Dodgers Week 6: ‘We’re just doing the right thing’

“The goal is to keep winning every series, and do that indefinitely,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday, after the Dodgers captured their second series win of the week.

The Dodgers lost the first game in each of their series last week, when the bullpen showed rare divergence from excellence this season. But they won the final two games against the Giants in San Francisco, and they won the final two games against the Rangers in Arlington.

So far this season, the Dodgers have yet to lose a series. They’ve split one two-game series and a pair of four-game series, but have won nine, which is why they have the best record in the majors at 26-10.

But last week for the Dodgers, who won four of six games, the bigger news was a game they didn’t play. Wednesday’s game against the Giants was one of three MLB games postponed that day, with the Dodgers following Mookie Betts’ lead in choosing not to play to protest racial injustice.

“We’re just doing the right thing. We’re supporting Black players, we’re supporting the Black community, and what they’re going through,” Clayton Kershaw said. “If the roles are reversed, or something that was really difficult for me or difficult for one of my other teammates, I would hope that we would have the support of our full team. And it’s as simple as that.”

The game itself was made up a day later, when the Dodgers swept a pair in San Francisco, their first experience with mandated seven-inning games in a doubleheader. But the impact of the protest was lasting.

“It’s been emotional, but it’s good. It’s been exhausting. But I think that the vulnerability that everyone is shown in our clubhouse that the public doesn’t get to see, the conversations that have happened, in our industry and other industries, has been good,” Roberts said Thursday. “For guys to stand together and not play a major league baseball game is a big deal. And for the conversations that happened [Wednesday] night, by way of media and in people’s homes, all over the country and the world, that’s that’s the point.”

Batter of the week

We’ll go with Corey Seager here, hitting .360 with a pair of home runs while leading the regulars in OPS. Honorable mention goes to Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger, who also each homered twice and are heating up, and to Austin Barnes, who doubled, singled, and reached base four times in seven tries last week.

The Dodgers finished their August with 57 home runs, which through Sunday led the majors. That set a National League record for home runs in a month, and was the fourth* time the Dodgers have hit 50 home runs in a month, all in the last four seasons.

*Not including when the Dodgers 52 home runs in “March/April” 2019, which consisted of 14 homers in four games in March and 38 home runs in April.

Pitcher of the week

This one goes to Clayton Kershaw, who was originally scheduled to start Wednesday but after the protest was pushed to Thursday afternoon instead. He delivered six scoreless innings, his fourth game allowing zero or one run in five starts this season.

Week 6 results

4-2 record
33 runs scored (5.50 per game)
22 runs allowed (3.67 per game)
.677 pythagorean win percentage

Season to date

26-10 record
204 runs scored (5.67 per game)
114 runs allowed (3.17 per game)
.744 pythagorean record (27-9)

Standings: 1st place, NL West; 5 games up on San Diego
Current wild card round playoff matchup: vs. No. 8 Philadelphia (14-15)

Miscellany

Grand achievement: With a sixth-inning single against Andrew Suarez in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader in San Francisco, Mookie Betts collected his 1,000th career hit, the 1,344th MLB player to reach that milestone. The last two were Dodgers, with Justin Turner getting to 1,000 hits on August 11.

Welcome aboard: Mitch White pitched a scoreless eighth inning on Saturday in Texas, making his major league debut. He struck out Shin-Soo Choo for his first major league strikeout. White is the third Dodger to make a major league debut, along with Victor Gonzalez (July 31) and Keibert Ruiz (August 16).

Doubleplunker: Justin Turner was hit by a pitch in both games Thursday in San Francisco, the first Dodger with a HBP in each game of a doubleheader since Buster Mills on September 23, 1935.

So much cake: Last week was busy with Dodgers birthdays. Kiké Hernández (29) Monday, Max Muncy (30) Tuesday, David Price (35) and Brusdar Graterol (22) Wednesday, and Chris Taylor (30) Saturday.

Robbed: Justin Turner was close to adding two home runs to his week, but he was robbed by leaping catches on consecutive days. First on Thursday, Mike Yastrzemski took away a solo shot from Turner in the first game of the doubleheader. Then on Friday in the third inning, Turner’s bid for a three-run homer was denied by Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras.

Transactions

Thursday: Walker Buehler was placed on the injured list with a blister on his right hand, and Mitch White was recalled from the alternate training site.

Thursday: Gavin Lux was recalled as the 29th man for the doubleheader in San Francisco, then returned to the taxi squad after the game.

Saturday: Lux was recalled, and White was optioned.

Sunday: Tony Gonsolin was recalled to start the series finale in Texas, and Josh Sborz was optioned.

Game results

• Tuesday: Giants 10, Dodgers 8 (11 innings)
• Wednesday: Dodgers at Giants, postponed (racial injustice)
• Thursday: Game 1 — Dodgers 7, Giants 0 (7 innings)
• Thursday: Game 2 — Dodgers 2, Giants 0 (7 innings)
• Friday: Rangers 6, Dodgers 2
• Saturday: Dodgers 7, Rangers 4
• Sunday: Dodgers 7, Rangers 2

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5

The week ahead

The trade deadline is Monday, then the Dodgers run the Willie Blair gauntlet, hosting the Diamondbacks and Rockies at home, including another 7 p.m. Sunday start, though not on ESPN. Take these pitching probables with a heaping amount of salt, as the trade deadline could wreak havoc with best-laid plans.