The Los Angeles Dodgers Try To Get Back To Their Dominant Ways

The Los Angeles Dodgers, at least for one night, were reminiscent of the team that has dominated the National League West over the past decade.

The Dodgers fell behind 7-2 on the road to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth inning on Tuesday at PNC Park. It looked like the Dodgers would disappear quietly into the night with another lackluster performance during the opening month of the season.

Then the Dodgers turned it on.

Los Angeles scored a run in the fourth inning and two in the fifth to make it a two-run game. Chris Taylor, who has been struggling all season, blasted a three-run home run in the eighth inning to complete the comeback from a five-run deficit as the Dodgers beat the red-hot Pirates 8-7 and ended Pittsburgh’s seven-game winning streak.

“Felt like we scratched and clawed our way back into this one,” Taylor said. “That’s what we used to do so well. So, to be able to do that, work one inning at a time, get some baserunners and then come up in some big spots felt good.”

The win was the Dodgers’ third in a row and bumped their record to 13-11. They hold a half-game lead in the division over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

That has not exactly been the Dodger Way of recent seasons. They steamrolled teams while winning 106 games in both 2019 and 2021 seasons then a franchise-record 111 last year.

However, these aren’t the same Dodgers after president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman took a frugal approach to the past offseason. Instead of adding big-name free agents, the Dodgers let shortstop Trea Turner walk and decided to cut ties with 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger, whose career has been in decline since injuring his shoulder during the 2020 postseason.

The Dodgers are presumably saving their money to make a substantial bid for Los Angeles Angels two-way wonder Shohei Ohtani, who is on course to become a free agent at season’s end.

In the meantime, injuries have depleted the Dodgers’ depth further.

Gavin Lux is out for the season after injuring a knee in spring training. He was expected to slide from second base to shortstop to replace Turner and turn in a breakout season at 25.

Right-hander Walker Buehler, a two-time All-Star, will also miss the season after undergoing Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery last August.

Righty Tony Gonsolin will come off the injured list Wednesday and make his season debut by starting against the Pirates. Gonsolin sprained an ankle during spring training after going 16-1 last season for a major league-leading .941 winning percentage.

“It’s been up and down so far but it’s still early in the season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Our guys are grinding every day. When you keep grinding, good things usually happen and I know they will for our guys.”

Taylor is certainly an example of the grinder mentality.

The Dodgers had a day off Monday in Pittsburgh after finishing a four-game series against the Cubs in Chicago on Sunday. Rather than rest and relax, Taylor spent part of the day taking batting practice and working on his swing at vacant PNC Park.

While Taylor had four home runs this season coming into Tuesday night’s game, the super utility player had gone just 5 for 45 overall for an anemic .111 batting average.

However, Taylor added to his home run total and lifted his average 52 points to .163 by going 3 for 4. He also doubled, hit a bloop single and had the good fortune of Pirates center fielder Ji Hwan Bae dropping a fly ball for a two-base error.

“I sort of tried to keep it as simple as I can — stay inside the ball, start early,” Taylor said. “I had that fortunate hit (Bae’s error) that fell in, and once you start getting hits, you sort of relax a little bit. The tension frees up, and everything slows down.”

Now the rest of the Dodgers need to follow suit if they are going to again be the 100-win monsters of recent seasons.