The Dodgers were 22-18 on May 16. Now they’re 68-31. That’s 46 wins in their last 59 games. Zoom in a bit closer and you’ll see that the Dodgers are 33-6 since June 7, and they’ve only lost three times in July.
A scarier stat: L.A.’s won 46 straight games when holding a lead at some point in a game, according to ESPN.
That means the Twins bats better start fast against three starters the Dodgers will offer up Monday-Wednesday at Dodgers Stadium.
- Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6, 4.21 ERA) vs. Bartolo Colon (2-9, 8.19 ERA)
- Kenta Maeda (8-4, 4.23 ERA) vs. Jose Berrios (9-3, 3.50 ERA)
- Alex Wood (11-1, 2.17 ERA) vs. Ervin Santana (11-7, 3.26 ERA)
Ryu and Maeda have been in and out of the rotation all season, and Ryu hasn’t pitched since getting hit on the foot June 28, according to the L.A. Times. Wood was 11-0 with a 1.56 ERA before getting shelled for 9 runs against the Braves in his last start.
So, what weeks ago looked like the Twins could face Clayton Kershaw, who’s headed for the DL, and Wood in a three-game series has decayed to one meeting with Wood fresh off his worst start and two games against guys who aren’t rotation regulars.
That’s blind luck at a good time as the Twins begin an eight-game west coast trip in the face of mounting pressure to improve the starting rotation and bullpen before the July 31 trade deadline.
Entering Monday’s MLB slate the Twins are in third place in the AL Central and just a game out in the Wild Card race.
