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A funny thing happened on the way to the Dodgers’ all-time wins record. The Dodgers were cruising along for nearly all of August, but then dropped their final five games of the month.
They dropped their first series — two of them even — in nearly 12 weeks, then suffered their first four-game losing streak of the season. That streak reached five on Thursday when the Dodgers were swept for the first time in 2017.
That ending left a bad aftertaste in what was otherwise a very solid month, with the Dodgers going 17-10. The club did reach 90 wins, and matched their 2016 win total before August even ended.
Batter of August
Yasiel Puig set a new career high with 20 walks in a month, and he also slugged .537 with five home runs and five doubles in the month. He delivered a pair of final-at-bat winners, with a walk-off double on Aug. 16 against the White Sox and a game-winning home run in the 12th inning on Aug. 21 in Pittsburgh.
Pitcher of August
None of the starting pitchers particularly stood out, so we’ll go with closer Kenley Jansen, who continued his excellent campaign with eight saves in August, with 24 strikeouts in 12 innings, with just one run allowed.
August performance
August NL West standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Runs scored | Runs allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Runs scored | Runs allowed |
| Dodgers | 17 | 10 | 0.630 | --- | 121 | 97 |
| Diamondbacks | 16 | 13 | 0.552 | 2.0 | 127 | 139 |
| Giants | 13 | 15 | 0.464 | 4.5 | 111 | 118 |
| Rockies | 12 | 15 | 0.444 | 5.0 | 117 | 119 |
| Padres | 12 | 16 | 0.429 | 5.5 | 109 | 126 |
Record: 17-10
121 runs scored (4.48 per game)
97 runs allowed (3.59 per game)
.600 pythagorean winning percentage (16-11)
Season to date
NL West standings through August 31
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Runs scored | Runs allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Runs scored | Runs allowed |
| Dodgers | 91 | 41 | 0.689 | --- | 656 | 447 |
| Diamondbacks | 76 | 58 | 0.567 | 16.0 | 655 | 543 |
| Rockies | 72 | 61 | 0.541 | 19.5 | 681 | 633 |
| Padres | 59 | 74 | 0.444 | 32.5 | 509 | 659 |
| Giants | 53 | 82 | 0.393 | 39.5 | 530 | 656 |
Record: 91-41
656 runs scored (4.97 per game)
447 runs allowed (3.39 per game)
.669 pythagorean winning percentage (88-44)
Game of the month
It is a little weird that the game of August was a loss, but Rich Hill was awesome on Aug. 23 in Pittsburgh, flirting with perfection for a second year in a row. A ninth-inning error took away the perfect game, and the Dodgers offense didn’t provide any support. Hill pitched into the 10th inning with a no-hitter going, but his first hit allowed was a walk-off home run by Josh Harrison of the Pirates.
Situational stats
Pinch hitting: Dodgers pinch hitters were 11-for-45 with two doubles and five walks in August, hitting .244/.333/.289.
Runners in scoring position: The Dodgers hit .267/.381/.386 with RISP in August, with five home runs and nine doubles in 262 plate appearances.
Bases loaded: The team was 9-for-33 for the month, hitting .273/.316/.394 with the bases loaded in August. Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam.
A look back
August weeks in review: July 31-Aug. 6 | Aug. 7-13 | Aug. 14-20 | Aug. 21-27
Previous months in review: April | May | June | July
The month ahead
There are 30 games left on the schedule, including series in the final month against NL playoff contenders the Nationals, Rockies (twice) and Diamondbacks. The Dodgers play 13 more home games, and 17 on the road, including a 10-game, 11-day road trip from Sept. 11-21 through San Francisco, Washington, and Philadelphia.
