The Dodgers need to keep stealing bases

Way back in the early days of this season, I watched the Dodgers play the Padres and I was worried. The Padres just seemed… fast. They were stealing bases it seemed like every time they had the opportunity. And that wasn’t just in my head — they had 82 stolen bases before the All-Star break.

What were the Dodgers doing? A lot of jumpstarts, not a lot of steals. The Dodgers lived all the way at the end of the stolen bases list, with 27 in the same time period (25th in the league). I can’t tell you what was going on — with Bellinger, Betts, and Taylor on the team, it seemed like the Dodgers should be much higher up on that list (though sure, some of that is probably attributable to injury). Post All-Star game and the acquisition of Trea Turner? The Dodgers have 40 stolen bases — with Turner carrying 11 of them. Credit where credit is due, Bellinger had two (!) last night.

Let’s hope the Dodgers carry a bit more of that speed into the playoffs WHERE THEY’RE NOW HEADED.

Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman (who helped get us through last night with his commentary online) on Trea Turner:

• Calling Trea Turner the other guy in the Max Scherzer trade is an incredible understatement, writes Jack Harris at the LA Times
• Dylan Hernández at the LA Times has some thoughts on Trevor Bauer’s annoying attention-seeking
• The winners of Minor League Baseball’s Double-A awards and the members of the three league All-Star teams were announced on Wednesday. Three members of the Dodgers’ Double-A Tulsa team were awarded All-Star status (AVG/OBP/OPS):

Michael Busch (2B) .276/.386/.870, 20 HR, 67 RBI

Michael Vargas (3B) .321/.386/.909,16 HR, 60 RBI

Ryan Noda (DH) .250/.383/.904, 29 HR, 78 RBI