Los Angeles Dodgers: Offense looks to get going again

For the first time since late April, the Los Angeles Dodgers have lost two games in a row due to an offense that did virtually no damage.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had to get humbled somehow, right? After winning seven games in a row in pretty dominant fashion, the Los Angeles Dodgers have dropped two games in a row to the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants.

The offense scored a combined three runs in the two games off of a two-run home from Will Smith and a solo home run from Chris Taylor. The pitching has not been bad at all either, as the pitching staff has only allowed five runs in the two games.

This isn’t anything to worry about as it is something that is naturally going to happen over the course of a 162-game season. In fact, it is probably good for the long-term success of the team as they can learn what is going wrong and grow from it.

Teams need adversity and although a two-game losing streak isn’t a terrible thing, it does help the guys put things in perspective. The team is too talented to let this turn into anything ugly and it is only a matter of time before the offense explodes again.

Dodger fans, of course, are hoping for that explosion on Saturday night. That might happen with a right-handed pitcher in Jeff Samardzija on the mound. Although Samardzija is pitching good this season, the Dodgers’ left-handed heavy lineup is always a threat to any right-handed pitcher.

As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, here is who we think is going to get a base hit on Saturday.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 0): Joc Pederson

Man, we had a 13-game hitting streak riding with Enrique Hernandez on Friday and he was unable to come up with a base hit. Thus, we have to start from scratch after our longest streak in the existence in this series.

Starting off a new streak is going to be the slugger that often starts things off for the Dodgers, Joc Pederson. Pederson has reinvented the lead-off spot for the Dodgers, providing power at the top of the order that can kickstart things and even drive in runs when the lineup turns over.

Pederson is a home run hitting machine but has not hit a home run in his last four games. Based on his trends thus far this year, it feels like Pederson is due for a long shot into the bay to give the kayakers a souvenir.