Dodgers cruise to 8th straight win behind another Alex Wood gem

The Dodgers continued their weekend rollicking, cruising to a 7-1 win over the Marlins on Saturday night, thanks to a milestone night by Cody Bellinger and even more zeroes from Alex Wood.

One night after winning their 12th consecutive Friday game, the Dodgers won their eighth consecutive Saturday contest.

Bellinger had his first career four-hit game in the win, becoming the first Dodgers rookie ever to hit for the cycle, and just the 10th cycle in the 134-year history of the franchise.

Bellinger’s home run in the third inning put the Dodgers on the board, a two-run shot and his 26th of the season. Later in the inning, Yasmani Grandal smashed a three-run home run of his own to blow the game open.

That was more than enough for Wood, who picked up right where he left off before the break. The left-hander pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and a walk while striking out four and inducing 11 ground ball outs.

Wood is the first Dodgers pitcher since at least 1913 to start a season 11-0, and he lowered his seasonal ERA to just 1.56.

Wood already had a 27⅓-inning scoreless streak earlier this season, has a current streak of 15 consecutive scoreless frames, dating back to June 30. He apparently got his run allowing out of the way on Tuesday in the All-Star Game.

In his last 10 starts, Wood has allowed zero runs six times and one run three times, allowing six total runs in 62 innings during that span with 74 strikeouts.

Rare company

The Dodgers have now won eight straight games, making them just the fourth LA Dodgers team with two separate win streaks of at least eight games, joining the 1974, 2003, and 2008 teams.

But in their last 32 games, the Dodgers are an absurd 28-4. They were just the eighth MLB team in the last 50 years with a 26-4 stretch, and now they are only the fourth team in the last 50 years to win 28 of 32 games. The others were the 2002 Athletics, the 2001 Athletics, and the 1977 Royals. Those three teams won 103, 102, and 102 games respectively.

The Dodgers, owners of the best record in MLB this season at 63-29, are on pace for 111 wins in 2017.

Up next

For an unbelievable eighth consecutive Sunday, the Dodgers will have a chance to sweep their opponent. Rich Hill takes the mound in the Miami finale, having never allowed a runner to reach base in Marlins Park. The Marlins starter is still to be announced, with Tom Koehler among the candidates for the 10:10 a.m. PT game.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Cody Bellinger (26), Yasmani Grandal (12)

WP - Alex Wood (11-0): 6 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

LP - Jose Urena (7-4): 3 IP, 7 hits, 5 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts