Dodgers remain unfazed as they march toward history

Justin Turner could not identify the culprit. It might have been a member of the team. It might have been a support staffer at New York’s Citi Field.

Turner was unsure who asked what the Los Angeles Dodgers’ record was after Sunday’s 8-0 victory over the New York Mets, but he was positive about the response.

“Who cares?” came the chorus inside the food room of the visitors’ clubhouse.

To be clear: The record is 79-32. It is the best in baseball. The team is on pace for 115 wins, one shy of the modern record set by the 2001 Seattle Mariners. Since 1954, only two teams have won 110 games or more. Each day, the Dodgers march toward history.

Yet, inside the dayto-day operations of this juggernaut, there is only calm. The players do not fixate on the consequences of their actions. They do not worry about any excessive pressure for October. They show up a few hours before each game, stage a three-hour demolition and head out, ready to repeat the process the next day.

“No one is really looking back at what we’ve already done,” said Turner, the Dodgers’ fourth-year third baseman. “No one is looking ahead. It’s not about trying to figure out who we’re going to match up with in the playoffs. It’s about showing up, trying to win a ballgame that day. That’s all that matters.”

In the series against the Mets, which the Dodgers swept with a cumulative 21-4 score, the team displayed the depth of its talent. They received contributions from every spot in the lineup, from the top of the rotation to the back end, from the unseen actors offering data and insight to the players.

On Friday, new arrival Yu Darvish benefited from sequencing advice given by general manager Farhan Zaidi. Two days later, the lineup seized on information from the advance scouting department and first-base coach George Lombard to terrorize Mets starter Steven Matz for three stolen bases in the first inning.

“It’s a really good feeling to show up every single day — regardless of the circumstances, the opponent, the location — and expect to win,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And we’re doing that.”

Confidence exudes throughout the team, even among those whose workloads might drastically decrease when the playoffs begin in October.

“Our team expects nothing but winning,” said Hyun-Jin Ryu, Sunday’s winning pitcher. “As a starting pitcher, I try to put my teammates in a position where they can win.”

Like Kenta Maeda earlier in the week, Ryu appeared unfazed by Darvish’s arrival. With Darvish on the roster, it appears unlikely that Maeda or Ryu will start for the Dodgers in the playoffs. Maeda responded with seven scoreless innings the day after Darvish was acquired last week. Ryu matched that outing.

“It’s been unreal,” Bellinger said. “Our bullpen, our pitching staff, our lineup — it’s the real deal. We’re just trying to ride it out as long as we can.”

The ride goes to Phoenix on Tuesday. The Dodgers end a three-city road trip facing the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team they might see in a National League division series.

For now, the players insist, they will not allow themselves to forecast October.

“When guys even start to bring it up,” Turner said, “it gets pushed to the side right away.”