CHICAGO — This one goes to 11. With Kiké Hernandez hitting two home runs and the team pounding out 13 hits in all (seven for extra bases) , the Dodgers dismissed the Chicago White Sox with a 9…
CHICAGO — This one goes to 11.
With Kiké Hernandez hitting two home runs and the team pounding out 13 hits in all (seven for extra bases) , the Dodgers dismissed the Chicago White Sox with a 9-1 defeat Wednesday night and didn’ t even need the full nine innings to do it. The game was halted and eventually called when a rainstorm arrived in the top of the eighth.
These days, the Dodgers seem capable of playing in the rain and yet remaining completely dry. Anything seems possible.
The latest win extended the Dodgers’ latest winning streak to 11, their longest since another 11-game streak in 2006. Coupled with their 10-game streak earlier this season, the Dodgers have matched their 1955 ancestors by having 10- and 11-game winning streaks in the same season.
It all seems pretty simple – show up at the park, collect another win.
“I think that’s fair, ” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The confidence we have in our group, that we’ re going to win a game on a particular night, is real. The talent in the room, the confidence we have in each other is real. Now it’s just going out there and doing it.”
They have been doing it at a historic rate
The mini-sweep of the Sox in the two-game interleague series was the Dodgers’ major-league-leading 12th series sweep this season and extended their current run to 31 wins in their past 35 games – the best 35-game stretch in franchise history.
At 66-29, the Dodgers have the best record in baseball and their best 95-game start since the 1942 Dodgers went 67-28 on their way to 104 wins and a second-place finish behind the St. Louis Cardinals.
Not all wins are created equal, however. Roberts expressed his displeasure following Tuesday’s 1-0 win over the approach the Dodgers’ hitters took during multiple run-scoring opportunities. They went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and hit into four double plays, turning 16 baserunners into just that one run.
Roberts discussed it with the team’s hitting coaches but let his players “stew on it” rather than confronting any.
“As I walked in the clubhouse (after Tuesday’s win) , feeling the tone and the demeanors of guys – when we win guys are usually more upbeat. They were more solemn last night, ” Roberts said. “I took it as – we didn’ t play a good baseball game and still found a way to win.
“I think the best teams across sports… there is a self-policing factor and we’ ve got some young players, some veteran players that play the right way. They take care of things. For me, to sit back and watch these guys go about their business professionally is a good thing.”
Six of the 11 victories in their current streak have been by one run. This was not one of those games.
Chris Taylor led off the game with the first of the Dodgers’ four home runs. Hernandez led off the second inning with the first of his two. Corey Seager hit a two-run shot during a three-run fourth inning.
During their 31-4 run, the Dodgers have hit 72 home runs, the most in baseball, and Hernandez became the seventh different Dodger to have a multi-home run game this season.
They added a triple-double in the sixth – consecutive doubles by Yasiel Puig, Trayce Thompson and Taylor – followed by RBI singles from Seager and Justin Turner for a four-run burst that put the game away.
Even with the six one-run decisions, the Dodgers have now outscored their opponents 50-22 during this 11-game winning streak.
The offense might have been enough to keep Kenta Maeda’s night stress-free. But there’s no reason for the Japanese right-hander to get comfortable. Pitching for his spot in the rotation every time out, Maeda gave up a solo home run to Melky Cabrera in the first inning but otherwise navigated five innings without harm.
Afterward, Roberts said he wasn’ t sure when Maeda would start again. Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu is scheduled to come off the DL and start Monday.
“I know he’s earned that right, ” Roberts said of Maeda starting again. “Where we slot him, I don’ t know right now. But I know that he did everything he could do to earn that opportunity.”
