Dodgers Week 26 in review: Finally putting it all together

At the beginning of the week, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly reflected on the long odds his team had in front of it in trying to make the postseason. Simply put, the team needed to score runs.

"Our big guys still have to go crazy," Mattingly said.

For the most part, the Dodgers did just that last week, finishing with a five-game winning streak that saw them score 34 runs. Matt Kemp was the ringleader of crazy town with four home runs and three doubles, but the rest of the offense chipped in as well as the team scored more runs during the week (35) than they did in the previous two weeks combined (34).

The end result was two games behind the Cardinals with three games to play. But if the offense continues to hit like it did last week, the Dodgers shouldn't be counted out just yet.

Dodger Batter of the Week: A case could be made that Matt Kemp won this award on the basis of nearly hitting a ball out of Dodger Stadium on Saturday night, but that was far from his only contribution. Kemp hit 458 with four home runs and three doubles. Pitchers had every right to heed the advice printed on Kemp's "Fear The Bison" t-shirt.

Honorable mention to Adrian Gonzalez, who also hit .458 and has a 12-game hitting streak; to A.J. Ellis, who has an RBI in each of his last six games; and to Shane Victorino, who homered, stole two bases, and scored five runs.

Dodger Pitcher of the Week: The starters were magnificent during the week, with four total runs allowed (three earned) in 36⅓ innings, but the award goes to Clayton Kershaw, who struck out 10 in his eight scoreless innings on Friday night.

Kershaw was one of three starters to not allow a run last week, along with Joe Blanton and Aaron Harang.

Week 26 Record: 5-1
35 runs scored (5.83 per game)
9 runs allowed (1.50 per game)
.923 pythagorean winning percentage

Over a long season, just about anything can happen. Last week was almost the mirror image of June 25 to July 1, when the team lost six of seven games, with just 10 runs scored and 33 runs allowed, and a .101 pythagorean winning percentage.

Season Record: 84-75
626 runs scored (3.94 per game)
590 runs allowed (3.71 per game)
.527 pythagorean winning percentage (84-75)

Transactions: None this week.

Game Results:

• Tuesday: Padres 2, Padres 1
• Wednesday: Dodgers 8, Padres 2
• Thursday: Dodgers 8, Padres 4
• Friday: Dodgers 8, Rockies 0
• Saturday: Dodgers 3, Rockies 0
• Sunday: Dodgers 7, Rockies 1

Upcoming Week: It could be a fun week.

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 | Week 25

Week 26 Stats