Los Angeles Dodgers look to finish 10-game homestand with 8-2 record
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Dodgers are about to wrap up their last extended homestand of the season with an afternoon win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the best team in baseball at their home ballpark this season and they have proven why during this 10-game homestand. The Dodgers are 7-2 in the nine games thus far with two walk-offs and a +21 run differential.
With a .746 winning percentage at home, the Dodgers currently have the 21st-best home record of all-time in MLB history. Only three teams have posted a better home record than the Dodgers currently have in the last 50 years.
And the Dodgers can still add to their home winning percentage. If they get hot they could win 14 of their last 17 at home. Assuming they win on Sunday, that would give the Dodgers the 13th-best home record of all-time.
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Of course, they could also get cold and lose more games. But with how good the pitching staff has been, as long as the team takes it one game at a time then they should be fine.
Speaking of great starting pitching, there has been no pitcher in the league better than Hyun-Jin Ryu has been this year, although Ryu is not getting anywhere close to the attention he deserves. If this was Max Scherzer putting up these numbers then it would be international news.
Ryu is coming off the 10-day IL after resting for one start. There should be no worries about Ryu’s health as he looks to once again dominate at Dodger Stadium, something he has done all year. Ryu has a 0.89 ERA at Dodger Stadium in 70 and two-thirds innings pitched.
The Dodgers might not need a lot of offense but they certainly want to give Ryu some insurance to make it an easier day all-around. As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, this is who we think can get at least one base hit for the Boys in Blue.
Jason’s pick (Current streak: 1): Cody Bellinger
The Los Angeles Dodgers have really good numbers against opposing starting pitcher Mike Leake as the team is collectively hitting .324 with a .820 OPS against the right-hander. There are a lot of options to choose from.
Out of everyone, I am going to go with the Dodgers’ biggest run producer in Cody Bellinger. Bellinger has two hits in five at-bats off of Leake, one of which is a home run.
Bellinger has come back down to earth over the last two months as he sees himself slip in the MVP race.
His batting average since June 1 is just .252, which does not seem all that great if you concern yourself with batting average. However, he still has an OPS of .926 in that time frame, which shows he is still getting on base and slugging the ball.
Bellinger also only has two hits in his last 26 plate appearances with a .154 on-base percentage, so it is safe to say he is cold.
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With it being a Sunday afternoon game before an off-day against a right-handed pitcher that the team sees well, Bellinger is primed for a big game that will kickstart another hot streak that hopefully bleeds into October.