It was a real week of ups and downs for the Dodgers, who ran their season-best win streak to eight games before dropping two games in Miami, with a brutal Sunday loss that prevented what would have been a stellar week.
The Dodgers finally pulled the plug on Shohei Ohtani, placing the superstar on the injured list Friday after he aggravated his right biceps in his lone game on Monday. They played Freddie Freeman and designated hitter on Tuesday, then sat on Wednesday and Friday while dealing with a right knee
injury. On the field, Freeman is hitless in his last 16 at-bats and has one hit in his last 26 at-bats, and was moving gingerly at first base on Sunday before a bad toss to covering pitcher Tanner Scott in the fateful ninth inning.
But the Dodgers also saw top prospect Josue De Paula not only make his major league debut, but thrive in doing so, reaching base six times in 11 at-bats, including his first major league home run and a double on Sunday.
In all, the Dodgers won four out of six games, and can clinch a postseason berth as early as Monday.
Batter of the week
Teoscar Hernández continued his stellar September with seven hits in 16 at-bats, tied for the team lead with six RBI, hit a home run and a triple, and even stole a base.
The offense was for the most part humming this week, with De Paula, Hernández, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Will Smith, and Kyle Tucker all posting an OPS over 1.000.
Pitcher of the week
Emmet Sheehan bookended the week with stellar starts. He allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts to beat the Reds on Monday after getting called back up from Triple-A. Then Sheehan on Sunday pitched six scoreless innings on Sunday.
Week 25 results
4-2 record
36 runs scored (6.00 per game)
18 runs allowed (3.00 per game)
.780 pythagorean win percentage
Year to date
90-59 record
741 runs scored (4.97 per game)
571 runs allowed (3.83 per game)
.617 pythagorean win percentage (92-57)
Miscellany
Ten grand: Mookie Betts on Saturday homered in the second inning, the 10,000th home run for the Dodgers since moving to Los Angeles in 1958. Max Muncy followed with a home run, then Josue De Paula homered Sunday, upping the count to 10,002.
Welcome aboard: Top prospect Josue De Paula was called up directly from Double-A on Friday, and started all three games in Miami — two at designated hitter, then Sunday in left field. In his first game, De Paula reached base once in his four trips to the plate in his first game with a walk, the third Dodgers player to make their major league debut in 2026. De Paula joined first baseman/outfielder Ryan Ward (2 for 5, RBI on April 19 at Colorado) and catcher Eliezer Alfonzo (0 for 2 on July 5 vs. San Diego) in the Dodgers’ first-timer club this season.
Go90: Friday’s victory in Miami gave the Dodgers 90 wins on the season, something they’ve done every full season since 2013, excepting only the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign in which the team was 43-17. The Dodgers are the first team in MLB history to win 90 games for 13 full seasons in a row.
Mookie on the run: Mookie Betts did not score on Sunday, the first time he failed to touch home plate since August 29. His 11 straight games scoring at least once is tied for the second-longest streak in the majors this season, and is one game shy of the longest run-scoring streak in Los Angeles Dodgers history, held by Betts in 2022 and Rafael Furcal in 2010.
Transactions
Monday: Emmet Sheehan was recalled from Triple-A, with Bobby Miller optioned the day after pitching three innings in relief.
Tuesday: Center fielder Alek Thomas cleared waivers and was sent outright to Oklahoma City.
Friday: Shohei Ohtani was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Tuesday, which opened up a lane of playing time for Josue De Paula’s first major league call-up. Left-hander Eric Lauer was moved to the 60-day IL, ending his season.
Game results
- Monday: Dodgers 6, Reds 3
- Tuesday: Dodgers 3, Reds 2
- Wednesday: Dodgers 14, Reds 1
- Friday: Dodgers 6, Marlins 2
- Saturday: Marlins 4, Dodgers 3
- Sunday: Marlins 6, Dodgers 4
Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11| Week 12 | Week 13 | no reviews for Weeks 14-15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23 | Week 24
Up next
The Dodgers run the Eddie Milner gauntlet, finishing up the road trip with a series against the Cincinnati Reds for the second week in a row, followed by the San Francisco Giants in Los Angeles next weekend. The pitching matchups for the latter half of the week are a guess, as the Dodgers have TBA listed for the final two games in Cincinnati.
