Los Angeles Dodgers: Back home to face a former trade target

The Los Angeles Dodgers went 4-3 on their NL Central road trip and are returning to Dodger Stadium on Friday to take on Chris Archer and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were nearly swept by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in a series that really could have gone the complete other direction.

However, the Dodgers were able to avoid the sweep and the sour taste in their mouth and won the series finale by a 2-1 score. The pitching was absolutely dominant with the only run coming in the ninth inning with two outs on a solo home run by Albert Almora Jr.

While it might not be all that ideal to lose two out of three against the Cubs, the Dodgers still went 4-3 on a road trip that included two playoff-caliber teams in the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Dodgers are returning home on Friday to face yet another NL Central opponent, this time the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh has been better than anticipated thus far this season, entering Friday’s contest with a 12-11 record.

On the bump for the Pirates is a name that Dodger fans certainly know: Chris Archer. For years, there were rumors that the Los Angeles Dodgers were going to pursue Archer in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays. That never happened and Archer became a Pirate.

As a result, this Dodger team does not have very many at-bats against Archer. Outside of Russell Martin‘s 25 at-bats against Archer, coming from when they both played in the AL East, the Dodgers have a collective 18 at-bats against Archer.

That could make it hard to make a selection for our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series. But with a right-handed pitcher on the bump and the Dodgers back at Dodger Stadium, making a pick for Friday’s game is extremely easy.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 0): Cody Bellinger

Who else but Cody Bellinger? I could cheat and pick Bellinger almost every single game and the results would probably be really good. However, I also try to spread it out and I did not select Bellinger for any of the Cubs games as a result.

Bellinger has been the best player on baseball thus far this season and has shown no signs of slowing down. It seems almost inevitable that he will slow down, and he eventually will, but he continues to perform at a high level every single day.

That is very promising for Dodger fans. While Bellinger won’t hit .400 on the season, there is no reason to believe that he cannot extend this hot streak throughout the year and finish as an MVP finalist.

If the voting were today, after all, he would be the winner over Christian Yelich.

Bellinger has never faced Archer but the stats this season indicate that he is going to do just fine. Not only is Bellinger hitting .457 with seven home runs at Dodger Stadium but he is also hitting .492 with a .573 on-base percentage against right-handed pitching this season.

Until Cody Bellinger stops putting up these video game-like numbers, he will be the smartest pick in the entire MLB to get a hit.