Dodgers Weekly Reviews
Dodgers Week 27 In Review: Rising In Phoenix
Sure, it wasn't a full week, but thanks to the MLB schedule opening on a Thursday we ended on a Wednesday. The Dodgers won two of their three games in Arizona, nearly sweeping the NL West champs. The Dodgers ended their season by winning 10 of their final 11 series, and went 25-10 to finish with a winning record.
Dodger Batter of the Week: It seems Matt Kemp is the obvious choice here, as he ended his MVP-worthy campaign with two home runs and six runs batted in. But he splits the final weekly award with Jamey Carroll, who had five hits in seven at-bats, and Dee Gordon, who had a 7-for-14 series and scored four runs.
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: This award gets split as well, as all three Dodgers starters put up zeroes in Phoenix. Ted Lilly (seven innings), Hiroki Kuroda (six innings), and Dana Eveland (5 2/3 innings) are all worthy.
Clayton Kershaw, who last pitched Sunday, was the last Dodgers starting pitcher to allow a run in 2011.
Week 27 Record: 2-1
17 runs scored (5.67 per game)
14 runs allowed (4.67 per game)
.588 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 82-79
644 runs scored (4.00 per game)
612 runs allowed (3.80 per game)
.523 pythagorean winning percentage (84-77)
Dodgers Week 26 In Review: One Triple Crown Down, One To Go
The Dodgers continued their late season run, winning both series this week as they closed in on a winning record for the season. The club has won nine of its last 10 series, and the season's final full week was a full-on highlight show for the club's pair of triple crown candidates, Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp.
Dodger Batter of the Week: A red-hot week pushed Matt Kemp into the national triple crown discussion, as Kemp ended Thursday within .003 of the batting title, relatively his weakest of the three categories. Kemp cooled off a bit at Petco Park, but still hit .423 for the week with four doubles and three home runs. With three games remaining, Kemp leads the National League in home runs (37, tied with Albert Pujols) and RBI (120) and is third in batting average, .008 behind Ryan Braun.
Honorable mention goes to James Loney, who hit .400 with a pair of doubles, and to Jerry Sands, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: In his two starts this week, Clayton Kershaw ended his season in fine style with a pair of 22-out wins against the Giants and Padres. Kershaw leads the majors with a 2.28 ERA, and leads the National League in strikeouts (248), wins (tied, 21), and WHIP (0.977). Barring either a 17-strikeout performance on Monday by Cliff Lee or a cheap relief win by Ian Kennedy, Kershaw will win the pitching triple crown.
Honorable mention goes to Ted Lilly, who struck out seven and didn't allow a run on Friday in San Diego, continuing his late season surge. But he made one start to Kershaw's two, and frankly Kershaw monorailed this award, as it would have taken a lot for him not to win it.
Week 26 Record: 4-2
23 runs scored (3.83 per game)
16 runs allowed (2.67 per game)
.660 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 80-78
627 runs scored (3.97 per game)
598 runs allowed (3.78 per game)
.522 pythagorean winning percentage (82-76)
Dodgers Week 25 In Review: Runs Aplenty At Dodger Stadium
The Dodgers were officially eliminated from the postseason this week, but it was still an exciting week at Dodger Stadium. Gerardo Parra set the spark for some midweek fireworks which enlivened the crowd for a few nights, and the Dodgers kept it going with a trio of weekend drubbings of Pittsburgh.
The Dodgers need to win five of their final nine games to finish with a winning record, and if they score 40 runs in those nine games the Dodgers will average four runs per game for the season.
The Dodgers are 19-7 since August 22, a record matched by the Arizona Diamondbacks and topped only by the white-hot Detroit Tigers, who are 21-6 during that span.
Dodger Batter of the Week: It was a close race, but Jerry Sands takes home this award by collecting 15 hits in 27 at-bats, including three doubles and his first career home run at Dodger Stadium. Sands hit .556/.600/.778 and drove in seven runs for the week.
He narrowly beat James Loney, who had a weekend to remember. On Friday, Loney hit his first career pinch-hit home run, and on Saturday hit a three-run homer for the second straight night. Loney came into Sunday with two home runs and two doubles, but no singles for the week, so he made up for it and then some, with four singles and a double on Sunday for his first five-hit game.
Honorable mention goes to Matt Kemp, who homered twice, stole two bases, and had an under-the-radar .385/.433/.654 week.
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: His one outing this week was brief but memorable, as Clayton Kershaw retired 15 of the first 16 hitters he faced on Wednesday. The 17th batter was Gerardo Parra, and that's when everyone lost their minds.
