With what the Dodgers offense did over their just-concluded two series that included four wins over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park and three wins over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium to extend their current winning streak to eight games, their excellent defense has been understandably overshadowed. I mean, the Dodgers collected a combined 45 runs on 71 hits against their two division rivals that included 17 doubles, two triples, and nine home runs, for Blue Heaven’s sake.

But lost in their offensive melee, the Dodgers committed only four combined errors compared to their opponent’s five over that same seven-game stretch. On the other side of that coin, they also made several outstanding defensive plays; none greater than the spectacular over-the-shoulder running catch by Dodgers left fielder Chris Taylor in the top of the sixth inning of Sunday’s series finale against the Padres.

Although the game ended up being a 4-0 shutout that included two Cody Bellinger home runs, the score was 2-0 when Taylor made his highlight-reel catch.

It’s no secret that the extremely popular soon-to-be (on August 29) 32-year-old Virginia Beach, VA native and fifth-round draft pick in 2012 by the Seattle Mariners out of the University of Virginia has struggled at the plate since returning from the injured list for a fractured left foot. In fact, Taylor is slashing .233 / .312 / .401 / .713 on the season, with a team-second-worst 106 strikeouts behind only Bellinger’s 110. But with the rest of the team more than carrying the offensive load with their combined .260 MLB third-best batting average and their combined 139 MLB sixth-best home runs, the tradeoff is more than acceptable for Taylor’s above average defense; that same defense for which he gained national attention during Game-7 of the 2018 National League Championship Series with a near-identical spectacular over-the-shoulder running catch.

Well done, CT3!

Play Ball!

  *  *  *  *  *  *