LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers won four of six games last week, managed to add two games to their lead in division and had the best record among all six National League playoff contenders from Monday to Sunday.
But the week still felt like something was left on the table. Such is the nature of expectations for a Dodgers team that was expected to win in triple digits this season but has also played inconsistently over the last two months. For this week they scored at least five runs in each of their four
victories, totaling 23 runs, but scored only once in the two games they lost.
The challenge over the final month of the regular season will be trying to find a steadier path, and trying to bring October energy to September.
“I hate going backward and talking about last year, but in baseball, you’re playing the long season, you’re the defending champions, Really, people are coming after you. Which, we know that and understand that,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “It’s just hard to keep that dialed-in focus every single night, and that’s just reality. That’s human nature. It’s not from lack of preparation or effort. It’s just kind of the human part of it, but there has to be a point where that has to be sharpened. I feel that the time is now.”
Batter of the week
Will Smith had the walk-off home run Sunday, but only one other hit during the week (also a home run), but even that was enough to make him second in OPS. But the most consistent Dodgers hitter this week was Andy Pages, who drove in six runs and led the team in RBI, hits, and tied for most home runs.
Honorable mention goes to everyone’s favorite punching bag, Michael Conforto, who was 10th on the team in plate appearances but tops in OPS thanks two a home run and two doubles.
Pitcher of the week
Emmet Sheehan benefited from some stellar corner outfield catches early but mostly made his own luck by striking out 10 batters while lasting a career-best seven innings in a shutout of the Reds on Monday. Sheehan’s stellar outing matched the highest game score in any start by a Dodgers pitcher this season.
Honorable mention goes to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who struck out 10 in his own seven-inning performance on Sunday against Arizona.
Week 24 results
4-2 record
24 runs scored (4.00 per game)
17 runs allowed (2.83 per game)
.653 pythagorean win percentage
Year to date
78-59 record
700 runs scored (5.11 per game)
599 runs allowed (4.37 per game)
.571 pythagorean win percentage (78-59)
Standing: 1st place in NL West, two games up on San Diego
Miscellany
Two-baggers: Freddie Freeman doubled off Eduardo Rodríguez on Saturday night for his 35th double of the season. Freeman has played four years with the Dodgers and has hit at least 35 doubles each year. That ties Freeman with Steve Garvey for second-most seasons with 35 doubles in franchise history, one behind Babe Herman. Freeman has 177 doubles with Los Angeles and his 544 career doubles are tied with Derek Jeter for 35th all-time.
Missing bats: In Wednesday’s series finale against the Reds, Shohei Ohtani struck out a season-high nine in his five innings, then was followed by double-digit strikeout efforts from Jack Dreyer, Justin Wrobleski, Edgardo Henriquez, and Blake Treinen in their one inning each. In all, the Dodgers struck out 19 batters for the first time ever in a nine-inning game. In franchise history, they’ve also had five extra-inning games with at least 19 strikeouts, and in one of them (June 2, 2017 in Milwaukee) the Dodgers struck out 19 within the first nine innings.
Hero in a pinch: Dating back to 1912 (the earliest year Baseball Reference has full, searchable play-by-play data), the Dodgers have hit 25 pinch-hit, walk-off home runs during the regular season. Will Smith has the last four of them, dating back to 2019. The only other Dodger with more than one pinch-hit, walk-off home run was Rick Monday, with two. Smith’s four pinch-hit, walk-off homers are also the second-most ever in MLB, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
Transactions
Monday: Kiké Hernández was activated after missing seven weeks with left elbow inflammation, and Mr. 2,000 Buddy Kennedy was designated for assignment.
Tuesday: Reliever Alex Vesia was placed on the injured list with a right oblique strain, and Blake Snell returned from paternity leave.
Thursday: After clearing waivers, Kennedy declined a minor league assignment to Triple-A and instead elected free agency.
Game results
- Monday: Dodgers 7, Reds 0
- Tuesday: Dodgers 6, Reds 3
- Wednesday: Dodgers 5, Reds 1
- Friday: D-backs 3, Dodgers 0
- Saturday: D-backs 6, Dodgers 1
- Sunday: Dodgers 5, D-backs 4
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | PA | BA/OBP/SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conforto | 13 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | .385/.429/.769 | 1.198 |
| Smith | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 17 | .167/.412/.667 | 1.078 |
| Pages | 22 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 23 | .364/.348/.682 | 1.030 |
| Betts | 20 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 24 | .300/.417/.500 | 0.917 |
| Freeman | 17 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 20 | .235/.350/.471 | 0.821 |
| Rojas | 17 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | .294/.333/.412 | 0.745 |
| T. Hernández | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 20 | .188/.350/.250 | 0.600 |
| Ohtani | 22 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 26 | .182/.308/.182 | 0.490 |
| K. Hernández | 16 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 17 | .250/.235/.250 | 0.485 |
| Rushing | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | .143/.250/.143 | 0.393 |
| Freeland | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 16 | .133/.188/.133 | 0.321 |
| Call | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | .100/.100/.100 | 0.200 |
| Dean | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000/.000/.000 | 0.000 |
| Offense | 188 | 24 | 45 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 23 | 50 | 214 | .239/.322/.394 | 0.716 |
| Pitcher | G | Record | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheehan | 1 | 1-0 | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0.00 | 0.429 |
| Yamamoto | 1 | 0-0 | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1.29 | 0.571 |
| Kershaw | 1 | 1-0 | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1.80 | 0.400 |
| Ohtani | 1 | 1-0 | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 1.80 | 0.800 |
| Glasnow | 1 | 0-1 | 7.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3.86 | 0.571 |
| Snell | 1 | 0-1 | 5.3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 5.06 | 1.313 |
| Starters | 6 | 3-2 | 36.3 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 49 | 2.23 | 0.661 |
| Henriquez | 3 | 0-0 | 3.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.00 | 1.667 |
| Treinen | 3 | 1-0 | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.00 | 1.000 |
| Dreyer | 3 | 0-0 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.00 | 0.667 |
| Banda | 2 | 0-0 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.00 | 1.200 |
| Wrobleski | 1 | 0-0 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.00 | 4.000 |
| Casparius | 2 | 0-0 | 2.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9.00 | 2.000 |
| Yates | 2 | 0-0 | 2.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13.50 | 1.500 |
| Scott | 2 | 0-0, Sv | 2.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13.50 | 2.500 |
| Bullpen | 18 | 1-0, Sv | 17.7 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 25 | 4.08 | 1.585 |
| Totals | 24 | 4-2 | 54.0 | 35 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 74 | 2.83 | 0.963 |
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 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23
Up next
The Dodgers are on the road to run the Lee Lacy gauntlet against the Pirates and Orioles, with active rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players in September.
| Mon, 9/1 | Tue, 9/2 | Wed, 9/3 | Thu, 9/4 | Fri, 9/5 | Sat, 9/6 | Sun, 9/7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFF | at Pirates | at Pirates | at Pirates | at Orioles | at Orioles | at Orioles |
| 3:40 | 3:40 | 3:40 | 4:05 | 4:05 | 10:35 | |
| Kershaw | Ohtani | Snell | Glasnow | Yamamoto | Sheehan | |
| Mlodzinski | Ashcraft | Skenes | Kremer | Rogers* | Sugano | |
| SNLA | SNLA | SNLA | SNLA | SNLA | SNLA |
