July 4th, 2014 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka There is an old saying in baseball: “Any team can beat any other team on any given day.” And while no one can argue the logic behind this time-tested saying, the truth of the matter is that there are some teams that you simply should not lose to.
There is no greater proof of this than the recently concluded interleague series against the Cleveland Indians at Dodger Stadium. Sure, the Dodgers won the first game of the three-game series, but they absolutely blew the other two games – especially Wednesday’s game when Hyun-jin Ryu handed Brian Wilson a 3-2 lead heading into the 8th inning. Not only did Wilson blow the save, he lost the game after allowing three runs on two hits with three (more) walks in 0.1 inning. Wilson successfully yanked defeat from the jaws of victory and has now allowed 22 walks in 29.1 innings pitched – fourth most in the National League. Additionally, the Dodgers bullpen is now 6-16 on the season – second worst in the National League behind only the Mets (12-19).
While many praise the fact that Brian Wilson had a good month of June, the cold hard truth is that he still has the worst ERA (5.52) of all Dodger relievers and has blown two of his three save opportunities. He also leads all Dodger relievers with 22 walks. (Photo credit – Jae C. Hong)
When the Dodgers rolled into Coors Field on Thursday for a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies, the Rockies were returning home from a dismal 1-5 road trip and had lost eight of their last 10 games. In other words, they are a team that the first place Dodgers absolutely must sweep – a difficult task when you consider that the Dodgers haven’t won four in a row all season.
Why must the Dodgers sweep the Rockies, you ask? Because the second place Giants (by a mere half game) begin a weekend series against the Padres at Petco Park where the Giants are 4-5 so far this season. However, the Giants enter Friday night’s game nine games over .500 (47-38) while the Padres are nine games under .500 (38-47). One has to figure that the Giants will take at least two of the three games – if they themselves don’t sweep the Padres.
Heading into play on Friday evening, the Dodgers have three games remaining against the Rockies and two games against the NL Central first place Tigers before returning to Dodger Stadium for a four game series against those same Padres before the All-Star break.
Meanwhile, the Giants have the three games against the Padres, four games against the AL West-leading Oakland As (two at the Oakland Coliseum and two at AT&T) and then three games against the last place Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T before the break.
Do you see where this is headed?
Except for the two games against the Tigers in Detroit, the Dodgers have a slightly easier schedule than the Giants and must, absolutely must take advantage of it if they hope to create some distance between themselves and The Hated Ones.
The Dodgers need Adrian Gonzalez to get and stay hot if they hope to build a substantial lead over the Giants. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
The bottom line is that there is no better time than right now for the Dodgers to win four in a row, and hopefully more.
Do not blow this golden opportunity, boys.
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RT @Think_BlueLA: New: It’s time to create some distance over the Giants – http://t.co/5CQ2tx8s5e #Dodgers
I agree with what you said about Wednesday’s game, of all the things the Dodgers did wrong in that game Wilson walking the first two batters in that inning hurt the most. Wilson has been pitching better lately. Before Wednesday’s game he had given up only 1 ER in his last 16.2 IP dating back to May 16. He walked 7 in that same period which is too many. Walks have always seem to be his bugaboo. Even in his best year, 2010, he had 3.1 BB9 his career average is 4.2 BB9 and this year it’s an atrocious 6.8 BB9. What does this all mean, who knows? I’m hoping after Wednesday’s game Wilson can string together another long scoreless innings streak. He certainly is capable of it if he can keep his walks down.
I think the Dodgers will start to distance themselves from the Giants because the Giants are still slumping and not playing very well. The Padres have just won 4 in a row (why can’t the Dodgers do that) sweeping the Reds at home. Hopefully they’ll do the same to the Giants this weekend. BTW the series is in Petco and not AT&T Park. Better for the Padres, maybe, the Giants like the Dodgers have a better road record then home record..
Noted and corrected.
It’s hard for me to say that the Dodgers will win 4 in a row from the Rockies or any other team for that matter but with the Giants playing the Padres these next three days, I agree it is a good time to win 4 in a row. I’ll miss most of tonight’s game as I’ve been invited out tonight but I do have a lot of faith in winning whenever Kershaw is pitching.
RT @Think_BlueLA: ICYMI – It’s time to create some distance over the Giants – http://t.co/U10lV3B0FO
RT @Think_BlueLA: ICYMI – It’s time to create some distance over the Giants – http://t.co/U10lV3B0FO