LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers are in rare territory, putting up jaw-dropping numbers while piling up victories and commanding a 7 1/2-game lead in the NL West. Cyber Monday Hockey Jerseys . Ahead or behind, against NL or AL teams, the Dodgers are rolling merrily along, owning an eight-game winning streak and undefeated in their last 16 series. They open a seven-game road trip at Philadelphia on Friday, when theyll try to equal the clubs longest winning streak since winning nine in a row from May 9-18, 2010. "Were coming in with great attitude and a little bit of swag," utility player Nick Punto said. That wasnt the case nearly two months ago for a team whose $215 million opening day payroll carried huge expectations. They were 30-42 on June 22 and manager Don Mattingly was on the hot seat. Since that date, the Dodgers own the majors best record at 40-8. Its the franchises best 48-game run in the modern era and the tops in the majors since the 1942 Cardinals went 41-7 from Aug. 11-Oct. 1. Los Angeles is 70-50 overall. "It doesnt matter who theyre throwing or what lineups Donnie has made," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "We have confidence." It shows, especially in one-run games. The Dodgers have won a franchise-record 12 in a row, going 19-11 in such contests this season. They havent lost a one-run game since June 10 against Arizona. The team rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Mets 5-4 on Wednesday. A franchise that has missed the playoffs for the last three years and hasnt been in the World Series since winning it in 1988 has been installed by Las Vegas bookmakers as the favourite to win it all. "Theyre playing great defence, theyre pitching like crazy and theyre coming up with big hits," said Mets manager Terry Collins, whose team got swept on Wednesday. "And you dont have to play much better if youre doing all those things." Five reasons the Dodgers have turned themselves into a first-place team: 1. PUIG AND RAMIREZ: The teams improbable run began about three weeks after outfielder Yasiel Puig got called up in early June. He leads the club with a .368 batting average, and has 11 homers and 27 RBIs. The 22-year-old Cuban defector has imbued the Dodgers with a passion, on and off the field, that they sorely lacked to start the season. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez is close behind, hitting .360 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs. He returned Wednesday for the first time since hurting his shoulder against the Cubs on Aug. 4. 2. PITCHING: Ace Clayton Kershaw and veteran Zack Greinke are leading the rotation, with South Korean Hyun-Jin Ryu putting up solid numbers, too. Kershaws 11-7 record is merely average due to a lack of run support (the team has scored just 10 runs in those losses), but his stellar ERA of 1.88 leads the majors. Greinke is 7-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 10 starts since June 22, when the Dodgers tied for the fourth-worst record in baseball. Ryu is quietly making a bid for rookie of the year, with the left-hander ranking among the NL leaders in wins (12), winning percentage (12-3, .800) and ERA (2.91). 3. DEEP BENCH: The bench includes veterans who have played on championship teams but now dont get to play every day. Punto filled in for Ramirez and hit .450. Jerry Hairston Jr., Skip Schumaker and Juan Uribe serve as reliable pinch hitters or double switch candidates. Their voices have gotten louder in the clubhouse as theyve grown comfortable in their roles, even if its just providing comic relief at times. "Theres a lot of characters in this clubhouse," Punto said. "Theres a lot of ribbing going on all day long." 4. BULLPEN: Closer Kenley Jansen has stabilized the bullpen, converting 12 consecutive save chances although he allowed a run Tuesday against the Mets for the first time since July 23. The reliever corps is 11-1 with 18 saves in 19 opportunities since June 22. Ronald Belisario, Brandon League, new Dodger Carlos Marmol and Paco Rodriguez have all played key roles in setting up Jansen. 5. WAITING IN THE WINGS: The Dodgers have extra firepower just waiting to join them. Newly signed reliever Brian Wilson should be with the club by the weekend after rehabbing in the minors. Slugger Matt Kemp could be back by the end of the month from a sprained left ankle. Hes played in just 11 games during the Dodgers historic run, and only one since the All-Star break because of injuries that have resulted in three stints on the disabled list. Authentic Hockey Jerseys . -- Nelson Cruz has only two hits in 15 at-bats against the Kansas City Royals this season. Hockey Jerseys Black Friday . - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season. https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . Amid a rain of confetti, Shabazz Napier basked in the celebration on the court after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the 60-54 win over Kentucky.TORONTO - Given the conditions, Toronto FC manager Ryan Nelsen said the game would be decided by "a scrappy goal or a moment of quality." Unfortunately Colorado (3-1-1) scored the scrappy goal while Toronto midfielder Kyle Bekker came oh so close to two late moments of brilliance Saturday. "To tell you the truth, in the second half I thought there was only going to be one team that was going to win that game," said Nelsen. "The