Dodgers August review: Deck stacked full of aces

After posting the third-best monthly winning percentage in Los Angeles Dodgers history in July, the Dodgers bested that mark with the second-best month since 1958 in August. The Dodgers went 23-6, two more wins than any L.A. Dodger team ever had in a month, and the most victories in a month for the franchise since Brooklyn in August 1953.

The Dodgers led the majors in wins for the month, and also in runs allowed. The pitching was simply magnificent, putting up a 2.07 ERA, the fifth-best monthly ERA by an L.A. Dodgers team. The only months better since 1958 were September 1965 (1.59 ERA; side note: WOW), April 1981 (1.81), September 1976 (1.81) and September 1966 (2.03).

The Dodgers were so good on the mound in August that of their 15 pitchers who threw a pitch during the month, Hyun-jin Ryu's stellar 2.61 ERA ranked 12th. Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Ricky Nolasco gave the Dodgers three starters in the top five in the major leagues in ERA for August.

Dodger Batter of August: In a relatively quiet month for the offense, two stood out. Andre Ethier gets the award narrowly over Yasiel Puig, though both could have easily won the honor.

Dodger Pitcher of August: Since "Everybody" isn't an option here and we have to pick one, Zack Greinke gets the nod ever so slightly over Clayton Kershaw. As absurd as it sounds to discredit Kershaw's 1.01 ERA, Greinke isn't getting the award because he was 5-0 compared to Kershaw's 3-2. Greinke was no slouch himself, with a 1.23 ERA, and actually gave up one fewer run than Kershaw, and pitched one more inning than Kershaw.

August Record: 23-6

128 runs scored (4.41 per game)
68 runs allowed (2.34 per game)
.761 pythagorean winning percentage (22-7)

Season to date Record: 80-55
547 runs scored (4.05 per game)
412 runs allowed (3.56 per game)
.559 pythagorean winning percentage (76-59)

Game of the Month: On Aug. 9 against the Rays, the Dodgers trailed 6-0 in the seventh inning with Tampa Bay ace David Price on the mound. But after scratching across one run in the seventh and two more in the eighth, the Dodgers exploded for four runs in the ninth inning for a crazy comeback win in a season full of crazy wins.

Pinch Hitting: For the month, Dodger pinch hitters had five hits in 33 at-bats, hitting just .152/.200/.242, though Andre Ethier did hit a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning on Aug. 14 to tie a game against the Mets that the Dodgers would eventually win in extra innings.

Runners in Scoring Position: In August, the Dodgers hit .282/.359/.429 with runners in scoring position in 311 plate appearances, with 20 doubles and six home runs.

They had a runner on third base with less than two outs 49 times, and got the runner home 25 times, or 51.0% (the entire NL scored 400 of 792 times, 50.5%).

They had a runner on second base with nobody out 49 times in August, and the runner advanced 31 times, or 63.3% (the entire NL advanced the runner 346 of 600 times, 57.7%).

August weeks in review: August 4 | August 12 | August 18 | August 26

Previous months in review: April | May | June | July

August Stats