Los Angeles Dodgers: Facing an old foe on Washington

The Los Angeles Dodgers just completed a sweep over the Atlanta Braves and are taking a 10-game home winning streak into Thursday night against an old foe.

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to roll in the early stages of the 2019 season and have proven to be arguably the best team in baseball. Los Angeles has the best record in baseball with only the Minnesota Twins holding a better record.

That is with a six-game losing streak early in the season as well. If the Dodgers would have just split that three-game losing streak 3-3, then the team would have a 28-11 record. Right now, with a 25-14 record, the Dodgers are currently on pace for 104 wins.

That would match the number of wins that the team had in 2017, which is quite remarkable considering the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers were historically good. While it is way too soon to get ahead of ourselves, it is worth noting that the Dodgers have had some tough competition during this red-hot start.

Sixteen of the team’s 39 games have come against playoff teams from a year ago. Add four against the St. Louis Cardinals, who are definitely playoff-caliber, four against the 21-16 Arizona Diamondbacks and three against the 21-17 San Diego Padres and 27 of the 39 games were against tough teams.

The 12 “not so tough” games are six against the rivaled San Francisco Giants, three against the Cincinnati Reds and three against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

So it definitely is not a stretch to say that the Los Angeles Dodgers are the best team in baseball and are undoubtedly the best team in baseball at home to start the year. The Dodgers are currently riding a 10-game home winning streak and have the best home record in baseball (15-4).

The Dodgers have another tough series on their hands as they host the Washington Nationals in a three-game set. Although the Nationals have underperformed to start the year, the team is still very talented and can do some damage.

On the bump for the Nationals in game one is former Diamondback, Patrick Corbin. As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, here is who we see getting a hit off of Corbin.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 0): Justin Turner

My streak of bad luck continued on Wednesday night as my selection, Joc Pederson, was unable to get a hit off of the pitcher that he hit a lead-off home run against in Game 1 of the NLDS last year.

Dodger fans might not want to see that I selected Justin Turner as he has been red-hot since the calendar turned and my proverbial jinx might stop that. However, Turner is so hot and the matchup is so good that it will overpower the jinx.

Turner easily has the best track record against Corbin. In 29 at-bats against the southpaw, Turner has collected 12 hits with three doubles, two home runs and six RBIs. His .414 average against Corbin is the best on the team.

While it is a bit optimistic to expect a fifth home run in three days, I am certain that Justin Turner will record at least one base hit today. If not, the curse lives on.