Stats
August batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | HBP | SH | SF | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | HBP | SH | SF | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | Player |
| Bellinger | 65 | 15 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 0.292 | 0.370 | 0.615 | 0.985 | 0.302 | Bellinger |
| Puig | 82 | 16 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 0.268 | 0.417 | 0.537 | 0.954 | 0.293 | Puig |
| Taylor | 105 | 19 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 0.286 | 0.370 | 0.533 | 0.903 | 0.316 | Taylor |
| Turner | 98 | 16 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 112 | 0.245 | 0.313 | 0.490 | 0.802 | 0.207 | Turner |
| Seager | 99 | 7 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 107 | 0.333 | 0.374 | 0.394 | 0.768 | 0.390 | Seager |
| Grandal | 74 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0.216 | 0.293 | 0.432 | 0.725 | 0.255 | Grandal |
| Forsythe | 66 | 13 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 87 | 0.212 | 0.391 | 0.318 | 0.709 | 0.317 | Forsythe |
| Granderson | 41 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0.122 | 0.294 | 0.415 | 0.709 | 0.045 | Granderson |
| Gonzalez | 47 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 0.191 | 0.220 | 0.340 | 0.560 | 0.216 | Gonzalez |
| Pederson | 37 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0.054 | 0.186 | 0.108 | 0.294 | 0.067 | Pederson |
| Starters | 714 | 108 | 174 | 37 | 2 | 34 | 99 | 15 | 3 | 96 | 163 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 827 | 0.244 | 0.340 | 0.444 | 0.784 | 0.268 | Starters |
| Barnes | 38 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0.342 | 0.444 | 0.421 | 0.865 | 0.382 | Barnes |
| Utley | 46 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0.239 | 0.314 | 0.370 | 0.683 | 0.286 | Utley |
| Farmer | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0.273 | 0.273 | 0.273 | 0.545 | 0.375 | Farmer |
| Hernandez | 46 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0.152 | 0.235 | 0.261 | 0.496 | 0.214 | Hernandez |
| Segedin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | Segedin |
| Bench | 144 | 12 | 34 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 161 | 0.236 | 0.317 | 0.333 | 0.650 | 0.296 | Bench |
| Pitchers | 44 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 50 | 0.068 | 0.089 | 0.068 | 0.157 | 0.158 | Pitchers |
| Offense | 902 | 121 | 211 | 45 | 2 | 36 | 115 | 15 | 3 | 109 | 222 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 1038 | 0.234 | 0.325 | 0.408 | 0.733 | 0.269 | Offense |
August pitching
| Pitcher | G | GS | W | L | Sv | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | ERA | WHIP | FIP | Pitcher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | G | GS | W | L | Sv | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | ERA | WHIP | FIP | Pitcher |
| Stripling | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.667 | 0.80 | Stripling | |
| Wood | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 25.0 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 2.52 | 1.080 | 4.73 | Wood | |
| Darvish | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 23.0 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 3.13 | 1.261 | 4.35 | Darvish | |
| Ryu | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 27.0 | 23 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 3.33 | 1.259 | 4.72 | Ryu | |
| Hill | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 28.7 | 26 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 4.71 | 1.186 | 4.63 | Hill | |
| Maeda | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 32.3 | 24 | 17 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 4.73 | 0.928 | 4.15 | Maeda | |
| Stewart | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10.50 | 2.333 | 9.96 | Stewart | |
| Starters | 27 | 27 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 145.0 | 127 | 64 | 64 | 30 | 43 | 0 | 149 | 0 | 3.97 | 1.172 | 4.65 | Starters |
| Paredes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.333 | -1.20 | Paredes | ||
| Jansen | 12 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 0.75 | 0.667 | 0.96 | Jansen | |
| Avilan | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1.00 | 1.333 | 3.02 | Avilan | ||
| Fields | 10 | 0 | 0 | 9.7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1.86 | 0.828 | 3.65 | Fields | ||
| Morrow | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11.3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2.38 | 0.882 | 2.51 | Morrow | |
| Baez | 10 | 0 | 1 | 10.7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 3.38 | 1.313 | 5.47 | Baez | ||
| Stripling | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12.3 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3.65 | 0.811 | 5.56 | Stripling | |
| Watson | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9.7 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4.66 | 1.241 | 5.10 | Watson | ||
| Cingrani | 10 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 4.82 | 1.071 | 2.17 | Cingrani | ||
| Ravin | 6 | 0 | 1 | 6.7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 6.75 | 1.350 | 5.38 | Ravin | ||
| Stewart | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13.50 | 2.250 | 9.88 | Stewart | ||
| Relievers | 93 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 95.0 | 69 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 28 | 4 | 111 | 5 | 3.13 | 1.021 | 3.62 | Relievers |
| Totals | 120 | 27 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 240.0 | 196 | 97 | 97 | 44 | 71 | 4 | 260 | 5 | 3.64 | 1.113 | 4.25 | Totals |