Los Angeles Dodgers: Bats look to stay hot to take series in Atlanta

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ offense has been red-hot here recently as the team looks to continue that trend with Hyun-Jin Ryu on the mound on Saturday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the best team in the National League by a whopping 10 games and they proved why they are the best team in the NL with a comeback win against the second-best team the NL has to offer.

After a rough inning that saw Kenta Maeda surrender three runs in the second, the Dodgers kept the Atlanta Braves at bay and slugged three late-game home runs to walk away with an 8-3 victory.

Maeda buckled down and got through four and two-thirds innings and paved the way for southpaws Adam Kolarek and Julio Urias to finish the game with four and one-thirds worth of one-hit ball.

The eight runs are also something that has been very familiar for the Los Angeles Dodgers on this road trip. The Dodgers have scored seven or more runs in each of the four games of this East Coast swing thus far. Dating back to last Saturday, the Dodgers have a +31 run differential in six games.

The Dodgers also got past the Braves best pitcher, Mike Soroka, and now send their best pitcher in Hyun-Jin Ryu. Ryu has an eye-popping 1.45 ERA on the year and is facing the same guy he faced last year in Game 1 of the NLDS, Mike Foltynewicz, who has a 6.24 ERA in 2019.

The Dodgers defeated the Braves 6-0 in that NLDS matchup and look to repeat the win to guarantee that they take the series in Atlanta. As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, here is who we think can record at least one base hit to aid the effort.

Jason’s pick (Current pick: 2): A.J. Pollock

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been conservative with A.J. Pollock here recently as the team wants to keep him healthy into October to get him ready for the postseason. After appearing last night as a pinch hitter, Pollock likely will get the start for the Dodgers on Saturday.

A big reason for that is because Pollock has very favorable numbers against Foltynewicz. It may not be a left-handed pitcher but Pollock has the most hits against Foltynewicz of any Dodger.

Pollock is 6-10 with a double and a home run in lifetime matchup with one walk and only one strikeout. His 1.667 OPS in 11 career plate appearances might be a small sample size, but shows he sees Foltynewicz pretty well.

It would not be all that surprising to see Pollock join the home run brigade on Saturday. He has been pretty good here recently in the chances he does get, so expect him to make the most out of this favorable matchup.