If the Dodgers expect to win the National League Western Conference they will have to hit the ball. Their pitching has been outstanding all season but they need to be productive at the plate.
Their four-game winning streak was snapped last Tuesday night when they were beaten by the San Diego Padres 6-3, but during their four-game winning streak they were getting timely hits.
“We have a number of guys getting hits,” Dodger Manager Don Mattingly said last Monday night when the Dodgers pounded out 13 hits. “Even late in the game tonight when we had a good lead we were still trying very hard to get on base. I like that because it tells me that our players are not taking anything for granted. Hopefully we can keep hitting.”
In the beginning of the season Dee Gordon and Ysaiel Puig had the hot bats but now Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez and Juan Uribe are starting to come up with some timely hits. The Dodgers need all the hits they can get because the San Francisco Giants are just a few games behind the first place Dodgers.
The Dodgers have 16 games remaining in the regular season and they start a 10-game road trip Friday against Giants. They play three against the Giants this weekend and they go to Colorado for three games and Chicago for four games next week before they return home to Dodger Stadium for their final six games of the regular season.