Dodgers: The First Homestand Was a Flawed Success

The Dodgers stand at 5-2 after their very first homestand of the season.  Despite a good start record-wise, the Dodgers had several star players struggle.

After the very first homestand of the 2019 regular season, the Dodgers sit atop the NL West with a 5-2 record.  Despite a solid start record-wise, several key players for the Dodgers had a rough start to the season.  If anything, this shows just how dominant the club will be when they are firing on all cylinders.

Seven games into the season, Corey Seager and Justin Turner both have an OPS below .600 despite driving in a combined nine runs.  Max Muncy has an OPS below .500 and has driven in four runs.  Walker Buehler made his first start last Sunday and lasted just three innings allowing five runs.  Then there is Joe Kelly who has blown two leads otherwise the Dodgers would be sitting at a perfect 7-0.

The bullpen as a whole has struggled to start the season with the team combining to post a 6.18 ERA.  Brock Stewart, Yimi Garcia, and Joe Kelly have done the most to inflate that ERA for the bullpen.  Caleb Ferguson and Kenley Jansen are among the few relievers who have started off strong.

If someone told you before the season that the Justin Turner, Corey Seager, and Max Muncy would struggle in the first homestand, and that Buehler would be knocked around, you would probably think here comes another slow start for the Dodgers.  Instead, the boys in blue managed to win five of their first seven games which shows just how deep this roster is.

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On the opposite end of the spectrum, Enrique Hernandez, Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger, Austin Barnes, and Alex Verdugo have all posted an OPS over 1.300 through the first seven games.  Bellinger has five home runs while Joc and Enrique have hit three each.  Pitching-wise, Hyun-Jin Ryu has made two strong starts while Kenley Jansen is three for three in save opportunities.

Much of the Dodgers’ roster was hot or not in the first homestand.  The team has hit a home run in all seven games so far, a franchise record for consecutive games with a home run, despite some of their best hitters off to slow starts.  With a trip to Colorado next up on the schedule, hopefully, that gets everyone in the lineup going so we can see just how potent the Dodger offense is when firing on all cylinders.

Without Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw, the starting rotation has done their job to keep the Dodgers in every game.  Even in Walker Buehler’s bad start, the Dodger offense generated enough wins for a comeback win on Sunday.  Once everyone is healthy, Joe Kelly gets back on track, and the middle of the order starts hitting, the Dodgers look poised to once again be the most dangerous team in the National League.