Dodgers News: Shohei Ohtani 30-30, Kiké Hernández odd history, key Phillies showdown

The Dodgers' series against the Athletics was supposed to be a hard reset. After suffering two brutal losses to the worst possible team (the Padres) and failing to immediately prove that the trade deadline was actually going to make things better for this team, their series against the A's seemed like the perfect opportunity to get some mojo back with a sweep.

Maybe the Dodgers decided that would be too much picking of low-hanging fruit, because despite home runs from Teoscar Hernández and Shohei Ohtani in Game 1, they fell to Oakland 6-5 as Gavin Stone continued to struggle in the starts since his complete game shutout.

But Saturday was a new day, and Jack Flaherty was on the mound for his Dodgers debut. He went six scoreless innings, but by the time he was relieved, the Dodgers had only given him two runs of support. However, Michael Kopech continued to excel in Dodger blue and even Blake Treinen, who's had a rough stretch lately, came through with a hitless inning.

The offense turned on the burners in late innings, and in the top of the ninth, Shohei Ohtani placed another flag in the timeline of his Dodgers tenure. After a single, he stole his second base of the game and 30th of the season, making him the first Dodger with a 30-30 season in 13 years.

He didn't stop there, either. He stole his 31st base during the very next at-bat.

Dodgers News: Shohei Ohtani first 30-30 season, Kiké Hernández makes MLB history, tough schedule ahead

That ninth inning also featured a rally of epic proportions; the Dodgers scored six runs and went all the way through the order by the time it ended. To close out the game, now 10-0, LA sent out their best to send everyone home; Kiké Hernández took the mound for the second time this season. The first was on July 9, while the Dodgers were suffering a blowout against the Phillies, but this time he got to do it under much happier circumstances.

He recorded two outs easily, getting Shea Langeliers to fly out, then Seth Brown to pop up. He did give up a double to Abraham Toro, but completed the shutout when Darell Hernáiz grounded out. Hernández had already had a great day on the other side of the ball as well, with three hits against Oakland. After his scoreless ninth, he became the "only MLB player in the modern era to have 3+ hits at the plate and pitch in relief in a shutout victory."

The Dodgers completed their series win against the A's with a 3-2 victory on Sunday. It was a bit of a rough one again (all of the scoring was done by the top of the third), but we'll take wins where we can get them, especially with the tough road ahead for LA. They'll head back home on Monday for a three-game set against the Phillies. Philadelphia's been having a bit of a hard time as well and are on a six-series losing streak, but the last time they won one was against the Dodgers back in early July, and it was a sweep.

Still, LA gained some nice momentum with their victory against the A's, and hopefully it'll help them flip the script on the Phillies this time around.