cruelty of football isnt it when you hit the post and 30 seconds later they score at the other end." Former Toronto forward Edson Buddle decided the game with his 99th career MLS goal, from close range in the 77th minute, as the visiting Rapids edged an injury-ridden Toronto side 1-0 before an announced sellout of 22,591. Colorado, which had been on its heels earlier in the second half, took advantage of a Toronto defensive letdown to secure the three points. Toronto (3-2-0) was without five starters including star striker Jermain Defoe (hamstring) and midfielder Michael Bradley (quadricep and groin), whose combined salaries are almost US$13 million this season. Also missing were midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Alvaro Rey (both hamstrings) and central defender Doneil Henry (knee). "I think their depth was tested today," said Colorado defender Drew Moor. "Id be lying if I said when we saw the team sheet that it didnt make us a little more hungry." While Nelsen wanted to talk about those players who were on the pitch rather than the ones missing, he couldnt resist point out that any team would struggle without "five very influential players." "Especially a young team like us." Adding to Torontos woes was the fact that attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who was subbed out in the 67th minute, was walking with a limp after the game with what Nelsen called a muscle injury. Toronto plays in Dallas next weekend and then has a bye to regroup. The club could well opt to have some of the injured players skip the Dallas game to give them more time to recover. Bradley had been a question-mark for Saturday and failed to recover in time. Nelsen said Bradley faced being out for "several weeks, pushing on months" if he had played and aggravated his injuries. The star midfielder played for both the U.S and Toronto last week, with his body paying the price. Colorado was missing leading scorer Vicente Sanchez, who did not make the trip because his wife is expecting their first child. The drab game reflected the conditions: grey skies and a stiff wind blowing on a bumpy pitch. "There was only a few spells of decent soccer being played out there," said Colorado coach Pablo Mastroeni. "The rest of it was grit, rolling up your sleeves, second balls and battles. Thats what I said to the guys going in. This game is not going to be about soccer, its going to be about determination and will and fight and getting those second balls and shieldding and putting balls in dangerous spots. Cheap Hockey Jerseys China. " That is exactly how the goal happened. Austrian defender Thomas Piermayr found Dillon Serna in the penalty box with a long ball from the right flank, Serna drove it back into the box, Deshorn Brown got his head to it and the ball found its way back to Serna as the Toronto defence struggled to keep up. Serna passed to Dillon Powers who drove into the box, attracting two Toronto defenders before raking a short ball back to an unmarked Buddle in front Seconds earlier, Bekker had bent a free kick round the wall and off the goalpost. Bekker hit the woodwork again in stoppage time. Asked what he thought after hitting both free kicks, Bekker replied: "Goal." "I thought he was brilliant today," Nelsen said of the 23-year-old Canadian. "Absolutely brilliant, one of our standout players." Colorado had lost all six of its previous games at BMO Field against Toronto although it did win the MLS Cup here in 2010, beating FC Dallas. Torontos bench was young and green with 18-year-old Jordan Hamilton, 21-year-old Nick Hagglund, 22-year-old Gale Agbossoumonde, 23-year-old Ashtone Morgan, 24-year-old Joe Bendik and Andrew Wiedeman, and 25-year-old Ryan Richter. Just having Morgan on the bench was a surprise. The fullback was listed as being out with a hip flexor strain, which might explain why he took virtually no part in warmup. Nelsen said later Morgan could not have played, but was on the bench to be part of the team. The pitch was an improvement from the home opener three weeks ago but still cut up quickly. The bumpy surface and stiff cross-field wind did not help the quality of the game, with giveaways galore early on. Colorado looked for a patient buildup while Toronto opted for a more direct approach. Neither produced much of note although there were chances as the first half wore on with Colorado recovering from a slow start to come back at the home side. Gabriel Torres shot wide and Buddle was stopped in close by Toronto keeper Julio Cesar. At the other end, a header from a sliding Gilberto was just wide of the post after a nice cross from Mark Bloom. But for a team missing so many regulars, Toronto kept it together. Bekker looked calm in central midfield and his influence began to grow in the game. Toronto began to press in the second half. A Mark Bloom cross flew invitingly through the Colorado box. Then a De Rosario header popped just over the bar as Toronto pressed around the 60-minute mark. Three former TFC players started for Colorado — Nick LaBrocca, Nathan Sturgis, and Buddle — with Marvell Wynne on the bench. The 32-year-old Buddle played just 10 games for Toronto in 2007, failing to score. "Bitterly disappointing," was Toronto captain Steven Caldwells assessment of the game. "We just feel if we put in performances like that, were going to win a lot more games than were going to lose," he added. ' ' '