Los Angeles Dodgers: Time for the offense to wake up

The Los Angeles Dodgers enter Wednesday night’s game with the chance of being swept and the chances of making the playoffs getting smaller.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the most talented teams in baseball and are arguably the most talented team top to bottom in the National League.

Clayton Kershaw leads a solid starting rotation and the Dodgers have one of the best lineups in baseball that has led to the best run differential. While the bullpen can be shaky at times, it is not solely to blame for the Dodgers struggles to really get going after the All-Star Break.

The Dodgers are an anomaly. Typically, teams with such a high run differential dominant the league. That is not the case for the Dodgers, who suffer a serious case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The Dodgers, who rely a ton on the long ball, have blown quite a few teams out of the water this season by slugging a number of home runs. While home runs are fun, the Dodgers also have struggled a ton at manufacturing runs and coming up with runners in scoring position.

Thus, you have an offense that scores three runs or fewer or 10 runs or more. While there is an in between, the Los Angeles Dodgers offense has been such a roller coaster that is the two most likely outcomes.

To avoid a sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals and to hopefully gain a game on the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, if they lose, the Dodger bats need to come up in the big situations tonight and produce.

Here are our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak picks for tonight.

Sarah’s pick — Current streak 0: Justin Turner

My pick for tonight is Justin Turner. I’m not picking him based on the stats that prove he’s a strong hitter (especially lately) but more so because the Dodgers need offense, and bad. In order to avoid being swept by the surging Cardinals, this team needs to drive in some runs for the hometown crowd.

Now, I may seem a tad upset (I feel like a lot of Dodger fans are right now) but I am also hopeful. Justin Turner turned this team right around and in the right direction when he returned from the wrist injury he suffered in spring training, and he can do it again.

Though Turner isn’t coming off the DL tonight, he is on the heels of a very respectable hitting streak, and he could be the one to get the Dodgers the win they desperately need.

Jason’s pick — Current streak 3: Joc Pederson

With Matt Kemp struggling, chances are we are going to see a lot more of Joc Pederson in the lineup against right-handed pitching. With another right-handed pitcher on the mound tonight, Pederson should get the nod over Kemp.

Pederson has cooled off since a great first half but still seemingly records a base knock a game. Last night, the slugger went 1-5, while not great, would have been good enough to extend a streak.

Pederson at the very least consistently puts up good at-bats. He watches pitches to work the pitch count up and has gotten better at his pitch selection and when to let it fly. Tonight, I think we see an extra-base hit out of Pederson.