Dodgers need a win, if only for a distraction from the madness

LOS ANGELES — At this point, the Dodgers need a win just to stop the insanity. They host the Rockies on Saturday night, trying to snap an eight-game losing streak.

Fans are freaking out, and with good reason. The losing has reached absurd levels, with 13 defeats in the last 14 games. The only other MLB teams to drop 13 of 14 games in 2017 are the Phillies (53-88), White Sox (54-86) and Reds (61-81), all last place teams.

The Dodgers still own the best record in baseball at 92-49, five games up on the Nationals. If we’re wondering about things to worry about — besides the obvious of the Dodgers, from top to bottom, just simply needing to play better baseball — it’s staying ahead of Washington to secure home field advantage in the postseason.

Unlike the division — LA leads the Diamondbacks by 10 games with 21 to play, with odds to win the NL West between 99.9 percent and 100 percent — that five-game deficit is much more catchable in the final three-plus weeks.

But mostly, a win would be nice if only for a respite from hot take central, even if only for a few hours.

I have lost count of whether more people on Twitter have blamed Curtis Granderson more for going 7-for-66 (.106/.263/.288) since joining the Dodgers, or more because his trade ruined the chemistry of the clubhouse.

Amazingly, the return of veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from the disabled list has also been blamed for ruining the Dodgers’ chemistry in the dark circles of the internet, but the most absurd take yet came Saturday morning.

Roster expansion is killing the Dodgers, you guys.

“You go all the way through the season with probably about 30 players in the clubhouse,” longtime former major league relief pitcher Mike Stanton said on MLB Network Radio on Saturday morning. “Now all of a sudden if you’re Adrian Gonzalez and you walk in, it doesn’t give you a little bit of anxiety seeing — it’s like Grand Central Station in the clubhouse every day.

“The question is, does this have anything to do with what’s happening on the field. To answer the question, yeah it does.”

I feel like I have stepped into an alternate dimension. This is crazy.

Since moving to Los Angeles in 1958, the Dodgers have only had four losing streaks longer than their current eight-game skid. There were 10-game losing streaks in 1961 and 1992, and nine-game streaks in 1973 and 1987.

Alex Wood gets the call for the Dodgers on Saturday night, the 99th start of his career. He has allowed one run in 12 innings in two wins over the Rockies in 2017, with 17 strikeouts and three walks.

Chad Bettis faces the Dodgers, his first start against them since 2016. Justin Turner, who homered on Friday and is hitting .346/.393/.692 in September, is 6-for-9 with two doubles in his career against Bettis.

In case you were wondering, the Dodgers — who are 0-5 to start this homestand, with two games remaining — have never had a winless homestand of six or more games at Dodger Stadium.

Their current seven-game losing streak at home is two shy of their worst-ever at Dodger Stadium. Yet even with that futility, their 52-21 home record still is the best in baseball.

This season has been super weird.

Game info

Time: 6:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA