Los Angeles Dodgers: Offense, and fortunes, must turn the corner at home

The Los Angeles Dodgers return home with no off-day after a seven-game road trip that saw them sweep a team and get swept as well.

The Los Angeles Dodgers quickly fell back down to earth and every Dodger fan was reminded why they should hate the St. Louis Cardinals. The team’s bitter postseason rival from earlier this decade, the Cardinals handily swept the Boys in Blue in four games on their home field.

The Dodgers’ offense was virtually nonexistent in the first three games, scoring a combined five runs in the process. However, while the team scored a promising seven runs on Thursday, Walker Buehler and the bullpen had a minor implosion, which led to a 11-7 loss.

The Dodgers are now 8-6 and one game behind the San Diego Padres for first place in the National League West. It is way too early to start being concerned, though, just like it was way too early to overreact about the team’s 8-2 start.

However, while it is still early, the Dodgers need to get through this rough part of the schedule at least somewhat ahead. Winning this three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers is huge for the team to turn it around and prove they can beat a playoff-caliber team.

If the team drops two of three or even gets swept then they would yet again fall behind early in the year and be forced to play catch up.

All that matter is if you win 92 games or so and make it into October, where anything can happen. It obviously is a much easier path to 92 wins when you are not playing from behind, though.

Let’s get into our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak selections, shall we?

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 0): A.J. Pollock

I picked A.J. Pollock on Thursday’s game and he was one of the few bats in the lineup to not get a hit, going 0-3 on the day. It might seem a bit absurd to pick him again, but the logic with that is that Pollock is so consistent that he likely will not go eight or more plate appearances without a base hit.

Pollock has come back down to earth after a hot start against his former team and is batting .259 on the season with a .670 OPS. While it is OK to be hopeful that he turns it around, he probably won’t get year-long production like the first series of the year.

The reality is, which has been showcased the last two seasons, is that Pollock is around a .260 hitter in the league. With that in mind, he is due for at least one hit on Friday.

The fans’ pick (Current streak: 1): Julio Urias

Well, this is a bit of an interesting pick and is a first for our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, as the first fan response for today’s game was none other than its starting pitcher, Julio Urias.

To be fair, Urias is 1-2 this season and even drove in a run in his last start. It probably is not the best selection to make, but hey, it will be awesome if it comes through.