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)

Transactions:

• Friday: The Dodgers placed shortstop Dee Gordon on the disabled list with a right shoulder contusion, retroactive to August 10. To take Gordon's place, the Dodgers purchased the contract of infielder Justin Sellers, who started all three games at shortstop since he came up.
  

The Dodgers now have 40 players on their 40-man roster.

Game Results:

• Monday: Phillies 5, Dodgers 3
• Tuesday: Phillies 2, Dodgers 1
• Wednesday: Phillies 9, Dodgers 8
• Friday: Dodgers 1, Astros 0 (10)
• Saturday: Dodgers 6, Astros 1
• Sunday: Dodgers 7, Astros 0 

Upcoming Week: No rest for the weary, as the Dodgers begin a 10-game road trip, running the Jeff Cirillo gauntlet. The Dodgers play four games in Milwaukee before heading to Coors Field to battle the Rockies.

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 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19

Week 20 Stats