After losing nine of their last 11 games and 15 of their last 20, the defending 2020 World Series champion Dodgers have won their last two … in a row. And though it would be unwise to call their back-to-back wins over the American League West third-place Seattle Mariners ‘a winning streak,’ it is the first time the Dodgers have won consecutive games since April 17, which was the final game of an eight-game winning streak that saw them begin the 2021 campaign with an MLB-best 13-2 record.

But a winning streak has to start somewhere, right? So why not May 11 and 12 to open a nine-game homestand at Dodger Stadium?

“This is the team that we are, and we really haven’t shown it at all the last couple of weeks,” Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy told reporters after his team’s 7-1 pounding of the Mariners in front of yet another COVID-19 sellout crowd of 15,586 at Dodger Stadium, their 15th straight. “It’s been frustrating; it’s been a long couple of weeks. But hopefully, these two games can jump-start us a little bit.”

“Just all around, we’re playing much better,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts postgame. “We have too good of talent to have guys continue to struggle collectively. It’s nice to see some guys come out of it and put some wins together. It’s just a sign of our club playing good baseball.”

But it also takes good pitching to play good baseball, and 24-year-old Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías did just that, allowing only that one run on two hits with one walk and six strikeouts in his brilliant seven innings of work; this following his less-than-stellar start on May 7 against the Angels of Anaheim at Angels Stadium, when he suffered his second loss of the season to go along with his (now) six wins.

“That was the start that I was kind of waiting for,” Urías said through an interpreter. “This week, we just focused on working on the pitches that I missed with during my last start. Honestly, I really liked the results tonight.”

In his MLB-leading eight starts this season, Urías has gone seven innings in five of them.

“It feels good; part of the preparation to come out here and do exactly what I did tonight,” Urías said. “And then I focused on all week and all the preparations to get out here and give the team seven strong.”

Although it’s going to take more than just two wins – consecutive or otherwise – before we can proclaim that the Dodgers have “turned the corner,” it’s fair to say that they are definitely – and finally – headed in the right direction.

Play Ball!

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