Dodgers rediscover formula that propelled them to last two World Series titles

The home runs.

The lockdown relief pitching.

Look familiar?

It should.

The Dodgers are looking like the Dodgers again.

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They head into their three-game series in Milwaukee that starts Friday as winners in seven of their last eight games.

They reclaimed first place in the National League West by winning their last two games against the Padres at Petco Park, but what made the victory important wasn’t so much the opponent or how it positioned them in the standings.

The most promising development was how the Dodgers did it — with the same formula they used to win the last two World Series.

They were powered by long balls, with Freddie Freeman homering twice in a 5-4 win Tuesday, and Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez going deep in a 4-0 triumph in the series finale Wednesday.

“I think that this series, in particular, we didn’t put up a whole bunch of runs, but I thought the at-bats were really good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought we took a lot of walks, we slugged more and that’s kind of what we do.”

The relievers contributed nine shutout innings in the two wins, extending the bullpen’s scoreless streak to 29 innings — 31 if counting the two innings Will Klein pitched as an opener in a win over the Angels on May 15.

The loss of Edwin Diaz hasn’t weakened the bullpen — at least not yet.

“I think the main thing is we never walk guys,” Roberts said.

To Roberts’ point: During its 29-inning scoreless streak, the bullpen has walked only 11 batters.

But Roberts has also played a part in the success of his relievers. With managerial experience gained over 117 postseason games, he has become adept at identifying potential inflection points in games and won’t hesitate to use his most trusted arms in such situations.

Take the win over the Padres on Tuesday.

With two on and two outs in the seventh inning of a tied game, Roberts went to Tanner Scott rather than save him for later.

Scott got the Dodgers out of the jam and went on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning. The gamble paid off. The Dodgers broke the stalemate in the top of the ninth inning, and Klein closed out the win.

That particular victory was memorable for another reason: Andy Pages’ ninth-inning, nine-pitch at-bat that drove in the winning run.

Facing Padres fireballing-closer Mason Miller, Pages fell behind in the count, 0-2. But Pages fouled off four pitches, including two that were clocked at faster than 101 mph. Glaring at Miller after every pitch, Pages turned the at-bat into a metaphorical brawl — and won. His sacrifice fly to right field pushed in the go-ahead run.

“One of the greatest at-bats I’ve ever seen in person,” Freeman said.

Pages’ triumphant at-bat was the embodiment of the spirit that won the Dodgers their two most recent championships.

“It was just will, determination,” Roberts said.

Turned out the improved form the Dodgers showed the previous week against the dismal Giants and the even-worse Angels was more than a reflection of their substandard opposition. 

The Dodgers are starting to shape into the team they were expected to be. Their upcoming series against the Brewers will be instructive about where they are, as the Brewers have the NL’s third-best record and run differential.