Dodgers Week 11: Corey Seager is back

Nagging elbow injuries and eventual Tommy John surgery robbed Corey Seager of the end of his 2017 season and took nearly all of his 2018 campaign. But now the two-time All-Star is rounding back into form, finally healthy and back wreaking havoc in the middle of a potent Dodgers lineup.

Seager had a hit in every game of the Dodgers’ road trip through Phoenix and San Francisco, and has active streaks of seven games hitting and 18 games reaching base.

Doubles have always been a big part of Seager’s game, hitting 40 in his rookie season followed by 33 in his second full season, though he had 30 about three-quarters through that season before his elbow soreness started. The doubles are back for Seager, who banged five of them on the road trip along with a home run. He’s up to 20 doubles on the season, on pace for 49 in a full season.

Seager’s resurgence didn’t happen right away this season. He struggled in April, hitting just .236/.333/.364 through the season’s opening month. But since the start of May Seager has been Seager again, hitting .303/.370/.555 in 32 games.

Outside of Seager, Max Muncy also happened, which we’ll get to momentarily.

The pitching was ridiculous, allowing only eight runs on the six-game road trip. An mid-week offensive nap pinned the Dodgers with a pair of one-run losses, which marred what could have been an even better week.

This is where we are at with the Dodgers now, 9-0-2 in their last 11 series. They had a 4-2 week and their winning percentage decreased. LA ends the week with the best record in baseball, with a run differential (+109) second in the majors only to the Twins (+112).

To put that in perspective, the Dodgers’ current run differential — with 96 games still left on the schedule — is larger than all but one full-season run differential for the franchise from 1979-2016. In 2009 the Dodgers were at +169, and for their two World Series trips the last two years were +190 and +194.

Batter of the week

Corey Seager was an extra-base hit machine, going 12-for-26 (.462) on the road trip with five doubles and a home run. He had four multi-hit games during the week and led the Dodgers with nine runs batted in. Seager has 13 extra-base hits (9 doubles, 4 home runs) in his last 15 games.

Pitcher of the week

Walker Buehler was on his game on Monday in Arizona, retiring 24 of 26 batters while striking out 11 in eight innings. He followed that up with more dominance on Sunday, striking out nine in seven scoreless innings in San Francisco. Buehler’s 20 strikeouts are the most by any Dodgers pitcher in a single week this season.

Honorable mention goes to Hyun-jin Ryu, who was a ground ball machine on Tuesday in twirling seven more scoreless innings, bringing his latest scoring streak to 18⅔ innings. Ryu has allowed runs in one of his last 51⅔ innings.

Week 11 results

4-2 record
23 runs scored (3.83 per game)
8 runs allowed (1.33 per game)
.874 pythagorean record

Season to date

45-21 record
349 runs scored (5.29 per game)
240 runs allowed (3.64 per game)
.665 pythagorean record (44-22)

Miscellany

Making a splash: It was notable enough that Max Muncy hit a home run into McCovey Cove on Sunday, the seventh Dodgers splash hit in the 20 years Oracle Park has been open. But things took a turn as Muncy rounded the bases, trading barbs with a perturbed Madison Bumgarner. It made for what has to be the quote of the year in MLB.

Pros and cons-ecutive: With losses in Arizona on Wednesday and in San Francisco on Friday the Dodgers dropped two straight games for the first time since April 23-24 against Chicago. The Dodgers were 28-8 in between, including a seven-game win streak that was snapped with the finale in Phoenix.

Recipe for a win: Kyle Garlick picked an opportune moment for his first major league hit, a pinch-hit double in the sixth inning on Saturday in San Francisco. Garlick later in the inning scored the go-ahead run in a Dodgers win, and his first major league run scored as well.

Good intentions: Cody Bellinger was walked intentionally three times on Saturday by the Giants, tying a Dodgers franchise record. Bellinger was also intentionally walked three times in a game in 2017, joining Mike Scioscia as the only Dodger to do it twice.

Transactions

Wednesday: A left hip flexor strain put Matt Beaty on the injured list, retroactive to Monday, and outfielder Kyle Garlick was recalled to take his place on the active roster.

Thursday: Austin Barnes returned from the injured list in his first game eligible, with Will Smith sent back to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Smith fared well in his first major league stint, starting six of 10 games while hitting .286 (6-for-21) with two home runs and a double. He had a walk-off homer, stole a base, and threw out two of four attempted base stealers from behind the plate (and one of the stolen bases saw such a great jump on the pitcher that no throw was made).

Game results

• Monday: Dodgers 3, Diamondbacks 1
• Tuesday: Dodgers 9, Diamondbacks 0
• Wednesday: Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 2 (11)
• Friday: Giants 2, Dodgers 1
• Saturday: Dodgers 7, Giants 2
• Sunday: Dodgers 1, Giants 0

Stats

Previous weeks in review: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10

The week ahead

The Dodgers run the Thad Bosley gauntlet, taking on the Angels for two games in Anaheim followed by the longest homestand of the season, an 11-gamer starting with four games against the Cubs.