Betts' 200th HR sparks LA as superstars overwhelm rival
Dodgers beat Giants for seventh straight win behind trio of solo shots
LOS ANGELES -- It hasn’t always been easy for the Dodgers. They’ve had to navigate through plenty of injuries to prominent players. Blake Treinen, their best reliever, has missed three months with a right shoulder injury. Walker Buehler, their staff ace coming into the season, will be sidelined until at least September with a right elbow injury.
The Dodgers have also dealt with disappointing offensive seasons from Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger, who are two key pieces that haven’t been able to get going consistently.
Despite that, the Dodgers are 33 games over .500 (63-30) following a 4-2 win over the Giants on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. How have they been able to thrive? The star power continues to overwhelm opposing teams.
That was on full display as Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman each hit a solo homer. Betts and Turner went back-to-back in the third inning to open the scoring; Freeman added an insurance run in the seventh to give the Dodgers a four-run cushion.
“Our lineup feeds off those guys,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Certainly [it helps] having those guys get on base, slugging, scoring runs, running deep counts. It just has an exponential effect for the rest of the guys and it’s really taxing for the opposition. Seeing those guys play the way they are, obviously, as they go, we go.”
Betts, Turner and Freeman are three of the best players in the Majors. The trio has combined for 14 All-Star appearances, two MVP Awards and a batting title. And seemingly for the first time this season, all three of them are getting hot at the same time, creating nonstop stress for opposing pitchers.
Freeman has put together video game numbers in July, hitting .412 with six homers over 18 games. During that stretch, Freeman has gone hitless just twice. He’s on an 11-game hitting streak.
Turner, who hits in front of Freeman, is putting together another stellar stretch of his own, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. It’s the fifth time since being acquired by the Dodgers last July that Turner has put together a hitting streak of 10 or more games.
“The bat-to-ball [skills] are there, the foot speed is there,” Roberts said of Turner. “But I still think that he’s controlling the strike zone better and it’s leading to more slug. He just has a way of getting hits.”
Then there’s Betts, who is the spark plug at the top of the order. Betts, who hit his 200th career home run, flashed his elite skill during the series opener on Thursday. Now that he’s fully healthy from the cracked rib, he’s starting to get hot at the plate again. Betts has five homers in July and has recorded a hit in seven of his past eight games.
“I couldn’t have asked for better teammates for keeping me going,” Betts said. “They believe in me and that’s all I can really ask for. I know I’m going to play every day and I just have to do my best.”
While Betts, Turner and Freeman led the way on offense, the starting pitching rotation has been the key on the other side, as Julio Urías delivered six scoreless innings. The Dodgers’ starting rotation has tossed 17 scoreless frames in the three games since the All-Star break.
“It’s been fun. We have a really talented group,” Urías said. “We’re able to come out here every fifth day and do what we’re able to do. It’s been a lot of fun watching each other and seeing what we’ve been doing.”
After months of saying their best baseball was ahead of them, the Dodgers are starting to show signs of the team that was expected to be the best in the league. With their superstars leading the way, they have won seven consecutive games and improved to 16-2 in July. They’ll go for the four-game sweep on Sunday.
“I think that’s what you guys have been talking about since March,” Freeman said.