Dodgers Week 19: Series streaking

You know things are going well for the Dodgers this season when a two-loss week counts as their worst week of the last two or so months. The Dodgers dropped both series openers against divisional foes last week, but came back to win the final two games of each set, continuing a remarkable streak.

By winning two of three against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, then two more at home against the Padres, the Dodgers extended their series unbeaten streak to 19 — 16 series wins and three splits -- one more than the vaunted 14-0-4 series run in 2013.

The club hasn’t lost a series since dropping two of three against the Nationals from June 5-7. That was 68 days ago.

The Dodgers have won 48 of their last 57 games, the best 57-game stretch in franchise history, and the best in MLB stretch since the 1912 New York Giants went 49-8.

At 83-34, the Dodgers own an 18-game lead over both Colorado and Arizona, the Dodgers’ largest lead since divisional play began in 1969.

Batter of the week

Justin Turner had a pair of two-homer games, and added two doubles while driving in nine as he heats up for the home stretch. He narrowly beat out Cody Bellinger, who hit .417 (10-for-24) with two home runs and three doubles of his own.

Pitcher of the week

The battle on the mound was close among a few starters this week, but Rich Hill takes the cake for sticking around after taking a fastball to the neck. Hill struck out nine in six innings on Friday against the Padres.

Honorable mention goes to Kenley Jansen, who saved all four wins with scoreless innings, and struck out five. His 1.204 ERA is the third-best in franchise history with a minimum of 40 innings, trailing only Hong-Chih Kuo (1.200 in 2010) and Eric Gagne (1.202 in 2004).

Week 19 results

Record: 4-2
29 runs scored (4.83 per game)
25 runs allowed (4.17 per game)
.567 pythagorean record

Year to date

Record: 83-34
598 runs scored (5.11 per game)
390 runs allowed (3.33 per game)
.686 pythagorean record (80-37)

Miscellany

Bring on the DH: Dodgers pitchers in Week 19 were 0-for-11 with six strikeouts while batting, but the dry spell at the plate goes back much longer than that. Los Angeles pitchers are in an 0-for-47 slump with 29 strikeouts — with six sacrifice hits during that time — dating back more than a month. The last hit by a Dodgers pitcher was July 7, when Kenta Maeda singled against Royals starter Jason Hammel. During the dry spell the only time a pitcher reached base was when Hill was hit by a pitch on Friday. On the season, Dodgers pitchers are hitting .099/.154/.113.

Transactions

Tuesday: Relief pitcher Luis Avilan was placed on the paternity list after the birth of his son, and Brock Stewart was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Wednesday: Starting pitcher Luke Farrell was claimed off waivers by the Reds.

Friday: Luis Avilan was activated off the paternity list, and Brock Stewart was optioned to Triple-A.

Sunday: Relief pitcher Chris Hatcher was activated from the disabled list, and catcher Kyle Farmer was optioned to Oklahoma City.

Game results

Tuesday: Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 3

Wednesday: Dodgers 3, Diamondbacks 2

Thursday: Dodgers 8, Diamondbacks 6

Friday: Padres 4, Dodgers 3

Saturday: Dodgers 6, Padres 3

Sunday: Dodgers 6, Padres 4

The week ahead

The Dodgers run the Chet Lemon gauntlet, finishing off the interleague portion of their 2017 schedule with two home games against the White Sox, surrounded by days off, followed by a weekend series against the Tigers in Detroit.

Previous weeks in review: Apr. 3-9 | Apr. 10-16 | Apr. 17-23 | Apr. 24-30 | May 1-7 | May 8-14| May 15-21 | May 22-28 | May 29-Jun 4 | June 5-11 | June 12-18 | June 19-25 | June 26-July 2 | July 3-9 | July 10-16 | July 17-23 | July 24-30 | July 31-Aug. 6

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