After riding a wave over the first two months of the season, the Dodgers embarked on a nine-game road trip this week stuck in a backward current, seemingly paddling upstream amid a three-week slump.
They were floundering beneath a rash of injuries to their lineup and pitching staff.
They were being weighed down by untimely hitting and inconsistent pitching, especially from the bullpen.
They had seen their early cushion in the National League West washed away, after the San Diego Padres pulled into a virtual tie for the division lead Monday.
And while they remained safely in the playoff picture, their recent 7-11 skid was starting to feel like more than a blip.
“We’ve shown we can beat anyone, and we can lose to some other teams,” manager Dave Roberts said. “So we’ve got to play good baseball.”
On Tuesday night, his team obliged, taking a collective breath of fresh air with an 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
“It was nice to … come out and have a good start to the road trip,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, who led the way with three hits, a walk and five RBIs.
“We executed our game plan and battled,” echoed shortstop Trea Turner, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a four-for-five performance. “It was just the total package tonight.”
Indeed, Tuesday was a reversal of some of the Dodgers’ recent troubling trends.
They took advantage of several opportunities with runners in scoring position, going three for eight in such situations.
Freeman had the two biggest hits: a two-run double in the third inning that negated a one-run deficit, and a three-run triple in the eighth, making him the third player on the team to eclipse 40 RBIs.
“We haven’t been swinging the bats very good for a couple weeks,” Freeman said. “It’s not just situational hitting. It’s hitting in general. This is a hard game. If you put too much emphasis on one thing, you’re just going to be chasing it the whole time.”
While the Dodgers also got a solo home run from Will Smith and racked up 17 hits, second most in a game this season, their ability to manufacture a couple extra runs with sacrifice flies was key too.