Dodgers May In Review: Great Story, Horrible Ending

The Dodgers continued to build quite a 2012 story in May, starting the month 16-8 despite losing four starters to the disabled list, including the irreplaceable Matt Kemp. But the ending to that May story was terrible, as the Dodgers lost their last four games of the month and also lost Kemp, again, to a left hamstring injury that will keep him out for the next four weeks, at a minimum.

The Dodgers' opening day lineup accounted for just 55.3% of the plate appearances from their position players in May, yet they managed to widen their lead in the National League West.

Dodger Batter of May: He didn't have his partner in crime for most of the month, but Andre Ethier still had quite a month, hitting .366 with 11 doubles and four home runs. Ethier drove in 20 runs for the second month in a row and for the fifth time in his career.

Honorable mention goes to A.J. Ellis, who continued to build his All-Star campaign with four home runs of his own while hitting .330 with 11 walks. Ellis didn't lead the team in walks though, because Bobby Abreu welcomed himself to the Dodgers with 13 walks and a .430 on-base percentage in his first month in Los Angeles.

Dodger Pitcher of May: Just like April, a left-hander wins this award, but this time Chris Capuano picks up the honors. Capuano won four of his five starts and put up a 1.62 ERA with 29 strikeouts and eight walks.

Aaron Harang and Clayton Kershaw each had an ERA under 3.00, and relievers Javy Guerra, Ronald Belisario, and Kenley Jansen all had an ERA under 2.00.

May Record: 16-12
130 runs scored (4.64 per game)
102 runs allowed (3.64 per game)
.609 pythagorean winning percentage (17-11)

Record Through May 31: 32-19
221 runs scored (4.33 per game)
181 runs allowed (3.55 per game)
.590 pythagorean winning percentage (30-21)

Game of the Month: On May 22 in Arizona, the Dodgers trailed 6-1 after six innings in Arizona, but the Albuquerque/LA mixed crew rallied for five runs in the seventh inning to tie the game. But the Diamondbacks reclaimed the lead, and the Dodgers were down to their final out in the ninth. But Ivan De Jesus lined a two-run game-winning double over the head of Chris Young in center field for their sixth straight win.

Welcome Aboard: In May alone, three Dodgers made their major league debut: Scott Van Slyke (May 9), Elian Herrera (May 15), and Alex Castellanos (May 31).

Pinch Hitting: For the month, Dodger pinch hitters had 11 hits in 36 at-bats, including two doubles, a triple, and a home run, hitting a robust .306/.395/.500.

Runners in Scoring Position: In May, the Dodgers hit .260/.346/.432 with runners in scoring position in 328 plate appearances.

They had a runner on third base with less than two outs 67 times in April, and got the runner home 43 times, or 64.2% (the entire NL scored 453 of 891 times, 50.8%).

They had a runner on second base with nobody out 56 times in May, and the runner advanced 34 times, or 60.7% (the entire NL advanced the runner 349 of 678 times, 51.5%).

May Weeks in Review: May 6 | May 14 | May 21 | May 27

Previous Months In Review: April

May Stats