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Dodgers Week 15: A brief fling with first place

By Eric Stephen
MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Dodgers Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

After a deflating start to their season and a division deficit that reached as high as nine games, the Dodgers last week drubbed the Pirates in a three-game sweep and found themselves in first place in the National League West for the first time in 2018. For a day, at least.

A loss by Arizona on Thursday brought the Dodgers into a virtual tie for first but with a higher winning percentage than the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers ended the week one game back, thanks to dropping two of three in Anaheim, including a perplexing ninth-inning giveaway in the ninth inning on Friday night.

Batter of the week

Yasmani Grandal had a strong week, hitting .400 with four extra-base hits and seven walks to take this award. Honorable mention goes to Matt Kemp, who hit .444 and made the All-Star team for the first time in six years, and to Yasiel Puig, who drove in eight runs before injuring his oblique on Sunday night.

Pitcher of the week

Kenta Maeda struck out nine on the same day his child was born, giving him the nod. Honorable mention goes to Alex Wood with two strong starts and to Ross Stripling, who struck out seven and walked none but at the moment is on the outside looking in for the midsummer classic.

Week 15 results

4-2 record
39 runs scored (6.50 per game)
16 runs allowed (2.67 per game)
.836 pythagorean record

Season to date

48-41 record
425 runs scored (4.78 per game)
351 runs allowed (3.94 per game)
.587 pythagorean record (52-37)

Miscellany

Relief saver: Caleb Ferguson is a starting pitcher by trade but two of his three major league appearances out of the bullpen have produced memorable results. His four scoreless innings in relief on June 23 earned Ferguson his first major league win, then last Monday — Ferguson’s 22nd birthday — he pitched three scoreless innings to earn a save, the Dodgers’ second save of three or more innings in 2018. The 17-1 score made it even more memorable, the most lopsided win featuring a save in franchise history.

The ocho: In that 17-1 win Matt Kemp was 5-for-5 with a home run and a double, the second five-hit game of his career. It culminated a stretch of eight consecutive hits for Kemp, just two shy of the franchise record, and much-needed following a 3-for-37 slump. Kemp had just the sixth Dodgers game in the last 111 seasons with at least five hits, four runs scored and four RBI, and was the first since Shawn Green’s four-home run game in 2002.

Walking the plank: The Dodgers had their way with the Pirates, sweeping away Pittsburgh in three games by a combined score of 31-8, hitting 10 home runs, eight doubles and two triples along the way.

The homer/triple duo: In Tuesday’s win over the Pirates both Yasmani Grandal and Chris Taylor hit a home run and a triple. Taylor also doubled, falling just a single shy of the cycle. It marked the first time the Dodgers had a pair of players each homer and triple in a game since Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson did so on May 2, 1948.

Transactions

Tuesday: Last week’s option of Walker Buehler to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga was switched to a 10-day disabled list stint instead, retroactive to June 29.

Wednesday: The Dodgers acquired a pair of old friend pitchers, trading for Dylan Floro and minor leaguer Zach Neal plus international signing bonus pool space in exchange for minor leaguers James Marinan and Aneurys Zabala. To make room on the 40-man roster for Floro, pitcher Daniel Corcino was designated for assignment.

Saturday: Floro was activated by the Dodgers, joining the team in Anaheim, and Kenta Maeda was placed on paternity leave. In addition, Yimi Garcia was placed on the 10-day disabled list with right forearm inflammation retroactive to July 4, and Pat Venditte was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Game results

Monday: Dodgers 17, Pirates 1

Tuesday: Dodgers 8, Pirates 3

Wednesday: Dodgers 6, Pirates 4

Friday: Angels 3, Dodgers 2

Saturday: Dodgers 3, Angels 1

Sunday: Angels 4, Dodgers 3

The week ahead

The Dodgers run the Ruppert Jones gauntlet this week, finishing off their pre-All-Star break schedule with four games in San Diego followed by a second straight weekend series against the Angels, this one at Dodger Stadium.

