Dodgers Week 11: Surviving the workload from hell

The decimation of the Dodgers pitching staff veered into the macabre last week, with the bullpen required to take on an unfair burden, the result of a major league debut (Caleb Ferguson) over too quickly and another starting pitcher (Dennis Santana) scratched literally minutes before game time.

Dodgers relief pitchers recorded 89 outs this week, spread among 13 different pitchers because of the much-needed revolving door of reinforcements up from Oklahoma City. Dodgers starters, by contrast, recorded 70 outs.

Also, a sore wrist limited Justin Turner to one start during the week, including not playing at all over the weekend against Atlanta.

Yet they won four of their six games, and haven’t lost a series since the middle of May.

Batter of the week

It was a power-filled week for the Dodgers, who hit 17 home runs as a team. Three of those came during the weekend by this week’s winner Max Muncy, who was 8-for-18 with eight walks and a double for his efforts during the week, for a tidy .615 on-base percentage. He’s hitting an astonishing .272/.395/.616 on the season and is tied for the team lead with 12 home runs, matching his 2017 total in Triple-A.

Honorable mention goes to Joc Pederson, who slugged 1.333 for the week thanks to four home runs and two doubles.

Pitcher of the week

Ross Stripling struck out 13 and walked none in his two starts, and his 6 innings on Sunday made him an iron man for the staff this week. Stripling owns a 1.65 ERA in 60 innings this season, and leads the Dodgers with 72 strikeouts.

A rousing ovation is also needed for the entire bullpen, who posted a 4.40 ERA (4.25 if you rightly count Daniel Hudson’s one-inning start as a relief appearance) that might look mediocre but considering the unreal workload by Dodgers relievers this was nothing short of a commendable effort by all 13 pitchers involved.

Week 11 results

4-2 record
39 runs scored (6.50 per game)
28 runs allowed (4.67 per game)
.647 pythagorean record

Season to date

33-32 record
312 runs scored (4.80 per game)
264 runs allowed (4.06 per game)
.576 pythagorean record (37-28)

Transactions

Wednesday: Caleb Ferguson was called up from Triple-A to make his major league debut, and Pedro Baez was optioned to Oklahoma City. Four days after he was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers, PJ Conlon went back to the Mets on waivers, opening up a 40-man roster spot for Ferguson.

Thursday: Tony Cingrani was placed on the DL for a second time this season with a left shoulder strain, and Ferguson was optioned to Oklahoma City. Baez returned to the majors after one day and Edward Paredes was recalled as well.

Friday: Dennis Santana was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to Tuesday with a right rotator cuff strain, while Adam Liberatore and Pat Venditte were called up as bullpen reinforcements. Stewart was optioned to Triple-A.

Saturday: Santana was transferred to the 60-day DL, putting him out until at least August, and Daniel Corcino was called up for his first major league stint in four seasons. Venditte was optioned to Triple-A.

Game results

Tuesday: Dodgers 5, Pirates 0

Wednesday: Pirates 11, Dodgers 9

Thursday: Dodgers 8, Pirates 7

Friday: Dodgers 7, Braves 3

Saturday: Braves 5, Dodgers 3

Sunday: Dodgers 7, Braves 2

The week ahead

The Dodgers run the Bengie Molina gauntlet this week, hosting the Rangers for two interleague games followed by a weekend series against the Giants. It’s an odd week with two off days at home, neither one a travel day. Also the number of healthy starting pitcher is approaching zero, so good luck guessing the rotation.

Previous weeks in review: Mar. 29-Apr. 1 | Apr. 2-8 | Apr. 9-15 | Apr. 16-22 | Apr. 23-29 | Apr. 30-May 6 | May 7-13 | May 14-20 | May 21-27 | May 28-June 3

Stats