LOS ANGELES — At 48 home runs this month and counting
Jaire Alexander Jersey , the Los Angeles Dodgers are closing in fast on a franchise record that, while impressive, has not been around all that long.
In June of last season, buoyed by the arrival of slugging first baseman Cody Bellinger, the Dodgers hit 53 home runs. No Dodgers team had hit that many
before the calendar turned a page, although the 1953 team did hit 49 home runs
in two separate months.
Poised to slow the Dodgers’ current home run train is the Chicago Cubs‘ Kyle Hendricks, who will pitch Wednesday in the third game of the current series. It
is the second series in two weeks between the participants of last year’s
National League Championship Series.
If he needs a model to follow, Jon Lester’s outing Tuesday would be a good one. Lester went five innings and the Cubs did not allow a long ball to the
powerful Dodgers lineup in a 9-4 victory.
The Dodgers’ power explosion has been particularly impressive considering that not too many balls were flying out of the park early in the season. The
Dodgers hit 25 home runs in March/April and 31 in May. Now this.
“Our lineup is built to slug
Harold Landry Youth Jersey ,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We have guys that can hit a homer, doesn’t matter where they hit in the lineup. But everyone
is capitalizing on the mistakes and taking the pitches when they need to.”
For Hendricks, he has given up three home runs in four June starts and 14 already this season. The most he has ever given up in a season is 17 in both
2015 and 2017.
Of more concern for Hendricks is that the Cubs have lost four of his last five starts. On Thursday at Cincinnati, he lasted just 5 2/3 innings and the
Cubs lost the first of four consecutive games against the Reds. The right-hander
has given up 13 June runs. He is 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA in three regular season
starts against the Dodgers.
“I’ve got to stick with what I’m doing,” Hendricks said, according to MLB.com. “I felt better (Thursday). I made better pitches. I convicted the
pitches. The last inning, I wasn’t repeating my mechanics, got out of it. Before
that
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It was not that long ago when Dodgers starter Alex Wood was trying to find some consistency. But a mechanical adjustment on the club’s previous homestand,
along with the resolution of leg cramps that affected some of his early-season
starts have changed his fortunes.
Wood has won each of his last two starts, including an outing Friday against the New York Mets when he gave up two runs over six innings with seven
strikeouts. He is 2-2 lifetime against the Cubs with a 2.93 ERA in eight games
(five starts).
While the Dodgers have been slugging their way back to respectability this month, the Cubs have been in a prolonged offensive funk. But the tide appeared
to turn Tuesday.
Cubs hitting coach Chili Davis held a meeting with the position players Tuesday afternoon and the club’s hitters went out and scored nine runs with 15
hits on Tuesday.
“Around the (batting practice) cage I have been talking to some of the guys and had some really good conversations,” manager Joe Maddon said. “But with
Chili today, he wanted to talk to the guys about (things) specifically.”
Throwing out a blowout loss in the second-round series opener, the San Jose Sharks believe they’re getting closer to playing the way they want.
With that mindset, a breakthrough in Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night would change things dramatically.
After splitting the first two games in Las Vegas
Isaiah Wynn Youth Jersey , the Golden Knights regained the series lead with a 4-3 win in overtime on Monday at SAP Center. Center William Karlsson scored 8:17
into the extra session to complete his third straight multipoint contest.
But Sharks coach Peter DeBoer likes how the team has played — especially after a 7-0 loss last Thursday.
“I think we’re getting better every game,” he said Tuesday. “Game 1, you throw it out, but I thought the last two games, we’re starting to really play
well. We’re getting a feel for what we need to do.”
What San Jose needs to do is continue to get more pucks past Marc-Andre Fleury. He finished with 39 saves Monday, but none bigger than a glove grab of
Logan Couture’s shot from the slot early in overtime.
The three-time Stanley Cup winner is 6-1 with a 1.23 goals-against average and three shutouts during this postseason.
“He’s not going anywhere,” DeBoer noted. “We’re not the first team he’s done it to, so you’ve got to stick with it
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Since being blanked, San Jose scored seven goals in its last two games. So has Vegas.
“They’re a really good team, too,” DeBoer said. “They’ve got some high-end guys who are really opportunistic. When they get chances, they stick them in the
net.”
That includes Karlsson, winger Reilly Smith and center Jonathan Marchessault, who have combined for seven goals and 19 assists during these playoffs.
Karlsson scored all nine of his postseason points — four goals and five assists — in a five-game streak, while Smith (goal
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San Jose is aware that to have a better chance of tying the series, better discipline is needed. Trailing 1-0 in the second period Monday, the Golden
Knights beat Martin Jones (1-2 with a 4.07 GAA in the series) with two straight
power-play goals.
Vegas is 5-for-18 with the man advantage in this series after going 1-for-12 in a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings in the first round.
How would Sharks captain Joe Pavelski combat that special teams success?
“It’s staying out of the box a little bit and the simple penalties — the pucks over the glass, too many men,” he said. “I expect the guys will be ready.
They’ll be ready to try and even this series out and it’s an important game for
us, for sure.”
Fleury also preached the need to remain calm.
“It’s about staying disciplined during the game and having a full 60-minute effort so that we can play the way we want to play,” he said.
Game 5 is scheduled for Friday night in Las Vegas.
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