Alexander: If Dodgers can get to 3 runs, they can make do

LOS ANGELES — The cardinal fig for the 2021 Dodgers, it seems, is three.

After Friday night’s 3-0 triumph implicit the San Diego Padres, the defending champs had played 142 games this season. They’re connected a gait to apical 100 victories for the 3rd clip successful 5 seasons, their pitching unit statistically is baseball’s champion adjacent with what has turned into a patchwork rotation for the past mates of months, and they person an violative onslaught perchance almighty capable to person scored 22 runs successful a crippled and double-digit runs connected 12 occasions.

And yet they were 3 games backmost of the Giants successful the nonaccomplishment file aft Friday’s games. But that’s not the “three” to which we refer.

When they’ve scored 3 oregon much runs, they were 81-23 done Friday night. When they’ve scored 2 oregon fewer? They’re 8-29, often look similar they’re slumbering and punctual america that this squad susceptible of dominance is arsenic susceptible of frustration.

So portion determination didn’t look to beryllium a wide exhale successful the ballpark connected Friday nighttime erstwhile Will Smith scored the night’s 3rd tally connected Chris Taylor’s scoring alert shot successful the 4th inning, possibly determination should person been.

Reminder: The Dodgers were tied for archetypal spot going into past Sunday’s crippled successful San Francisco. They dropped that one, a Giants bullpen game, and truly didn’t enactment up overmuch of a combat until the ninth inning. They scored 4 runs successful the archetypal inning the adjacent time successful St. Louis, connected abbreviated remainder acknowledgment to abysmal scheduling, and were soundless the remainder of the mode successful the precocious day shadows. Lucky for them that Max Scherzer had flown backmost determination a time up of everybody else.

They were coagulated connected Tuesday successful a 7-2 win. They didn’t enactment up a combat until the ninth, again, successful a 5-4 nonaccomplishment to the Cardinals connected Wednesday and went meekly connected 4 hits successful a 2-1 nonaccomplishment connected Thursday, with the bottommost six spots successful the batting bid going 0 for 20.

On Friday night, they were conscionable bully enough, with Max Muncy’s two-run homer and Taylor’s sacrifice alert holding up erstwhile Julio Urias (17-3), Blake Treinen and Kenley Jansen combined to shut retired San Diego connected six hits. The Dodgers themselves got lone four. In six games from Sunday done Friday nighttime they deed .193 arsenic a squad (37 for 192) and .114 with runners successful scoring presumption (4 for 35).

Whatever you mightiness deliberation astir batting mean arsenic a statistic, those are sickly numbers. And perchance costly, fixed the Giants’ five-game winning streak that enabled them to regain power of the NL West.

But let’s look it: This is vintage Dodgers, yet different illustration of wherefore this team’s organizational hashtag could easy beryllium #BoomOrBust.

The astir glaring anemic spot connected this talent-laden roster is expected to walk astir of this play connected the bench. Cody Bellinger and his .158 mean were held retired of the lineup Friday night. He hasn’t had a deed since Aug. 31, and the deeper this season-long slump goes the much helium seems to beryllium flailing. Manager Dave Roberts said earlier the crippled helium was going to “give Cody a fewer days conscionable to benignant of enactment done immoderate things” and decidedly wouldn’t commencement him Saturday nighttime against Padres right-hander Chris Paddack. Given that lefty Blake Snell starts Sunday, Bellinger astir apt volition commencement that 1 connected the bench, too.

Bellinger did travel successful for antiaircraft purposes successful the seventh Friday night. That mightiness look similar a comedown for a erstwhile MVP, but defence is the crushed he’s stayed successful the lineup this long.

Taylor has been successful the aforesaid presumption recently. He made a mates of sensational catches successful halfway tract Friday nighttime and conscionable missed a third, which papered implicit the information that aft Friday helium was 2 for his past 40 dating to Aug. 29. (He was intentionally walked successful the sixth with men connected 2nd and third, which would beryllium puzzling prevention for the information that Urias was up adjacent and struck retired to extremity the inning.)

Taylor has been dealing with a “neck thing,” Roberts said, “but he’ll ne'er marque excuses. I spot him arsenic a ballplayer.”

That trust, according to immoderate fans, is portion of the problem. But what prime does the manager have?

The accumulation shortage is wherefore Gavin Lux – hitting .221 erstwhile helium was optioned connected Aug. 26 – was recalled Friday and started successful near field. It’s wherefore Matt Beaty was recalled Friday arsenic well, with Billy McKinney moving to the injured database with a near hep impingement.

And for each of their prima powerfulness and endowment astatine truthful galore positions, it’s just to inquire wherever the Dodgers would beryllium astatine this constituent without a pitching unit that went into Friday starring the majors successful ERA (2.03), WHIP (1.03), opponents’ batting mean (.208) and opponents’ on-base percent (.266) and lowered each of those numbers against the Padres. And it’s not conscionable starters Scherzer, Julio Urias and Walker Buehler, but a bullpen forced to enactment adjacent harder than accustomed with 2 bullpen days retired of each five, bolstered by unheralded guys similar Phil Bickford and Alex Vesia arsenic good arsenic the known quantities similar Corey Knebel, Brusdar Graterol and Joe Kelly.

Help is connected the way. As of Friday afternoon, Clayton Kershaw was inactive connected way to commencement Monday against Arizona, the three-time Cy Young Award winner’s archetypal quality since July 3.

Incidentally, Friday’s announcement by MLB that Trevor Bauer volition not transportation again this season, portion allegations of intersexual battle against him proceed to play out, underlines 2 facts: Andrew Friedman made a immense mistake signing Bauer implicit the winter, but his acquisitions of Scherzer and Trea Turner not lone made up for it but mightiness person saved the season.

Maybe.

But it’s not hard to deduce that if this play ends earlier than it should, the #BoomOrBust signifier mightiness precise good marque scapegoats retired of hitting coaches Robert Van Scoyoc, Brant Brown and Aaron Bates.

jalexander@scng.com

@Jim_Alexander connected Twitter