Dodgers June In Review: Matt Kemp Reaches New Heights

While their owner was busy declaring bankruptcy, the Dodgers sank to the bottom of the division in June, with a 10-16 record. However, Matt Kemp had the best month of his career, and Clayton Kershaw continued his ascent to the top of the league. Who knows, maybe onw day we will look back on June 2011 as the month that Rubby De La Rosa made is first major league start.

Dodger Batter of June: Matt Kemp had the best month of his career in June, and was an easy choice for this month's award. Kemp hit .375/.472/.795 with 23 RBI. Kemp matched August 2009 for his career high for home runs in a month with nine, and also had eight stolen bases. Kemp has had two months in his career with an OPS of 1.000 or higher, and both have come this year (April and June).

Dodger Pitcher of June: Despite his 0-4 record, Hiroki Kuroda had a good month with a 2.12 ERA. However, once again, this award goes to Clayton Kershaw, who pitched eight more innings than Kuroda. Kershaw was 2-0 with a 3.58 ERA during June, but led the team with a 2.15 FIP. Kershaw ended the month with a flourish, with two straight complete games, including his third career shutout, striking out 11 in both games. Kershaw had 41 strikeouts during June, the most in the National League, against just seven unintentional walks.

June Record: 10-16
114 runs scored (4.38 per game)
117 runs allowed (4.50 per game)
.488 pythagorean winning percentage (13-13)

Season Record: 36-46
316 runs scored (3.85 per game)
346 runs allowed (4.22 per game)
.459 pythagorean winning percentage (38-44)

Game of the Month: The record-breaking 15-0 game in Minnesota was great, and either one of Clayton Kershaw's complete games were superb, but the game of June for the Dodgers happened June 4 in Cincinnati. Kershaw was coming off a shutout of Florida, and through five innings was nearly perfect against the Reds. He allowed just one hit through the first five innings, striking out nine. But all of a sudden, Kershaw lost it, allowing four runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh, and trailed 7-2 after seven innings. The Dodgers rallied to tie in the eighth inning, with the tying runs coming on a grand slam by Matt Kemp, who hit two home runs in the game. The Dodgers scored four more times in the 11th winning to take home an 11-8 win, just their fourth victory since moving to Los Angeles after trailing by five or more runs after seven innings.

The .400 Club: Aaron Miles led the National League in batting average in June, hitting .419/.418/.500 in 67 plate appearances. Since moving to Los Angeles, the Dodgers have had just 30 months of a player hitting .400 in at least 50 PA. That last link was written in May 2009; the two Dodgers before Miles to hit .400 in a month (with 50 PA) were Andre Ethier (.453/.500/.906 in 58 PA in May 2010) and Manny Ramirez (.415/.500/.659 in 52 PA in April 2010).

Pinch Hitting: For the month, Dodger pinch hitters had 14 hits in 44 at-bats, with two doubles, a home run, and two walks, hitting .318/.340/.432.

Runners in Scoring Position: In June, the Dodgers hit .268/.351/.371 with runners in scoring position in 248 plate appearances.

They had a runner on third base with less than two outs 57 times, and got the runner home 30 times, or 52.6% (the entire NL scored 411 of 826, 49.8%).

They had a runner on second base with nobody out 39 times in May, and the runner advanced 24 times, or 61.5% (the entire NL advanced the runner 334 of 599 times, 55.8%).

Upcoming Month: The Dodgers open the month with a trip to Anaheim to finish off interleague play, but the bulk of their July schedule will be played within the NL West. The Dodgers play 15 of their 25 games in July against intradivision foes, and also host the Mets and Nationals. The Dodgers play 16 of their 25 July games at home, plus three more in Anaheim.

June Weeks in Review: June 5 | June 12 | June 20 | June 27

Previous Months in Review: April | May

June Stats