The Last Time...

Yasiel Puig homers in the 9th inning in the Dodgers 6-4 win over the Cubs. (photo by Rob Grabowski/USA Today Sports)

The last time the Dodgers lost consecutive games was 42 days ago.  Quite an amazing feat from this Jekyll and Hyde team that couldn’t string three consecutive wins together between April 9th and June 24th.

The last time the Dodgers lost a road game was on July 6th, a 4-2 loss at San Francisco.  Interestingly, it was the one game in San Francisco this year that I have attended.  When I told my son that fact tonight he just shook his head and said “That seems like eons ago, I haven’t had a day off since.”  I have to agree, a lot has happened since then.

The last time the Dodgers lost a series was on June 16th, when they lost two of three in Pittsburgh.  That was when Chris Withrow was 4 games into making his debut with the team, which seems like a long time ago as he’s now an established fixture in the pen.

The last time the Dodger bullpen coughed up a lead and registered a blown save was on  June 12th which turned out to be an extra inning 8-6 loss to the Diamondbacks.  That means they have played 52 games in which either they pitched from behind or held the lead to victory.  In early June virtually everyone thought that the Dodger bullpen was made up of its weakest relief corps in years.  Today, they might be considered the best ever.

The last time the Dodgers held a 3.5 game lead in the division was two days ago, as they slipped a game with the Yankee loss on Wednesday and then returned to where they were in the standings after tonight’s win.  BUT BEFORE THAT it was June 21, 2012, when they held a 4 game lead on the Giants before eventually relinquishing the lead and division to their arch rivals last season.

The last time the Dodgers won 11 consecutive road games was in the first weeks of the 1955 season.  A win tomorrow will break that Brooklyn mark so tomorrow's game can be an historic event.  When or if they have won 12 consecutive road games?  I don't have the answer.

The last time I felt this good about a Dodger team was in October, 1988.  Something magical is happening this year and this winning string just keeps going on and on.