Honorable mention goes to Josh Lindblom, who struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced this week; and to Kenley Jansen, who struck out eight of the 12 batters he faced.
Week 25 Record: 4-3
39 runs scored (5.57 per game)
24 runs allowed (3.43 per game)
.709 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 76-76
604 runs scored (3.97 per game)
582 runs allowed (3.83 per game)
.517 pythagorean winning percentage (79-73)
Dodgers Week 24 In Review: No Home Runs, No Problem
The Dodgers didn't hit a home run this week, but still managed to win both series, beating both the Nationals and Giants in two of three games to conclude a 7-3 road trip. The Dodgers even reached the .500 mark on Saturday, albeit briefly as they ended the week with a loss.
The Dodgers could have outscored their opponents for a seventh straight week, but their 8-1 loss in San Francisco on Sunday ended that streak.
Dodger Batter of the Week: The offense had a down week, but Juan Rivera is the clear choice here, as he hit .500 with two doubles, four walks, and six RBI. James Loney contributed with two doubles and a triple, hitting .333/.368/.556. Andre Ethier only played one game before shutting down his season with a right knee injury, but in that game he had a pair of two-run base hits.
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: The award again goes to Clayton Kershaw, who struck out nine Giants Friday night, allowing one unearned run in eight innings to win his 18th game and take over the major league lead in ERA. Dana Eveland was also fantastic, for the second straight start, pitching seven scoreless innings on Saturday. Kenley Jansen continued his stellar work out of the bullpen with three more scoreless outings, striking out seven of the 11 batters he faced.
Dishonorable mention goes to Chad Billingsley, whose slide continued with the Dodgers' shortest outing of the year on Thursday against the Nationals.
Week 24 Record: 4-2
22 runs scored (3.67 per game)
23 runs allowed (3.83 per game)
.480 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 72-73
565 runs scored (3.90 per game)
558 runs allowed (3.85 per game)
.506 pythagorean winning percentage (73-72)
Dodgers Weekly Report: So Close To Going Undefeated
With a six-game winning streak in hand, a 3-0 Sunday lead and Clayton Kershaw on the mound, an undefeated week seemed likely for the Dodgers. However, sometimes baseball throws a curveball, and the Dodgers' winning streak was snapped. For the second consecutive week, the Dodgers won all their games, including an extra-inning win on Saturday, until a one-run loss on Sunday.
The Dodgers have outscored their opponents for six weeks in a row, and are closing in on a .500 record, which seemed unheard of a month ago.
Dodger Batter of the Week: It's no coincidence that during the Dodgers' nearly perfect week they had many candidates for this award. However, opposing pitchers decided this award, as Matt Kemp was walked 12 times this week, including six intentional passes. Kemp hit .316/.594/.474 with one home run during the week. If only Don Mattingly would recognize this too, and stop trying to take the bat out of his best hitter's hands.
Other worthy candidates included Dee Gordon (9-for-16 in four games since returning from the DL), Andre Ethier (.400/.478/.600, including a grand slam), James Loney (1.012 OPS, four doubles and a homer), and A.J. Ellis (4-for-9 with a home run and three walks in three games).
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: Again, Clayton Kershaw wins this award, thanks to two stellar starts. Kershaw had a complete-game win against the Padres on Monday, then struck out 10 with no walks in a no-decision on Sunday. That we were shocked that Kerhsaw didn't win on Sunday tells the story.
Dana Eveland was another candidate by welcoming himself to the team with eight strong innings Thursday in Pittsburgh, while honorable mention goes to Kenley Jansen, who struck out eight of the 15 batters he faced during the week.
Week 23 Record: 6-1
35 runs scored (5.00 per game)
23 runs allowed (3.29 per game)
.683 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 68-71
543 runs scored (3.91 per game)
535 runs allowed (3.85 per game)
.507 pythagorean winning percentage (70-69)
Los Angeles Dodgers Weekly Report: Vin Scully Highlights Great Week
No matter what happened on the field this week, it would have been a smashing success for the Dodgers because Vin Scully decided to return for 2012. The Hall of Famer will call Dodger games for his 63rd consecutive season.
But oh yeah, on the field the Dodgers had a pretty great week, too. The Dodgers won five games in a row before losing on Sunday, and scored more than double the runs of their opponents. The Dodgers have three wins this season when trailing after eight innings, and two of them came this week.
Dodger Batter of the Week: It all began for James Loney after he warmed up in the bullpen in Colorado on August 21, then went 4-for-4. Loney continued his hot hitting this week with 12 hits in 27 at-bats, including three doubles and two home runs. Loney hit the game-tying home run in the ninth inning on Saturday against Colorado.
