Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, right, is congratulated by Trea Turner after scoring on a single by Freddie Freeman during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
It was this time last year the Dodgers began to slide.
Following a 13-2 start to the 2021 campaign, the team went into an early-summer tailspin. They lost 15 of 20 games. They squandered their season-opening momentum. And it took them close to a month to snap out of the malaise, eventually contributing to their costly second-place finish in the National League West.
Last week, it seemed like the Dodgers were on the verge of another consequential skid.
They suffered a troubling series loss in Pittsburgh. Their pitchers were drummed in three straight defeats to the Philadelphia Phillies upon returning home.
“We put ourselves in a little hole at the start of this homestand,” manager Dave Roberts said.
But by the end of the home stretch Wednesday, the Dodgers were back on their feet again.
With a 5-3 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers completed a four-game sweep of their division rivals, salvaged a winning record on their eight-game homestand, and moved to 25-12 on the season — the most games they’ve been over .500 this year — with a fifth consecutive win.
“Credit to everybody,” Roberts said. “There was no panic.”
Just like in their previous four victories, the Dodgers had to come from behind Wednesday, reversing an early 2-1 deficit on Justin Turner’s go-ahead three-run home run in the fourth.
And unlike their rut from last year, they made sure a temporary tumble didn’t turn into an all-out face plant.
“Our bench coach Bob Geren always says every winning streak always comes after a loss,” Turner said. “Every day we show up, whether we won or lost the night before, I think we have the ability to go on a good streak.”
Wednesday was a group effort for the Dodgers.
The team started fast at the plate, scoring…