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The Dodgers have climbed back to even at 30-30, the first time they've been at .500 in six weeks. (Photo courtesy of Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Four Game Winning Streak Gets Dodgers Back To .500

The last time the Dodgers had an even record, we were just 22 games into the season (11-11). It was April 24th. At one point their slump hit ten games under .500 (16-26), but they’ve since gone 14-4 and turned things around.

Adversity is likely to hit every club at some point during the season. Hopefully, the Dodgers are getting theirs out of the way early.

And if they are, they’ve done a good job of facing it head on.

Tuesday’s 5-0 win in Pittsburgh got Los Angeles to 30-30 overall. It felt like it’s been a while since .500; 39 days to be exact.

Blow after blow to the starting rotation (four of the five opening day rotation pitchers are on the disabled list, including Clayton Kershaw for the third consecutive year), Justin Turner’s broken wrist which forced him to miss the first 40 games of the season and Corey Seager’s season-ending Tommy John surgery made even getting back to a .500 record a daunting task.

Alas, here we are. The Dodgers have needed players to step up and over the last couple weeks a few in particular have, with potential for more young guys to as early as today in Pittsburgh.

Few expected Matt Kemp to be the top hitter on the team this season (he leads in batting average, home runs and runs batted in). Even fewer expected the 33-year-old Kemp to lead the entire National League in hitting with a .344 average. For context, Kemp has one less double than the great Mike Trout in 36 less at bats.

Kemp has carried the Dodgers offense while guys like Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger find a groove.

Walker Buehler, the top pitching prospect on the roster, is fifth on the team in innings pitched and he has a 2.74 earned run average in eight starts. Pretty comparable to another pitcher on the roster who has a 2.76 ERA in his eight starts, Clayton Kershaw.

The front office has made it known that Buehler is on a strict innings count this season, but it will be hard to deny deploying such a talented pitcher in the thick of a pennant race.

Ross Stripling has been another pleasant surprise, stepping up in the wake of all the injuries to the starters and churning out five innings of shutout ball against the Pirates. He has an icy 1.52 ERA.

Wednesday, the Dodgers will turn to another touted pitching prospect, 21-year-old Caleb Ferguson. Ferguson has been excellent in the minors this Spring.

Can the Dodgers keep it rolling?

First pitch is at 4:05, and you can listen to every inning live on your Dodgers station KHTS FM 98.1.

KHTS Sports is your place for Santa Clarita Sports Report and your Santa Clarita Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC. If you have any news and notes about our teams and players to share please send them to jp@hometownstation.com, like us on facebook.com/khtssports and follow us @KHTSSports on Twitter.

Four Game Winning Streak Gets Dodgers Back To .500

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About Justin Powell

Justin moved to the San Fernando Valley from the Inland Empire in 2011 to complete his BA of Communications degree at California State University, Northridge. Just a few months after getting his degree he moved to Valencia and started as an intern at AM-1220 KHTS, and was promoted to Sports Reporter within a year. Though Justin is still relatively new to the Santa Clarita Valley, he is an avid sports fan and passionate about building the sports department at KHTS into a special source for local high school sports.