LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have spent most of the year profiling as one of the greatest teams in the sport, with an impressive run differential, unrivaled depth and a wealth of star talent. But it never really came together for them — until, perhaps, right now, in the most important juncture of their season.
The Dodgers beat the division-rival Colorado Rockies for the second straight night on Tuesday, riding the walk-off home run of utility infielder Chris Taylor to capture a 3-2 victory in 10 innings.
It pushed the Dodgers 1½ games ahead of the Rockies for first place in the National League West and gave L.A. six wins over the past seven games, with three of them coming against a St. Louis Cardinals team that also is in the thick of playoff contention.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes his team is playing “our best baseball” as the regular season reaches its penultimate week.
“It’s not really going out on a limb,” Roberts said. “We’ve been sort of inconsistent all year long, but things are coming together at the right time.”
The middle game of a three-game series provided an encouraging snapshot. Taylor, a catalyst for last season’s World Series team, has shortened his swing and produced 11 hits in his past 29 at-bats. Two innings before Taylor’s first career walk-off homer, Kenta Maeda struck out the side on only 10 pitches, an indication that he might be rounding back into the man who dominated out of the bullpen last October.
“We’re betting on it,” Roberts said.
Maeda, Kenley Jansen, Scott Alexander and Dylan Floro — four members of a bullpen that represents the Dodgers’ greatest weakness — combined to retire nine of the 10 Rockies batters they faced, six of them via strikeout.
Jansen allowed a bloop single to start the ninth, but he struck out Chris Iannetta, retired David Dahl on an infield popup and got Ryan McMahon to hit a broken-bat ground out to second base. Jansen later said that he feels “very close” to resembling the dominant closer who became a legitimate Cy Young candidate last season.
“I feel really good, and it’s at the right time,” Jansen said. “I just have to keep going.”
In many ways, Jansen’s season has mirrored that of the Dodgers as a whole. He struggled mightily through April, during which time his team finished with a 12-16 record. When he got right, the Dodgers followed. When he missed time because of an irregular heartbeat, the Dodgers faded. The Dodgers are playing good baseball again, and Jansen feels like he’s right there with them.
“The thing I like about this year is that nothing is easy for us,” said Jansen, alluding to a 2017 Dodgers team that basically had the division wrapped up by the end of July. “We’re going to really have to earn it to get there this year. I like our chances if we get to the playoffs, because everything we got, we’ve had to earn.”
Clayton Kershaw noted the different ways his Dodgers have won games lately. On Friday, they rode a dominant start by Walker Buehler, the 24-year-old right-hander who has seemingly evolved into a legitimate co-ace. On Saturday and Monday, their offense carried them, amassing 25 runs on 27 hits, eight of which went over the fence. On Tuesday, it was, of all things, the bullpen.
“It’s a good sign when all things start clicking like that,” said Kershaw, who worked around five walks to allow only one earned run in seven innings.
The first seven times the Dodgers entered a game with sole possession of the division lead this season, they lost.
On Tuesday, the eighth time, they finally won.
“We’re playing good baseball,” said third baseman Justin Turner, who saved a run with a diving stop to end the seventh inning. “I think we all like the way we’re going about it right now.”