Dodgers Week 25: Trying to get healthy for October

The Dodgers clinched their seventh consecutive National League West crown, the earliest they have clinched since the Boys of Summer in Brooklyn, but last week for Los Angeles was about injury management.

Rich Hill made his return from a forearm strain after three months on the shelf, but exited after just two outs in the first inning after straining his left knee, the same knee that kept him out the first four weeks of the season. An MRI awaits this week for Hill, who probably can’t get stretched out in time for the postseason but who also hasn’t been ruled out of some sort of role in October.

Justin Turner didn’t play all week after spraining his left ankle last Saturday against the Giants, a cautious decision buttressed by the relative security of the Dodgers’ postseason status. LA ended the week with a four-game lead over the Braves, and a magic number of seven to clinch the top seed through the National League playoffs.

Max Muncy also returned in just over two weeks after suffering a fracture in his wrist, and started all three weekend games against the Mets.

Alex Verdugo, who last played for the Dodgers on Aug. 4, dealt with an oblique injury and now a back injury is likely to keep him out of at least the NLDS.

On the field, the Dodgers won four of six games against the Orioles and Mets, and are still within striking distance of the best record in the majors, ending the week one game behind both the Yankees and Astros.

Batter of the week

Gavin Lux hit his first major league home run in the division clincher Tuesday in Baltimore, then hit a go-ahead three-run home run against Noah Syndergaard on Friday in New York. Lux was 8-for-20 (.400) with five RBI on his first major league road trip.

Pitcher of the week

The Dodgers slotted Hyun-jin Ryu back into the rotation on Saturday in New York, and he was brilliant on nine days rest, allowing only two singles in seven scoreless innings. There are still enough off days in the final two weeks such that the team can shuffle for the postseason as they see fit, but it sure seems like the weekend rotation order of Clayton Kershaw, Ryu, and Walker Buehler , which is also the planned rotation next weekend, wasn’t by accident.

Ryu was a close call for pitcher of the week over Buehler, who allowed two runs in 12 innings in his two starts last week. Buehler has allowed five or more runs four times since the All-Star break. Following each of those starts he has rebounded with brilliance, including 11 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings on Tuesday in Baltimore, winning his second straight division clincher. Buehler in those four rebound starts in the second half has totaled 45 strikeouts, no walks, and one run allowed in 30 innings.

Week 25 results

4-2 record
26 runs scored (4.33 per game)
19 runs allowed (3.17 per game)
.640 pythagorean record

Season to date

97-54 record
818 runs scored (5.42 per game)
578 runs allowed (3.83 per game)
.654 pythagorean record (99-52)

Miscellany

7th heaven: By clinching their seventh consecutive National League West crown on Tuesday, the Dodgers have the third longest streak of both division titles and playoff appearances in major league history. They trail only the Braves (11 straight division titles from 1995-2005, or 14 straight if you want to ignore that 1994 existed) and Yankees (9 straight AL East crowns from 1998-2006, 13 straight playoff appearances from 1995-2007).

The Dodgers clinched with 16 games remaining, matching the 1955 Brooklyn team for quickest clinch by games (though Brooklyn played a 154-game schedule instead of 162). By date, this year was two days after that 1955 club (who clinched on Sept. 8) for earliest clinch in team history.

The 800 club: With their first run on Wednesday in Baltimore, the Dodgers scored their NL-best 800th run of the season. It’s just the fourth time since moving to Los Angeles that the Dodgers have scored 800 runs in a season, and ending the week at 818 runs, LA has a great chance to score their most since plating 857 runs in 1955 in Brooklyn.

Metsmerized: Clayton Kershaw pitched into the seventh inning on Friday to beat the Mets, improving to 10-0 with a 2.15 career ERA against the Mets. The Dodgers have won 14 of Kershaw’s 15 starts against the Mets, with the team’s only loss coming in a 2015 start in which Kershaw allowed just one run in seven innings in no-decision.

Cy Young duel: Saturday’s battle between a pair of NL Cy Young Award contenders did not disappoint, with Hyun-jin Ryu and Jacob deGrom each pitching seven scoreless innings. It was just the fifth MLB game of 2019 in which both starters didn’t allow a run and pitched at least seven innings.

Swipe left: The stolen base is a rarity in today’s game, so when a team steals multiple bases in a game it’s news. The Dodgers on Thursday against the Orioles stole a season-high four bases, including the first steal for Russell Martin since 2017. The Dodgers don’t steal often, but with 50 steals in 59 attempts their 84.7% success rate is the best in franchise history. They were caught stealing four times in April and have been caught five times (in 48 attempts since). The current club record for stolen base percentage is 82.8% by the 1962 club, who stole 198 bases in 241 attempts. NL MVP Maury Wills stole a then-record 104 bases at an 88.9% clip.

Transactions

Tuesday: With back problems keeping Alex Verdugo on the shelf, Edwin Rios was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to give the Dodgers an extra left-handed bat on the bench.

Thursday: Rich Hill was activated off the 60-day injured list to make his first start in 12 weeks. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated pitcher Jaime Schultz for assignment.

Friday: Max Muncy was activated from the injured list before the series in New York, after missing 13 games with a wrist fracture. The Dodgers ended the week with 35 players in their active roster.

Game results

• Tuesday: Dodgers 7, Orioles 3
• Wednesday: Orioles 7, Dodgers 3
• Thursday: Dodgers 4, Orioles 2
• Friday: Dodgers 9, Mets 2
• Saturday: Mets 3, Dodgers 0
• Sunday: Dodgers 3, Mets 2

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 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23 | Week 24

The week ahead

The Dodgers run the Greg Norton gauntlet, back home to face the Rays and Rockies for the final five regular season games at Dodger Stadium in 2019. At 56-20, the Dodgers have a chance to both (a) be the first National League team since the 1977 Phillies to win 60 home games; and (b) tie the 1899 Brooklyn Superbas (61-16) for the most home wins in franchise history.