Save for a three-run eighth inning on Sunday that was heavily assisted by the Tigers’ incompetence, the Dodgers’ offense remained in a state of hibernation over the last week.
asserted
offense → assist → week
Shohei Ohtani still looks like Popeye without his spinach, and the Dodgers will have trouble scoring runs consistently until that changes.
asserted
that → look → runs
But if a 2-4 road trip showcased the reasons why the Dodgers won’t win the World Series again, it presented an argument for why they will.
asserted
they → showcase → argument
They have the best starting pitching in baseball.
asserted
They → have → baseball
Over the five games they combined to pitch against the Tigers and Braves, the Dodgers’ four projected postseason starters registered a 2.14 ERA.
asserted
starters → combine → ERA
Remove Tyler Glasnow’s three-run first inning in Atlanta at the start of the two-city tour — his first inning of major-league action in close to four months — and that ERA drops to 1.27.
asserted
ERA → remove → 1.27
Pitch like that in October and the wins will come.
asserted
wins → pitch → October
There will be games like the one the Dodgers lost to the Braves on Thursday, in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a run in 6 ⅓ innings but was outpitched by Chris Sale, who threw a shutout.
asserted
who → lose → shutout
No team has ever gone undefeated in the playoffs in the wild-card era, and the Dodgers won’t be the first, regardless of how much they spend on players.
asserted
they → go → players
The difference between the Dodgers and their opponents is what comes after.
asserted
what → come → Dodgers
The day after Yamamoto pitched, Tarik Skubal started the series opener in Detroit.
asserted
Skubal → pitch → Detroit
Skubal was followed by Blake Snell, who was followed by Glasnow.
asserted
who → follow → Glasnow
There isn’t a team that can match that.
asserted
that → be → that
With pitching like that, a team doesn’t have to hit much.
asserted
team → have → much
They just have to strike the decisive blow before the other team does.
asserted
team → have → blow
Sort of how the Dodgers did on Sunday.
asserted
Dodgers → do → Sunday
With Glasnow dominating the Tigers, Teoscar Hernández broke a 1-1 stalemate with a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
asserted
Hernández → dominate → inning
That was the formula the Dodgers used to win the World Series last year, their pitchers maintaining a low-scoring environment that set the stage for one of their hitters to be the offensive hero.
asserted
one → use → hitters
The Dodgers will have to be better offensively than they are now — but not to a degree that would be impossible.
asserted
that → have → degree
The three-peat remains within their reach, even more so because of Glasnow’s resurgence after a 3 ½-month absence because of back spasms.
asserted
peat → remain → spasms
The Dodgers went on the road last week with a measure of certainty of what they could expect in October from Yamamoto, Snell and Skubal.
uncertain
they → go → Yamamoto
But the two starts made by Glasnow were inspiring revelations, particularly with Ohtani scratched from his scheduled one-inning start on Sunday and now unlikely to be sufficiently stretched out to be a full-fledged starter in October.
asserted
Ohtani → make → October
Following that shake-off-the-rust first inning on Monday, Glasnow went on to limit the Braves to two hits over the next four innings.
asserted
Glasnow → follow → innings
He completed seven innings, striking out seven.
asserted
He → complete → seven
Glasnow was dissatisfied with the consistency of his fastball, but manager Dave Roberts described the pitch as “great,” particularly to his glove side.
asserted
Roberts → describe → side
“You’ve got to respect the velocity,” Roberts said.
asserted
Roberts → get → velocity
The 6-foot-8 Glasnow looked the part of a No. 1 starter.
asserted
Glasnow → look → starter
On these Dodgers, he’s a No. 4 — or even a No. 5 depending on Ohtani’s status.
asserted
he → ’ → status
While his back problems this year indicate he is still a threat to break down physically, the way he’s pitched point to him being mentally stronger than he was when the Dodgers traded for him before the 2024 season.
asserted
Dodgers → indicate → season
The Dodgers initially planned for Ohtani to pitch an inning on Sunday as an opener and have Glasnow come in after him.
asserted
Glasnow → plan → him
Glasnow was unfazed when the plan changed.
asserted
plan → unfaze → ?
The Tigers scored their only run against Glasnow in the fourth inning, which was also when they collected their only two hits against him.
asserted
they → score → him
Glasnow responded by retiring the final 10 batters he faced.
asserted
he → respond → batters
The Dodgers posted a losing record in August.
asserted
Dodgers → post → August
But they’re much closer to another championship than their recent form suggests.
uncertain
form → ’re → championship
Their rotation will ensure they are.
asserted
they → ensure → ?
The Aporia
