgers' depth too much for Seattle as LA sweeps

LOS ANGELES -- The second half of 2024 has seen some uneven results for the Dodgers. A swoon that ran from late July into early August opened the door for the Padres and D-backs to close the gap a bit on L.A.’s NL West lead, making it a tight divisional race once again.

The Dodgers (76-52) have responded with some of the best baseball they’ve played all season. Their 8-4 victory over the Mariners on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium completed a three-game sweep and made them winners of 10 of their last 13 games.

And, with this recent hot stretch, they have taken possession of the best record in Major League Baseball.

"It was a good series win for the team,” said Max Muncy, who was activated from the injured list on Monday after missing three months with a right oblique strain. “... It felt like the whole team, up and down the lineup, was putting together really good at-bats. It was fun to be back out there.”

Working with as healthy of an offense as they’ve had in months, the series overall was a strong showing against one of baseball’s better rotations. On Wednesday, the Dodgers showed just what their deep lineup is capable of.

In scoring eight runs, eight of the Dodgers’ starting position players had at least one hit, with Teoscar Hernández and Muncy contributing two apiece. All nine batters came to the plate in a five-run fifth inning.

"When we're at our best, we're wearing them down,” said Muncy. “[Mariners starter Logan Gilbert] was at 100 pitches in the fifth inning. He was doing pretty well, and we just kept wearing him down. And for a guy to go out there and throw that many pitches, every single night, all three guys that we faced, it just wears them down and gets the bullpen in the game, and it allows us to be facing guys that we feel a lot better against.”

The rotation, on the other hand, is still in the process of getting back to full strength. Both Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are on the injured list and aren’t likely to return until sometime in September. But the Mariners series offered encouraging signs from a couple of the currently available arms. Gavin Stone struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings in a gem on Monday, while Jack Flaherty turned in a solid effort on Wednesday, allowing one run and striking out five in 5 2/3 innings.

For his part, Flaherty feels like he still has more to contribute.

"I feel like I came over in a good spot and then kind of hit, I don't know, probably the weirdest funk I've probably been in all year, in terms of just like nibbling, not quite getting deep enough into games, not quite being as sharp, just missing,” said Flaherty. "Tonight kind of was all of that. Missing, falling behind, getting into bad counts. Was able to get guys out, still able to make pitches, which is good, but you expect to get deeper into games. So it's really close, it's just a matter of just continuing to work and turning starts like tonight into seven innings. That's what I try to do.”

There’s still a lot of season left, and the Dodgers aren’t likely to sustain this pace. They have 34 games remaining, and their next four series are against above-.500 clubs in the Rays, Orioles, D-backs and Guardians; Baltimore, Arizona and Cleveland rank among the top seven teams in MLB by winning percentage.

But right now, it looks like the Dodgers are in very good shape to compete down the stretch. And, as some on the team see it, having something to play for this late in the year might actually prove to help fuel them.

Of course, health helps, too.

"When you look at nine guys that you can run out there that are going to compete, and put at-bats together, put the ball in play, it's taxing on a pitcher,” said manager Dave Roberts. “That kind of is how this roster was built. And so now, we're getting the pieces back to health. … You can see it in action. You're seeing the fruits of it."