Week 16 schedule

Mon, Jul 9 Tue, Jul 10 Wed, Jul 11 Thu, Jul 12 Fri, Jul 13 Sat, Jul 14 Sun, Jul 15
Mon, Jul 9 Tue, Jul 10 Wed, Jul 11 Thu, Jul 12 Fri, Jul 13 Sat, Jul 14 Sun, Jul 15
at Padres at Padres at Padres at Padres vs. Angels vs. Angels vs. Angels
7:10 p.m. 7:10 p.m. 7:10 p.m. 7:10 p.m. 7:10 p.m. 4:15 p.m. 1:10 p.m.
Kershaw Hill Maeda Stripling Buehler Wood Kershaw
v. Perdomo v. Lauer (L) v. Lucchesi (L) v. Ross v. McGuire v. Heaney v. Richards
SNLA/MLBN SNLA SNLA SNLA SNLA Fox SNLA

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-Jun 3 | Jun 4-10 | June 11-17 | June 18-24 | June 25-July 1

Stats

Week 16 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
Grandal 15 5 6 2 1 1 5 0 0 7 4 0 0 0 22 0.400 0.591 0.867 1.458 0.500 Grandal
Kemp 18 5 8 1 0 1 6 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 21 0.444 0.524 0.667 1.190 0.538 Kemp
Puig 19 3 7 2 0 2 8 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 19 0.368 0.368 0.789 1.158 0.385 Puig
Taylor 24 3 9 1 1 1 7 0 0 2 12 0 0 0 26 0.375 0.423 0.625 1.048 0.727 Taylor
Muncy 24 7 6 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 7 0 0 0 27 0.250 0.333 0.625 0.958 0.214 Muncy
Bellinger 20 6 4 2 0 1 2 0 0 4 4 0 0 0 24 0.200 0.333 0.450 0.783 0.200 Bellinger
Turner 21 4 6 1 0 0 2 0 1 2 4 1 0 0 24 0.286 0.375 0.333 0.708 0.353 Turner
Hernandez 14 2 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 17 0.143 0.294 0.357 0.651 0.111 Hernandez
Pederson 21 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 6 1 1 0 24 0.095 0.174 0.381 0.555 0.000 Pederson
Starters 176 37 50 9 2 12 37 0 1 25 49 2 1 0 204 0.284 0.379 0.563 0.942 0.330 Starters
Forsythe 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 7 0.200 0.429 0.200 0.629 0.333 Forsythe
Utley 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 7 0.143 0.143 0.143 0.286 0.200 Utley
Barnes 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 4 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Barnes
Bench 16 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0 0 0 18 0.125 0.222 0.125 0.347 0.222 Bench
Pitchers 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 9 0.222 0.222 0.222 0.444 0.286 Pitchers
Offense 201 39 54 9 2 12 37 0 1 27 58 2 1 0 231 0.269 0.361 0.512 0.873 0.321 Offense

Week 16 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 1 0 6.0 3 1 1 1 0 0 7 1 1.50 0.500 3.53 Stripling
Maeda 1 1 0 0 5.7 3 1 1 0 2 1 9 0 1.59 0.882 0.55 Maeda
Wood 2 2 1 0 12.0 11 4 4 2 2 1 7 0 3.00 1.083 4.45 Wood
Kershaw 1 1 1 0 6.0 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 3.00 0.667 2.53 Kershaw
Hill 1 1 1 0 5.0 4 2 2 0 1 0 5 0 3.60 1.000 1.80 Hill
Starters 6 6 4 0 0 34.7 25 10 10 3 5 2 30 1 2.60 0.865 2.94 Starters
Alexander 3 0 0 3.3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0.00 0.300 1.10 Alexander
Ferguson 1 0 0 1 3.0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 1.000 2.53 Ferguson
Hudson 3 0 0 2.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0.00 1.500 2.70 Hudson
Goeddel 2 0 0 1.7 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 0.00 0.600 3.20 Goeddel
Floro 1 0 0 1.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.000 3.20 Floro
Jansen 3 0 1 2 3.3 4 2 1 0 1 0 6 0 2.70 1.500 0.50 Jansen
Chargois 2 0 1 1.3 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 6.75 0.750 8.45 Chargois
Garcia 1 0 0 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 9.00 1.000 12.20 Garcia
Paredes 3 0 0 0.7 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 27.00 4.500 27.20 Paredes
Bullpen 19 0 0 2 3 18.0 13 6 5 3 5 0 22 1 2.50 1.000 3.92 Bullpen
Totals 25 6 4 2 3 52.7 38 16 15 6 10 2 52 2 2.56 0.911 3.28 Totals

In This Stream

July 9: Dodgers 8, Padres 2

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