Honorable mention goes to Matt Kemp, who joined the 30/30 club and hit a walk-off home run, and to Rod Barajas, who hit .412/.474/.824 with two home runs.
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: This week's award goes to Clayton Kershaw, who extended his scoreless streak to 14 consecutive innings on Tuesday in St. Louis with six shutout frames against the Cardinals, with eight strikeouts. Honroable mention goes to Ted Lilly, who allowed a home run to Carlos Gonzalez Friday night, then nothing else for seven innings.
Week 22 Record: 5-1
43 runs scored (7.17 per game)
21 runs allowed (3.50 per game)
.788 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 62-70
508 runs scored (3.85 per game)
512 runs allowed (3.88 per game)
.496 pythagorean winning percentage (66-66)
Los Angeles Dodgers Weekly Recap: Good Starting Pitching, Not Many Wins
The Dodgers outscored their opponents for the fourth straight week, but didn't have much to show for it. The team lost three of four games in Milwaukee and lost two of three games in Colorado to begin their beer park road trip with a 2-5 record.
Dodger Batter of the Week: Well he didn't get to pitch on Sunday, but James Loney had nearly a week's worth of production with a four-hit game. On the week, Loney hit .333/.412/.600 with a double and a home run.
Honorable mention goes to Rod Barajas, who hit .364 with two home runs in three games before hurting his groin. In his last seven road games, Barajas is hitting .478 with two doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI. Tony Gwynn also had a week of note, hitting .320/.320/.560 with his first two home runs of the season.
Dishonorable mention goes to Andre Ethier, who had two singles in 20 at-bats during the week and is hitting just .233/.313/.300 with one home run in 33 games since the All-Star break.
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: Clayton Kershaw is the easy winner here, pitching eight scoreless innings on Thursday against the playoff-bound Brewers to give the Dodgers their only win in four games in Milwaukee.
Honorable mention goes to the rest of the starting staff, who had ERAs of 3.00, 3.00, 3.07, and 3.09 for the week.
Week 21 Record: 2-5
24 runs scored (3.43 per game)
23 runs allowed (3.29 per game)
.519 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 57-69
465 runs scored (3.69 per game)
491 runs allowed (3.90 per game)
.475 pythagorean winning percentage (60-66)
Los Angeles Dodgers Weekly Recap: Stuck In The Middle With You
The Los Angeles Dodgers this week saw the best team in the National League, if not in all of baseball, and also saw the worst, and not surprisingly ended up somewhere in between both extremes. The Philadelphia Phillies, who ended the week with an MLB-best 78 wins, swept their way through Dodger Stadium, though their three wins came by a total of four runs. The Dodgers then took out their frustrations with a weekend sweep of the Houston Astros, who ended the week with 83 losses, the most in baseball.
Week number 20 saw the major league debut of Justin Sellers. The 25-year old Huntington Beach native was promoted when Dee Gordon was placed on the disabled list, and Sellers started all three games against Houston over the weekend. Sellers collected his first major league hit on Saturday and his first major league home run on Sunday.
Dodger Batter of the Week: There were many candidates this week as the offense had three games of six runs or more. Matt Kemp hit two home runs, stole three bases, and had a walk-off hit, but his 1.061 OPS ranked fourth on the team for the week. This week's award is split between the two men who share first base duties, Juan Rivera and James Loney. Rivera hit .429/.467/.786, including a three-run home run against the Phillies and a triple to leadoff the ninth inning Friday night against Houston. Loney hit .500/.625/.583 for the week, including a double and four walks.
Honorable mention goes to Dioner Navarro who had two hits for the week, both for extra bases, and four walks in his three starts at catcher.
Dodger Pitcher of the Week: The pitching staff was solid again this week. Nathan Eovaldi threw six shutout innings in his second big league start, Clayton Kershaw struck out nine in a strong eight-inning outing, and Ted Lilly went eight innings for the first time this season. Of those three, Lilly gets the most credit since he faced a major league lineup, but he also allowed a home run to a pitcher. This award goes to Hiroki Kuroda, who was 1-1 with a 2.03 ERA, benefiting by being the only pitcher to make two starts during the week.
Matt Guerrier deserves honorable mention for retiring 10 of the 11 batters he faced, including five by strikeout.
Week 20 Record: 3-3
26 runs scored (4.33 per game)
17 runs allowed (2.83 per game)
.685 pythagorean winning percentage
Season Record: 55-64
441 runs scored (3.71 per game)
468 runs allowed (3.93 per game)
.473 pythagorean winning percentage (56-63)
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