Dodgers Week 23 In Review: Getting It Done

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The Dodgers had a productive week, winning a pair of series on the road, as they inched closer to a playoff berth.  The Dodgers won two of three games in Arizona, then did the same in San Francisco, effectively ending any Bay Area playoff dreams.

The offense came alive this week, scoring six runs per game.  In an odd twist, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp took a back seat while their supporting class, and Manny, did the heavy lifting.

Dodger Batter of the Week:  James Loney had his best week of the season, hitting three home runs, hitting .381/.462/.857 while driving in eight runs.  Manny Ramirez also had a great week, hitting .400/.526/.933, as did Casey Blake, who returned from his hamstring injury to hit .500/.615/.800 in the three game series in San Francisco.

Dodger Pitcher of the Week:  Another late-season acquisition came through this week, as Vicente Padilla took the award.  Padilla won both starts, with a 1.50 ERA, improving to 3-0 as a Dodger.  Honorable mention goes to James McDonald, who struck out five of the six batters he faced.

Week 23 Record:  4-2
36 runs scored (6.00 per game)
21 runs allowed (3.50 per game)
.728 pythagorean winning percentage

Overall Seasonal Record:  85-59 (.590)
690 runs scored (4.79 per game)
541 runs allowed (3.76 per game)
.609 pythagorean winning percentage (88-56)

3-Dog:  James Loney hit three home runs this week, and not surprisingly all three dingers came on the road.  On the season, Loney has twelve home runs, with none at home.  Willie Davis has the Dodger record for most home runs in a season, all on the road, with 11 in 1969.  If Loney goes homerless in the nine remaining games at Dodger Stadium, the record will be his.

The Back End Of The Pen:  The top four pitchers in the back end of the bullpen -- Jonathan Broxton, George Sherrill, Hong-Chih Kuo, and Ronald Belisario -- combined for 9.1 scoreless innings.  For the week, the entire bullpen was strong as a whole, with a 2.76 ERA, even including Jeff Weaver's four-run outing on Sunday.

A Good Offense, For Starters:  The eight regulars -- not including Ronnie Belliard, even though he did start five of the six games this week -- hit a combined .306/.390/.529 with eight home runs in six games.  Even with the normal dynamic duo of Ethier and Kemp having an off week, the starters still led the offense to average six runs per game on the week.

Back-to-Back Jacks:  Manny Ramirez and James Loney hit back-to-back home runs on both Monday and Wednesday in Arizona, the seventh and eighth time this year Dodgers have gone back-to-back.  Four of those eight games were against the Diamondbacks:

Transactions:  Here are the transactions for the week:

• Sunday: Blake DeWitt was recalled after the season ended for the Triple A Albuquerque Isotopes, for his sixth sting with the Dodgers this season.
  
• Sunday:  In addition to DeWit, the Dodgers also recalled Chin-Lung Hu
  

Upcoming Week:  The Dodgers return home to face Pittsburgh for three, followed by a Thursday off day.  The Giants come to town after that for a weekend series.

Magic Numbers
To win NL West: 15
To clinch a playoff spot: 12

Week 23 Stats