Dodgers Week 1: An avalanche of runs

It was an eventful opening weekend for the Dodgers, who started off 2019 by setting a major league record for home runs hit on opening day, then the next night played the longest regular season game by time in Dodger Stadium history, followed by an 18-run outburst on Saturday that was their second-best offensive performance at Chavez Ravine.

Then they took the series against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, overcoming a seven-run inning by Arizona to win 8-7.

The end result was 42 runs scored, a franchise record for a four-game series, three more runs than the previous mark. They also mashed 14 home runs, though the offense wasn’t all power dependent. The Dodgers scored 19 runs on those 14 home runs, which left room for 23 more runs (5.75 per game) from everything else.

Pitching was so-so, with a struggling bullpen allowing 13 runs in 19 innings, and the staff allowed Arizona to score 5.5 runs per game. But the bats did the heavy lifting in this opening weekend, sweeping all of that under the rug, winning three of their four games.

Batter of the week

So many candidates here, thanks to the unreal offensive production in the first four game. Joc Pederson takes this one in a close call, thanks to an absurd .467/.619/1.133 line with three home runs. Cody Bellinger was just a hare behind, with a team-best four homers while hitting .500/.524/1.100.

Honorable mention goes to Austin Barnes, who was 5-for-8 with two walks (.700 on-base percentage) and two home runs in his 10 plate appearances. Last year Barnes hit his second home run of the season on Sept. 4, in his 215th PA.

The 18 runs scored by the Dodgers on Saturday night matched their second-highest total at home since moving to Dodger Stadium in 1962. In addition to 18 runs in a win against San Diego in 1977, the club record at Chavez Ravine is 21 runs, scored last Aug. 2 against Milwaukee.

Pitcher of the week

Hyun-jin Ryu took to the title of opening day starter quite well, striking out eight with no walks in six strong innings against Arizona. Ryu narrowly beats out Ross Stripling, who pitched into the sixth and didn’t allow a run one day later.

Honorable mention goes to Russell Martin, who retired all three batters faced to close out Saturday’s win, continuing a Dodgers legacy.

Upon further review, Skip Schumaker actually wore number 3 during his pitching performances in 2013 before switching to 55 in July, to honor Orel Hershiser, his favorite player growing up.

Week 1 results

3-1 record
42 runs scored (10.50 per game)
22 runs allowed (5.50 per game)
.766 pythagorean record

Miscellany

Gone baby gone: Power was on full display on opening day with the Dodgers matching their franchise record with eight home runs in a drubbing of Arizona. Joc Pederson and Kike Hernandez each hit two home runs. The eight long balls set a major league record for opening day, with no other team ever hitting more than six. In 2018 the Dodgers led the National League in home runs, setting a franchise record with 235 jacks. They didn’t hit their eighth home run of the season until their 11th game.

Four runs / Longtime: The last two Friday night games at Dodger Stadium have been doozies. After setting a World Series record for longest game with an 18-inning thriller in Game 3 against Boston, the Dodgers in their second game of this season needed 13 innings before falling to Arizona. At six hours, five minutes, this was the longest regular season game in Dodger Stadium history. The only game longer, by time, was the aforementioned Game 3, at seven hours, 20 minutes.

The previous longest Dodger Stadium game was May 24, 1973 against the Mets, a five hour, 42 minute contest that New York won in 19 innings. Four other Dodgers games have lasted at least six hours, all on the road, and all at least 20 innings.

Mound man: The return of Russell Martin to the Dodgers after eight seasons away was surreal enough, but then Saturday night brought things into a new realm. The Dodgers were having their way with Arizona on Saturday, and with an 18-5 lead entering the ninth inning, one night after the six-hour marathon, the Dodgers turned to Martin to close out the game and ease some burden on the bullpen.

It was the first pitching performance of Martin’s career — he has played every position except first base and center field — but what made it unique was closing out a victory. Martin was the first primary position player since Willie Smith of Detroit in 1963 to close out the ninth inning of a win, per Matt Kelly of MLB.com. Martin was also the first position player to do so in 1-2-3 fashion since at least 1925.

Transactions

Monday: Pitchers Dustin May, Kevin Quackenbush and Stetson Allie, catcher Josh Thole, infielder Daiel Castro, and outfielders Paulo Orlando and Ezequiel Carerra were reassigned to minor league camp.

Opening day roster

Starting pitchers (5): Hyun-jin Ryu, Ross Stripling, Kenta Maeda, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias
Relievers (8): Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, Pedro Baez, Scott Alexander, Dylan Floro, Caleb Ferguson, Yimi Garcia, Brock Stewart
Catchers (2): Austin Barnes, Russell Martin
Infielders (5): Max Muncy, Kike Hernandez, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, David Freese
Outfielders (5): Joc Pederson, Chris Taylor, A.J. Pollock, Cody Bellinger, Alex Verdugo

Game results

• Thursday: Dodgers 12, Diamondbacks 5
• Friday: Diamondbacks 5, Dodgers 4 (13)
• Saturday: Dodgers 18, Diamondbacks 5
• Sunday: Dodgers 8, Diamondbacks 7

The week ahead

The Dodgers run the Yorvit Torrealba gauntlet, hosting the Giants for three games followed by a weekend set at Coors Field against the Rockies, and will face four consecutive southpaws to start the week. The Monday ESPN telecast, as well as the MLB Network telecasts on Wednesday and Friday, are blacked out in LA.

Stats