On June 21st the Los Angeles Dodgers plummeted to 30-42. It was worse than falling 12 games under .500, as their ace Clayton Kershaw was the losing pitcher to drop to a disappointing 5-5 on the season. The Dodgers were 7-12 in the month of June and murmurs of Don Mattingly being fired were as dependable as the sun rising the following day.
Zack Greinke took the mound the next day and the Dodgers started a historic torrid stretch. They went on to win 8 of their next 9 games to finish the month of June. When July rolled around they simply caught fire. They won 19 of 25 games in July, including three different win streaks of 4, 5 and 7 games. In August the Dodgers opened the month by winning 5 straight games before losing on the road to the St. Louis Cardinals. They then responded by winning their next 8 games in a row.
Since that June 22nd day when Greinke took the mound in San Diego, the Dodgers have gone 40-8 (.833 winning percentage). The last time a team has won 40 of 50 games was the Cincinnati Reds in 1975. The Dodgers have seen their record go from 30-42 in mid-June to 70-50 in mid-August. Their current 40-8 mark since June 21st is the most impressive stretch of games since the 1951 New York Giants.
The murmurs of Mattingly’s departure have dissipated and the Dodgers’ early season struggles have become a thing of the past. They have maintained a level of play that demands attention. Their superstar outfielder (Matt Kemp) has been running at 60-70 percent prior to games and is expected to return to the lineup in early September. With a healthy Kemp amongst Puig, Gonzalez and Ramirez, one can’t help but reminisce about the Big Red Machine in the mid-70’s.