Dodgers Week 5 review: Hello & goodbye, Hanley Ramirez

For the second time in three weeks, the Dodgers lost five of their six games, as the club dropped two of three at home to the Rockies then were swept in three one-run games by the Giants in San Francisco. But this week will be remembered for the brief yet productive appearance of Hanley Ramirez, who managed to wreak some havoc on the field in between stints on the disabled list.

We can talk all we want about the Dodgers playing shorthanded, as they did all of last week by stubbornly waiting to put Mark Ellis and his strained right quad on the disabled list. But the sobering reality is that outside of getting Ramirez and Zack Greinke back, there is no in-house solution that will fundamentally change the team.

The currently active players are the ones that will need to perform better, and at 13-17, with a negative run differential surpassed by only the lowly Marlins and Phillies, this Dodgers team doesn't look much like a contender in any way, shape or form.

Dodger Batter of the Week: I generally hate to split these awards but this week it fits too perfectly. Hanley Ramirez started three games at shortstop and hit .455 (5-for-11) with a home run, two doubles, and a stolen base. Dee Gordon started two games at shortstop and hit .429 (3-for-7) with a triple and three stolen bases. They combined for eight hits, four runs scored and four RBI.

Honorable mention goes to Jerry Hairston, who played in all six games during the week in some capacity and hit .467 (7-for-15) with his first home run of the season.

Dodger Pitcher of the Week: Relief pitcher Paco Rodriguez retired all eight batters he faced, including six by strikeout. He did, however, throw a wild pitch with the bases loaded to score the tying run in Saturday's wild game in San Francisco.

Honorable mention of course goes to Clayton Kershaw, who returned to the team after his father's death to pitch seven strong innings against the Giants on Friday, including taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. And to Hyun-jin Ryu as well, who made two starts, including a career best 12 strikeouts on Tuesday.

Game of the Week

Tuesday: Dodgers 6, Rockies 2 Hyun-jin Ryu struck out 12 on Tuesday in a win over Colorado, the only win of the week for the Dodgers.

Week 5 Record: 1-5
24 runs scored (4.00 per game)
37 runs allowed (6.17 per game)
.312 pythagorean winning percentage

Season Record: 13-17
104 runs scored (3.47 per game)
131 runs allowed (4.37 per game)
.396 pythagorean winning percentage (12-18)

Transactions:

• Monday: Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw was placed on the bereavement list after the death of his father, and shortstop Hanley Ramirez was activated from the disabled list to make his debut.
• Tuesday: One night after allowing seven runs and eight hits in two innings, relief pitcher Josh Wall was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. Relief pitcher Javy Guerra was recalled from Albuquerque, and became the 19th Dodger to pitch in 2013.
• Friday: Four days after allowing five runs in three innings in a start against Colorado, starting pitcher Ted Lilly was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Apr. 30, with a right rib cage strain. That made room for Clayton Kershaw, who was activated from the bereavement list to make his start in San Francisco.
• Saturday: Shortstop Hanley Ramirez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. Dee Gordon was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to take his place.

Game Results:

• Monday: Rockies 12, Dodgers 2
• Tuesday: Dodgers 6, Rockies 2
• Wednesday: Rockies 7, Dodgers 3
• Friday: Giants 2, Dodgers 1
• Saturday: Giants 10, Dodgers 9 (10)
• Sunday: Giants 4, Dodgers 3

Upcoming Week: The Dodgers run the Matt Mantei gauntlet this week, returning home to host the Diamondbacks and Marlins.

Previous weeks in review: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Week 5 Stats