LOS ANGELES — It was no secret the Dodgers were going to be one of the best teams in the Majors this season. But the 2022 Dodgers have now done something no National League team has done in over 100 years.
With a 6-4 comeback win over the Rockies on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers picked up their 110th win of the season, becoming the first NL team to reach that mark since the 1909 Pirates, who also won 110 games.
The Dodgers also became just the seventh team in MLB history to reach the 110-win mark, joining the 2001 Mariners (116), 1906 Cubs (116), 1998 Yankees (114), 1954 Cleveland (111), 1927 Yankees (110) and 1909 Pirates (110). Los Angeles has four games remaining in the regular season.
“You have to appreciate what is going on because you never know if this will happen again,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. “It’s hard to do when you’re doing it, we’re just trying to win games every single night, but when you’re in the high-five line and you see a new franchise record, 110 wins, you realize that we’ I’m doing something special this year.”
For most of those wins, the Dodgers used some loud hits. On Saturday, it was their patience that helped them walk their way to another win. Literally.
After being held quiet by Rockies’ left-hander Kyle Freeland, the Dodgers entered the seventh inning trailing 4-1. But the Dodgers quickly took advantage of the Rockies’ bullpen’s inability to throw strikes.
Los Angeles drew five consecutive walks to begin the inning, helping them cut the deficit to one run. The first ball put in play came on the 31st pitch of the inning, resulting in a Cody Bellinger sacrifice fly to tie the game. The Dodgers hadn’t drawn at least six walks in an inning since Aug. 30, 2011, against the Padres.
“You don’t see that too often in the big leagues. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed something like that,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I think that this environment might’ve gotten to those guys because there were some bad misses. But when they did make competitive pitches, we did a good job of still taking them and earning walks.”
In the eighth, the Dodgers completed their 47th comeback win of the season as Joey Gallo delivered a go-ahead sacrifice fly following a pair of singles from Trea Turner and Freeman. Bellinger added an RBI single in the inning, completing his sixth three-hit game of the season.
“It’s starting to kind of show some fruits as far as his work,” Roberts said about Bellinger. “The trajectory of his balls are better. You know, not just the high fly balls and the long, loopy swing. Even in that last at-bat, ball was off the plate but to shorten up and move it forward, that was huge. He has been competing. Now it’s good to see him getting some knocks.”
Bellinger wasn’t the only one rewarded with some knocks on Saturday. Trea Turner has been taking early batting practice in order to get his swing locked in for the postseason. He’s starting to get some results, going 2-for-4 with a walk in the win.
Mookie Betts is also starting to round into form, going just 1-for-5, but recording four hard-hit balls, which are batted balls with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. Trayce Thompson also put together a pair of quality at-bats, going 1-for-2 with three walks.
The Dodgers’ offense was missing Justin Turner and Chris Taylor, who were both scratched from the lineup with injuries prior to the game. That didn’t affect the Dodgers, who have proven to be the deepest team in the Majors this season. Deep enough, at least, to now be one of the most accomplished teams in Major League history.
“It’s obviously a pretty cool number right now,” Justin said. “There will certainly be a time when it’s all said and done to go look at the accomplishments. But it’s certainly been a fantastic season so far, and a lot to be proud of.”
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