Dodgers April review: Adrian Gonzalez, Dee Gordon, Zack Greinke start on fire

The Dodgers ended April on a 90-win pace, and here's a look back at the opening month. In the time-honored tradition of counting March numbers in April (and also because I didn't get around to reviewing the three games in March on April 1), this review will be a combined March and April review.

Dodger Batter of April: After hitting seven home runs through the first two months of 2013, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez hit eight home runs in 27 games in the season's opening month in 2014. Gonzalez had a 16-game hitting streak and hit .317/.377/.644. Honorable mention goes to Dee Gordon, who hit .344/.375/.478 and leads the majors with 13 stolen bases.

Dodger Pitcher of April: For being Mr. Consistency, Zack Greinke gets the call for going 5-0 with a 2.04 ERA with 46 strikeouts and just six walks in six starts. Dan Haren had a fruitful first month with Los Angeles, going 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in his five starts, with 27 strikeouts and four walks.

April Record: 15-12
108 runs scored (4.00 per game)
103 runs allowed (3.81 per game)
.522 pythagorean winning percentage (14-13)

Game of the Month: On April 11 in Phoenix, Hyun-jin Ryu pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just three runners to reach base, none advancing to second base. Gonzalez homered, doubled and drove in five runs, Hanley Ramirez doubled twice, and Gordon had two hits and a stolen base in a 6-0 win over the Diamondbacks. It was one of four road starts for Ryu in the month(s), which totaled 26 scoreless innings.

Slump at the plate: Tim Federowicz was optioned to Triple-A on the final day of the month, but suffered through a 5-for-46 slump after taking over behind the plate after A.J. Ellis had left knee surgery. Federowicz's .315 OPS is the fifth-worst OPS for any month by a Los Angeles Dodger (1958-2014) with at least 50 plate appearances.

Welcome aboard: Alex Guerrero made his major league debut on March 22 in Sydney. He was announced as a pinch hitter but was immediate pinch hit for, giving him the rare game played without a plate appearance or time in the field. Gonzalez did get that first major league plate appearance one day later, and struck out against Addison Reed of the Diamondbacks.

Catch of the month

Yasiel Puig made this terrific grab on April 17 in San Francisco

Pinch Hitting: For the month, Dodger pinch hitters had six singles in 32 at-bats with five walks, hitting just .188/.289/.188.

Runners in Scoring Position: In April, the Dodgers hit .243/.324/.389 with runners in scoring position in 282 plate appearances, with nine doubles, a triple and eight home runs.

They had a runner on third base with less than two outs 57 times, and got the runner home 28 times, or 49.1% (the entire National League scored 406 of 817 times, 49.7%).

They had a runner on second base with nobody out 44 times in April, and the runner advanced 27 times, or 61.4% (the entire NL advanced the runner 333 of 589 times, 56.5%).

Upcoming month: The Dodgers are on the road for 17 of their 30 games in May, with game in Minnesota, Miami, Washington D.C., Phoenix, New York and Philadelphia. At home they host the Giants, Marlins, Reds and Pirates.

March/April weeks in review: March 24 | April 7 | April 13 | April 20 | April 28

April Stats