Dodgers June In Review: National League Games Are Fun

The Dodgers had a tough schedule in June, chock full of playoff contenders, and managed to finish over .500, at 14-13, a rare occurrence in what is normally a June swoon for the team.  The Dodgers didn't have a winning record in June from 2004-2008.

The Dodger offense was nearly nonexistent outside of Rafael Furcal and Manny Ramirez.  James Loney did have 22 RBI, and hit .301/.371/.408, but when that is your third best regular your offense is having problems. Media guide cover boys Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp disappeared, turning their Silver Slugger bats into wet noodles. Casey Blake hit like the projection systems suggested a 36-year old would, and Russell Martin managed the rare combo of a .370 on-base percentage and a .650 OPS.

The bullpen, despite the struggles of Ramon Troncoso and George Sherrill, was solid in June, with a 3.01 ERA. Jonathan Broxton had his worst month, ballooning all the way to a 3.48 ERA, while his FIP was 1.36, by far the best on the team.

The Dodgers played 12 interleague games in the month, and lost 10 of them.  Meanwhile, they were 12-3 against National League teams. The good news is that I checked the schedule for the remainder of the season, and the Dodgers play all NL teams.

Dodger Batter of June:  Rafael Furcal and Manny Ramirez split this award, as they carried the offense, the only two regulars with an OPS over .800.  Both hit over .360 for the month. Honorable mention goes to Jamey Carroll, who hit .344/.437/.410 in 74 plate appearances.

Dodger Pitcher of June:   This one is split between Hiroki Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw.  These two anchored the staff through a month when Vicente Padilla and Chad Billingsley weren't healthy at the same time, John Ely came back to Earth, and the fifth starters struggled mightily.  Both Kuroda and Kershaw made five starts.  Kershaw was 2-1 and averaged nearly seven innings a start, while Kuroda was 2-2 while averaging nearly a strikeout per inning.

June Record:  14-13
118 runs scored (4.37 per game)
108 runs allowed (4.00 per game)
.540 pythagorean winning percentage (15-12)

Season Record:  43-35
367 runs scored (4.71 per game)
350 runs allowed (4.49 per game)
.522 pythagorean winning percentage (41-37)

Game of the Month:  The best game of the month was the first game of the month, a scoreless duel between John Ely and Dan Haren that ended with a Matt Kemp laser shot into the left field pavilion, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 win.

Pinch Hitting:  For the month, Dodger pinch hitters had seven hits in 34 at-bats, with one double and two walks, hitting .206/.250/.235.

Runners in Scoring Position:  In June, the Dodgers hit .250/.344/.362 with runners in scoring position in 330 plate appearances, which is 50 more PA than they have had in any other month.  They had a runner on third base with less than two outs 75 times, and got the runner home 45 times, or 60.0% (the entire NL scored 464 of 888, 52.3%).   They had a runner on second base with nobody out 84 times, and the runner advanced 35 times, or 41.7% (the entire NL advanced the runner 456 of 1,010 times, 45.1%).

Upcoming Month:  After hell month, the Dodgers play 14 of 26 games at home.  They only play six games within the division through July 25, but they end the month in the midst of a 10-game stretch against the NL West.

Previous Months in Review:  April | May

June Stats