On Sunday, the Dodgers won their fourth consecutive game when they swept the Washington Nationals in a three game series that included a day / night doubleheader on Saturday due to a Friday night rainout. Prior to that, they took the final game of a three-game series against the NL East last place Miami Marlins in South Florida.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that prior to that lone win in Miami and the three in our nation’s capital, the Dodgers had lost six games in a row and seven of their last eight. In fact, at one point during that painful stretch, the Dodgers had actually dropped into last place in the NL West, albeit by mere percentage points behind the San Diego Padres and only for one night before going on that four-game winning streak, but hey, last place is last place, right?

After leaving Miami and sitting through Friday night’s rainout in DC, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts handed the ball to 28-year-old right-hander Ross Stripling for game-1 of Saturday’s twill bill.

All the Blue Bell, Pennsylvania native and Dodgers 2012 fifth-round draft pick (out of Texas A&M) did was allow one run on four hits, while walking none and striking out a career high nine over his 6.0 innings of work in his third start of the season for the Dodgers. In doing so, he also lowered his ERA to a team-best 2.08 among all Dodgers starters.

After Stripling’s dominating 4-1 win, he said something that perhaps went unnoticed by many. It did not, however, go unnoticed by his teammates.

“Having two games today, we like to come out and get this first one, get some momentum for us heading into [the second game],” Stripling told SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo.

It this momentum thing is real for the Dodgers, they have right-hander Ross Stripling to thank.
(Photo credit – Alex Brandon)

Momentum.

Accord to Merriam-Webster, momentum is defined as:  strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events.

Judging by the exciting come-from-behind 5-4 win in game-2 of Saturday’s doubleheader, and the dominating 7-2 win on Sunday afternoon, Stripling and his teammates did indeed “get some momentum.”

…and not a moment too soon.

Although a four-game winning streak is a good thing, it’s important to remember that the Dodgers lost six of their last 10 games. The good news – great, actually – is that the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks lost nine of their last 10 and the second place Colorado Rockies – albeit by a mere 0.5 GB – also lost six of their last 10 games. The only other team ahead of the Dodgers in the division, the hated San Francisco Giants, fared only slightly better by losing five of their last 10 gamed.

In other words, what appeared to be a division runaway by the Dbacks a short three weeks ago is now a division separated by 5.0 games between four of the five NL west teams, with the last place Padres only 6.0 GB and one game behind the (still) fourth place Dodgers.

All of this being said, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the Dodgers bats appear to have finally awakened over their current (and modest) four-game winning streak, or that they finally appear to be hitting with runners in scoring position; the demon that has haunted them since Opening Day.

In fact, when Dodgers shortstop Kiké Hernandez hit his fifth inning / two-run home run off of Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg to give the Dodgers a then 3-2 lead on Sunday, it snapped a streak of 18 consecutive solo home runs hit by the Dodgers.

Amazingly, Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig also hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning on Sunday, his off of Nationals right-hander Wander Suero, to put the game out of reach. What’s even more amazing – almost unbelievable, actually – is that the oft-controversial Dodgers right fielder now has four home runs on the season, all of which have come in his last seven games.

After a painfully slow start, Puig has now homered in four of his last seven games.
(Video Capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

But if this momentum thing is indeed real, the 10-game homestand that the Dodgers are about to embark on beginning tonight against those NL West second place Rockies, they will have to overcome a brutally painful statistic.

Through their first 46 games this season, the Dodgers are 8-13 (.381) on the road and 12-13 (.480) at Dodger Stadium. And as Dodgers manager Dave Robert repeatedly told reporters prior to the just-concluded six-game road trip through Miami and Washington DC, having a sub-.500 record at home is “Inexcusable.”

In the immortal words of Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver: “Momentum? Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher.”

Fortunately for the Dodgers, that next day’s starter (tonight) is right-handed phenom Walker Buehler, who knows a thing or two about momentum.

Play Ball!