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LOS ANGELES — At 48 home runs this month and counting Cheap Isaiah Oliver Jersey , the Los Angeles Dodgers are closing in fast on a franchise record that, while impressive, has not been around all that long.

In June of last season, buoyed by the arrival of slugging first baseman Cody Bellinger, the Dodgers hit 53 home runs. No Dodgers team had hit that many before the calendar turned a page, although the 1953 team did hit 49 home runs in two separate months.

Poised to slow the Dodgers’ current home run train is the Chicago Cubs‘ Kyle Hendricks, who will pitch Wednesday in the third game of the current series. It is the second series in two weeks between the participants of last year’s National League Championship Series.

If he needs a model to follow, Jon Lester’s outing Tuesday would be a good one. Lester went five innings and the Cubs did not allow a long ball to the powerful Dodgers lineup in a 9-4 victory.

The Dodgers’ power explosion has been particularly impressive considering that not too many balls were flying out of the park early in the season. The Dodgers hit 25 home runs in March/April and 31 in May. Now this.

“Our lineup is built to slug,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We have guys that can hit a homer, doesn’t matter where they hit in the lineup. But everyone is capitalizing on the mistakes and taking the pitches when they need to.”

For Hendricks, he has given up three home runs in four June starts and 14 already this season. The most he has ever given up in a season is 17 in both 2015 and 2017.

Of more concern for Hendricks is that the Cubs have lost four of his last five starts. On Thursday at Cincinnati, he lasted just 5 2/3 innings and the Cubs lost the first of four consecutive games against the Reds. The right-hander has given up 13 June runs. He is 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA in three regular season starts against the Dodgers.

“I’ve got to stick with what I’m doing,” Hendricks said, according to MLB.com. “I felt better (Thursday). I made better pitches. I convicted the pitches. The last inning, I wasn’t repeating my mechanics, got out of it. Before that, everything was good.”

It was not that long ago when Dodgers starter Alex Wood was trying to find some consistency. But a mechanical adjustment on the club’s previous homestand Minkah Fitzpatrick Dolphins Jersey , along with the resolution of leg cramps that affected some of his early-season starts have changed his fortunes.

Wood has won each of his last two starts, including an outing Friday against the New York Mets when he gave up two runs over six innings with seven strikeouts. He is 2-2 lifetime against the Cubs with a 2.93 ERA in eight games (five starts).

While the Dodgers have been slugging their way back to respectability this month, the Cubs have been in a prolonged offensive funk. But the tide appeared to turn Tuesday.

Cubs hitting coach Chili Davis held a meeting with the position players Tuesday afternoon and the club’s hitters went out and scored nine runs with 15 hits on Tuesday.

“Around the (batting practice) cage I have been talking to some of the guys and had some really good conversations,” manager Joe Maddon said. “But with Chili today, he wanted to talk to the guys about (things) specifically.”

鈥?Rob Gronkowski says coach Bill Belichick makes it easy for the New England Patriots to ignore distractions such as the one created by last week’s ESPN report.“Throughout my years here I’ve seen a lot of negative, a lot of positive,” Gronkowski said Tuesday as the Patriots prepared for Saturday night’s divisional playoff game against the Tennessee Titans.“The reputation that Coach tries to get us to have is just ignore the noise 鈥?ignore the noise from the outside and I feel like that’s what myself and a lot of other players have been doing.“You just gotta ignore the noise and just focus on what we’ve been doing all year and that’s preparing hard, studying our opponent, getting ready, mentally and physically for the big game, so what’s going on on the outside, as a team, as an organization, just gotta keep grinding, keep going, keep doing our job.”Gronkowski, healthy this season after missing last year’s Super Bowl-winning run http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/saquon-barkley-jersey , said such “noise” will “if anything it’s just going to bring us closer and it’s going to bond us together.”The report concerned the relationship among team owner Robert Kraft, Belichick and Tom Brady, focusing on Brady’s role in the trading of backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a second-round draft pick.Earlier Tuesday, Brady reacted strongly to the claim he was involved in moving Garoppolo, who won five straight games for his new team down the stretch of the season.“I think that’s just such a poor characterization of anything. In 18 years, I’ve never celebrated when someone has been traded, been cut,” Brady said on his weekly appearance on Boston radio station WEEI.“I would say that’s disappointing to hear that someone would express that, or a writer would express that, because it’s so far from what my beliefs are about my teammates.”He continued, saying, “I would never, ever feel that way about when Jimmy got traded, when Jacoby (Brissett) got traded. I’ve kept in touch with all those guys. When Matt Cassel was gone. All these guys I’ve worked with, I felt like I had such a great relationship with all the quarterbacks I’ve worked with. I kept in touch with basically everybody. So to characterize that as a certain way is just completely, completely wrong.”Gronkowski was asked if Brady is amped up even more than usual.“I’ve gotten that question many times throughout my career and I’ve said this many times 鈥?it’s hard to see him go to another level of intensity because he’s always intense, he’s always preparing hard Dallas Goedert Youth Jersey ,” Gronkowski said.“I’ve just seen him do the same old that he does every week, prepare hard, practice hard and get ready for the game.”Defensive captain Devin McCourty was asked about the ESPN article.“I don’t care about it and I think a lot of guys don’t really care about what goes on outside and who writes what and if we stink, if we’re great 鈥?it doesn’t matter.“So, I just think guys are motivated by playing for each other, their families more than an ESPN article.“I think it’s a great thing for our fans and people outside. I think they enjoy all of that, but I think for us, it’s just going out there and playing for each other.“An ESPN article doesn’t help us when we go out there and it’s negative-9 degrees. Like you’re not going to be motivated to prove an article wrong. You’re just having fun playing with the guys.”Wide receiver Brandin Cooks, in his first year with the team, was asked how they keep distractions out of their locker room.“I think because the guys listen. Coach has been doing this for a while and he knows what the potential distractions can be,” Cooks said.“I think he does a great job on letting us know what they are and as players we listen to him and being coachable and tune out the noise.”NOTES: Tennessee coach Mike Mularkey, talking with New England reporters via a conference call, was asked what affect the ESPN story might have on the Patriots, said, “You know what, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a social media guy. I don’t know enough Byron Jones Jersey Elite , I really don’t, to make any comment about something like that.” … Gronkowski, talking about making AP All-Pro for the fourth time, said, “It’s definitely an honor, a humbling honor, but it means nothing now to tell you the truth, it means nothing. It’s the playoffs now, it’s one-and-done if you lose, so you just keep on preparing, looking forward. … “I’m just looking forward to this game, man 鈥?super excited to be back out there with the team.”.