Dodgers Week 16 In Review: Breaking Worse

The Dodgers spent their weekend in Phoenix, some longer than others. After a four-day All-Star break, the Dodgers played the Diamondbacks, losing two of three games at Chase Field. They ended their week 12½ games behind San Francisco, the farthest the Dodgers have been from first place all season.

Dodger Batter of the Week: Matt Kemp wins this award for the seventh time in 16 weeks this season, thanks to hitting two long home runs and hitting .333/.333/.833 during the weekend series in Arizona. Kemp also gets extra credit for going 1-for-2 with a walk in the All-Star Game

Dodger Pitcher of the Week: With only three games this week, there weren't a lot of outings to choose from. Clayton Kershaw deserves extra credit for his scoreless inning Tuesday night in the All-Star Game, and had a 0.00 ERA for the week. However, it's not like those four unearned runs didn't count. I'm giving this award to Scott Elbert, who retired all six batters he faced on Saturday night, including two via strikeout. Elbert's two-inning stint was his longest outing since August 2, 2009.

Honorable mention goes to Kenley Jansen, who struck out the side in his one inning of work on Sunday. He has retired 32 of the 41 hitters he has faced since returning from the disabled list, including 16 by strikeout.

Week 16 Record:  1-2
9 runs scored (3.00 per game)
11 runs allowed (3.67 per game)
.409 pythagorean winning percentage

Season Record:  42-53
349 runs scored (3.67 per game)
384 runs allowed (4.04 per game)
.456 pythagorean winning percentage (43-52)

Hee Seop Choi, Still On Top: Kemp didn't have the best Home Run Derby, as he made nine "outs" (swings that don't result in a home run) before hitting any over the fence. Kemp did hit two home runs, but finished last among the eight participants. Kemp joined Raul Mondesi, who hit two home runs in the 1995 derby, in the Two Better Than Mike Piazza Club, but Hee Seop Choi, with five home runs in the 2005 derby, stands alone with the best Dodgers derby performance ever. Luckily for the Dodgers, Kemp waited until the weekend series with the Diamondbacks to hold his own home run derby.

All-Star Performances: All three Dodgers on the National League All-Star team contributed to the 5-1 victory, the second straight win for the senior circuit. Kemp was the fourth Dodger ever to bat third in an All-Star Game, and reached base twice, via a walk and single, and scored a run. Andre Ethier delivered an RBI single in his only at-bat, and Clayton Kershaw pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout, throwing only eight pitches.

What's Left? Juan Rivera welcomed himself to the Dodgers in the best and quickest way possible, by hitting a home run in the very first pitch he saw, Friday in Arizona off Joe Saunders. Rivera is the ninth player to start a game in left field for the Dodgers this season, two fewer than in 1958, the most by the Dodgers since they moved to Los Angeles.

Tough Week For The Infield: The five regular infielders -- James Loney, Aaron Miles, Jamey Carroll, Rafael Furcal, and Juan Uribe -- had five singles in 42 at-bats during the weekend in Phoenix. Factor in the 0-for-4 by Juan Rivera in his game at first base on Saturday, and the infield combined to hit 5-for-46.

Transactions:

• Tuesday: The Dodgers acquired Juan Rivera from Toronto for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Blue Jays are paying nearly all of Rivera's remaining contract, with the Dodgers on the hook for the pro-rated minimum salary.
• Tuesday: To make room for Rivera on the roster, the Dodgers designated Marcus Thames for assignment.
• Thursday: The Dodgers activated Rod Barajas from the disabled list, and optioned A.J. Ellis back to Triple A Albuquerque.

Game Results:

• Monday: Rob Flippo 10, Matt Kemp 2
• Tuesday: National League 5, American League 1
• Friday: Dodgers 6, D-Backs 4
• Saturday: D-Backs 3, Dodgers 2
• Sunday: D-Backs 4, Dodgers 1

Upcoming Week: The Dodgers finish off their road trip with three games in San Francisco, highlighted by Clayton Kershaw vs. Tim Lincecum on Wednesday afternoon. After an off day Thursday, the Dodgers open a nine-game homestand with a three-game weekend series against former Dodgers skipper Davey Johnson, now manager of the Nationals.

Previous Weeks In Review: 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 Stats