Rampaging Dodgers ride wave into Arizona (Aug 08, 2017)
PHOENIX -- The rest of the league can only hope to avoid the rollicking trolley of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers' historic 44-7 run has pushed them to a dominant 15 1/2-game lead in the National League West and has forced the once-contending Arizona Diamondbacks to turn their attention to holding on to one of two NL wild card spots.
When the teams met five weeks ago in Los Angeles, the Dodgers had a 2 1/2-game division lead. They swept that three-game series and have just kept winning, extending their remarkable run with a weekend sweep of the New York Mets. Los Angeles has won 14 of its last 16 series, splitting the other two. Atlanta is the only team to have beaten the the Dodgers since July 4.
Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda (10-4, 3.79 ERA) will face right-hander Zack Godley (5-4, 2.86) on Tuesday night in the first of a three-game series that kicks off Arizona's 10-game stretch against top contenders. The Diamondbacks have a three-game weekend series against the Chicago Cubs before playing four games against Houston, the first two in Arizona and the final two in Minute Maid Park.
The Dodgers, who had a 42-8 run to win the first of their four straight division titles in 2013, are the only franchise in the modern era (since 1900) to have won at least 42 games in a 50-game span in different seasons. Only the 1906 Cubs (45-6) had a better run in major league history.
Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen told the Orange County Register that he sees a big difference between the 2013 Dodgers and this group.
"We knew we were talented," Jansen said of the 2013-14 teams. "Everybody wanted to be superstars. Everybody wanted the spotlight. This team, there's no comparison. We know we have the talent but it's like we're a unit. We're a family. This team, it's never about one guy."
The Diamondbacks split with St. Louis and took two of three from the Cubs before stumbling at San Francisco in the final stop of a 10-game road trip by losing the final two games for a 5-5 trip. They lost a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning Saturday and committed two errors that led to three unearned runs in a 6-3 loss Sunday. Arizona was 5-for-30 with runners in scoring position in the Giants' series.
"It's hard to pinpoint one thing when you are trying to figure out why teams don't hit with runners in scoring position," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "I'm certain we are not the only team having these types of discussions. It's magnified when you build an inning and you don't score runs.
"These guys have a really good track record of getting the job done. I just think they got pitched to, maybe came out of their game plan at times. We have to learn from it and move on."
Maeda gave up two hits in seven scoreless innings against Atlanta last Tuesday and has won four straight decisions. He is 6-1 with a 2.15 ERA in his last seven starts, with 30 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings. He is 3-2 with a 4.46 ERA in eight starts against Arizona, and he gave up a career-high six runs and nine hits in an 11-5 loss on April 22 at Chase Field, capping a stretch in which he gave up 17 runs in 19 innings. He has allowed more than three runs once in 15 starts since.
Godley is 0-1 with a 2.16 ERA in six career appearances in the Dodgers the last two seasons, including two starts. He suffered a 1-0 loss in his only start against them this season on July 5, when he gave up three hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings while striking out six.
Godley has won his last two starts, giving up seven hits in 13 scoreless innings in victories over St. Louis and the Cubs on the last road trip. Despite not joining the rotation for good until May 10, he has 10 quality starts.
