Dodgers Week 24 In Review: No Home Runs, No Problem

The Dodgers didn't hit a home run this week, but still managed to win both series, beating both the Nationals and Giants in two of three games to conclude a 7-3 road trip. The Dodgers even reached the .500 mark on Saturday, albeit briefly as they ended the week with a loss.

The Dodgers could have outscored their opponents for a seventh straight week, but their 8-1 loss in San Francisco on Sunday ended that streak.

Dodger Batter of the Week: The offense had a down week, but Juan Rivera is the clear choice here, as he hit .500 with two doubles, four walks, and six RBI. James Loney contributed with two doubles and a triple, hitting .333/.368/.556. Andre Ethier only played one game before shutting down his season with a right knee injury, but in that game he had a pair of two-run base hits.

Dodger Pitcher of the Week: The award again goes to Clayton Kershaw, who struck out nine Giants Friday night, allowing one unearned run in eight innings to win his 18th game and take over the major league lead in ERA. Dana Eveland was also fantastic, for the second straight start, pitching seven scoreless innings on Saturday. Kenley Jansen continued his stellar work out of the bullpen with three more scoreless outings, striking out seven of the 11 batters he faced.

Dishonorable mention goes to Chad Billingsley, whose slide continued with the Dodgers' shortest outing of the year on Thursday against the Nationals.

Week 24 Record:  4-2
22 runs scored (3.67 per game)
23 runs allowed (3.83 per game)
.480 pythagorean winning percentage

Season Record:  72-73
565 runs scored (3.90 per game)
558 runs allowed (3.85 per game)
.506 pythagorean winning percentage (73-72)

Power/Speed Watch I: Matt Kemp had no home runs and stole one base this week, and through 145 team games, Kemp has 32 home runs and 38 stolen bases. He is on pace for 35 home runs and 42 stolen bases this season.

Power/Speed Watch II: Ted Lilly gave up no home runs and one stolen base in his one start this week, putting his season totals at 28 home runs and 32 stolen bases allowed. With likely four more starts remaining, Lilly is on pace to allow 32 homers and 36 steals. No Dodger pitcher has ever allowed a 30/30 season, and the last one in the majors was by Gavin Floyd in 2008.

0-for Watch: Eugenio Velez was 0-for-1 during the week, and is 0-for-31 on the season, the worst-ever start to a Dodger career by a position player. Dating back to last season, Velez is on an 0-for-40 streak, five at-bats shy of the all-time futility record for a position player, jointly held by Craig Counsell and Bill Bergen.

Transactions:

• Monday: Matt Guerrier rejoined the club from paternity leave.
  
• Tuesday: The Dodgers recalled outfielder / first baseman Jerry Sands and pitcher John Ely from Triple A Albuquerque, and also purchased the contract of catcher Tim Federowicz from Albuquerque. To make room for Federowicz on the 40-man roster...
  
• Tuesday: Vicente Padilla was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list.

Game Results:

• Monday: Nationals 7, Dodgers 2
• Tuesday: Dodgers 7, Nationals 3
• Thursday: Dodgers 7, Nationals 4
• Friday: Dodgers 2, Giants 1
• Saturday: Dodgers 3, Giants 0
• Sunday: Giants 8, Dodgers 1

Upcoming Week: The Dodgers return home to run the Tony Womack gauntlet, with three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks followed by four with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Those are the first seven games of a 10-game homestand, the final home games of the year for the Dodgers.

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 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23

Week 24 Stats