Dodgers: Baseball’s Comeback Team of the Year

Following their epic come-from-behind win over Cincinnati on Sunday, the Dodgers now rank near the top in late inning heroics. Sunday was their 18th comeback win, so what’s fueling this fiery team from the West?

For a team that does not outright sit in first place, the Dodgers certainly appear to be on a roll. Not only did they complete a huge comeback win over the Reds this past Sunday, but they are on a win-streak that sits at six games going into the series finale vs. Cleveland, and sit at 8-5 to start the month of June.

That’s sort of been the narrative of the 2017 Dodgers, that you can never fully count them out. As of Sunday’s win, Los Angeles has 18 come-from-behind victories.

It’s to the point where fans almost hope that they’re down a few runs going into the later innings, knowing that a new hero will rise to the occasion nearly every time. With that being said, let’s take a look at what has been the Dodgers’ keys to late inning success this season.

The Bullpen Has Been Unstoppable

The Dodgers’ bullpen has been somewhat of a concern over the last ten years or so, but Andrew Friedman and GM Farhan Zaidi have completely flipped the script. By targeting key components to bring into the organization, they have created one of the most dominant and cost efficient bullpens in all of baseball.

Even following the bullpen’s two hiccups during the first two games against the Cleveland Indians, the unit is still ranked 1st in the National League in walks allowed (65), as well as first in the league in ERA (2.85) and strikeouts (260).

Almost every time the ball is handed off from one of the starters, it has been with great confidence. A combination of right-handed power arms and left-handed finesse has produced some of the best results possible.

The Dodgers’ bullpen ranks first in opposing batting average and first in WHIP thus far. With that sort of dominance, it’s no wonder they’ve been able to pull off so many come from behind wins. They hardly let a deficit get out-of-hand.

The Starters are Elite

Not to be overshadowed by their late inning coworkers, the Dodgers’ starting rotation has held its own. So far, the Dodgers have had seven different pitchers start a game in 2017. This list includes Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Julio Urias, Alex Wood, and Brandon McCarthy.

While Maeda and Ryu have both made trips to the bullpen to work out some mechanical issues, the rotation has been extremely productive. Of course, that’s not as impressive when you have one of the greatest pitchers of this generation on the roster, but regardless they are all pitching great. Especially the surprising Alex Wood, who remains undefeated with an ERA that mirrors Kershaw’s.

Brandon McCarthy has also been a pleasant surprise, after grinding his way to a few scattered starts between injuries in the first years of his Dodger tenure. McCarthy has 3.14 ERA and is striking out a solid 7.3 batters per nine innings, all while walking one less batter than Kershaw (albeit in fewer innings).

One of the keys to a comeback win is making sure you’re not completely out of it from the get-go, and the starting rotation has made that happen.

Power, Power, and More Power

Over the past few seasons, fans head to Chavez Ravine expecting balls to be consistently launched in the left field pavilion. But after ranking 2nd and 1st in the National League for home runs during 2014 and 2015, respectively, there has been a bit of a power dip.

The team dropped down to eighth in home runs during 2016 and now sit in 10th so far this season. But help is on the way! Joc “Dingerson” Pederson is back from his concussion, and Cody Bellinger is out to continually prove he deserved the big league promotion. So far, he has done just that. Bellinger became the first player ever to have four multi-homer games in the first 50 games of a career…and he only needed 45 games to do so.

His 17 round trippers since his arrival on April 25th is the most in the majors, and in that time span, the Dodgers have the best record at 32-14. This sort of power is bound to fuel any team, and his late inning home runs have certainly provided the jolt needed to come back when trailing. The Dodgers’ power has helped in making deficits disappear quickly and win games.