Backed by a 15-hit attack (eight doubles, one home run), Julio Urías holds Minnesota to one run in seven innings as the Dodgers win for the 31st time in their last 36 games.
LOS ANGELES ― The Dodgers have been in baseball’s lap of luxury before. It is the point in the season when their claim as the hottest team on the planet threatens to become something more: the best team on the planet.
The Dodgers extended their winning streak to nine games Tuesday with a 10-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. They have won 31 of their last 36 games, including a 16-3 mark since hosting the All-Star Game. They have swept both series against teams with a .500 record or better since the Midsummer Classic and can do so a third time by beating the Twins on Wednesday.
“I think it’s pretty expected here, that’s kind of the crazy thing,” outfielder Trayce Thompson said. “We’re just trying to take it one game at a time. That’s how it has been, or at least that’s how it was six years ago when I was here: just try to go win a baseball game today. This group is certainly very capable of winning every day. It’s pretty cool.”
At 76-33, the Dodgers maintained their grip on baseball’s best record. No other team has won more than 71 games.
For their latest trick, the Dodgers have made it more difficult by the day to identify their weakest links. All nine starters got a hit against Minnesota. Their 15-hit attack included eight doubles – tying a season high – and a home run by Max Muncy.
Muncy entered the month of August with nine home runs; he has three in six games since, raising his batting average from .161 to .178. Cody Bellinger, swinging on 3-and-0 against starter Joe Ryan (8-5), hit a two-run double to break the game open in the second inning.
“Scary enough, I think there’s still a lot more in there – for the whole team,” Muncy said. “It’s been looking really good lately. We’ve been looking good all year long. At the same time, not all of us have gotten going at once. Hopefully, we save that for the playoffs.”
Will Smith went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, and Muncy and Trea Turner each had two hits. Justin Turner went 2 for 4, picking up where he left off after a two-week injury absence. Turner is expected to serve as the Dodgers’ designated hitter for a second consecutive day Wednesday.
Dodgers starter Julio Urías (12-6) threw 90 pitches – 72 for strikes. He allowed only one run in seven innings, did not walk a batter, and struck out eight. In the absence of Walker Buehler and, more recently, Clayton Kershaw, Urías has been the latest Dodger starter to lay claim to the “staff ace” title.
On June 18, Urías was 3-6 with a 2.80 ERA, often falling victim to poor run support. In 10 starts since, he’s 9-0 with a 2.16 ERA.
The left-hander leaned into his fastball against the Twins, throwing it 46 times. The pitch generated 12 swings and misses and 11 foul balls compared to only six balls in play. The velocity on all three of Urias’ pitches (fastball, curveball, changeup) increased on Tuesday compared to his season averages.
“When he has all three pitches going,” Manager Dave Roberts said of Urías, “I’ll take him against anyone.”
Urías lowered his season ERA to 2.49. Only three qualified National League pitchers (Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, teammate Tony Gonsolin and Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes) have a lower ERA.
The Dodgers are 117-45 dating to Aug. 5 of last year, which matches the best 162-game stretch by any team since the leagues expanded in 1961. Even NBA star Steph Curry was among the announced crowd of 47,874 enjoying the show.
Curry is teammates with Trayce Thompson’s brother, Klay, in the Golden State Warriors’ famed backcourt. Trayce said he counts Curry as “another family friend.”
So it was that Roberts, noticing Curry in the Dodger Stadium owners’ box, decided to send Thompson up to pinch hit for Mookie Betts in the eighth inning. Curry aimed his smartphone toward the field to capture the at-bat. Thompson doubled.
“It’s pretty cool,” Thompson said. “(Curry) is a busy guy. He’s got three awesome kids, a beautiful wife, great family, everything. It’s cool.”
