Dodgers Week 9: Ups & downs

Starting pitching, a pillar of strength for the Dodgers all season, faltered over the weekend, turning what could have been a third straight winning week into three straight losses, pushing Los Angeles back into third place in the National League West.

Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry returned but were understandably rusty in their first two games back. Mookie Betts struggled, and the team hit under .200 during the week.

Here’s a look back at the week, which included a two-game split in Houston, and losing three of four at home to the Giants.

Batter of the week

Justin Turner got some hits to drop after a few bad weeks, and even knocked a few over the fence, leading the team in hits last week while tying for the lead in both runs scored and runs batted in.

Turner was picked from a quartet all with deserving cases. Max Muncy homered three times, continuing his excellent May. Austin Barnes continued his power drive with a game-tying three-run shot in the ninth on Friday, and had the best OPS on the team among everyone with at least 10 plate appearances. Albert Pujols was an extra-base hit machine, even passing Babe Ruth in that category on Sunday, and probably would have won this award had Mike Tauchman not caught the would-be walk-off by Pujols on Friday.

Pitcher of the week

David Price struck out five in retiring all eight batters on Thursday, in his only appearance of the week. He had more strikeouts than the two starting pitchers who might have laid claim to this award.

Week 9 results

2-4 record
30 runs scored (5.00 per game)
34 runs allowed (5.67 per game)
.443 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

31-22 record
273 runs scored (5.15 per game)
205 runs allowed (3.87 per game)
.628 pythagorean win percentage (33-20)

Miscellany

Hometown homer: In the fifth inning against Alex Wood and the Giants on Thursday, DJ Peters hit his first major league home run. It came at Dodger Stadium, where he’s been coming since he was a kid, growing up in Glendora and playing high school baseball just 32 miles away.

“It didn’t really hit me until after the game,” Peters said. “To get it here at Dodger Stadium is surreal, but to do it against the team in orange and black is that much better.”

Too grand: David Price was the nominal starter of Thursday’s bullpen game, and retired all eight batters he faced. The veteran left-hander struck out five, giving him exactly 2,000 strikeouts in his career, the 84th pitcher in major league history to reach that mark. Price had a few reasons to celebrate.

“First, it was against one of my really good friends in Curt Casali. He swings the bat extremely well against me. He hits the ball hard, he’s hit a couple homers. a Vanderbilt guy,” Price said. “Secondly, it was my wife’s birthday today. It was special to be able to pitch on her birthday, and to reach a personal milestone like that today.”

Casali is 7-for-16 (.438) with three home runs and a double against Price in his career. Price’s current teammates have contributed 19 strikeouts to the total, including five each from Albert Pujols (10-for-35, 2 homers, 2 doubles) and Chris Taylor (0-for-10, 5 walks), and three from Justin Turner (1-for-11, home run, walk).

In a pinch: Down three runs with two outs in the ninth inning, the Dodgers turned to their last position player on the bench, catcher Austin Barnes, to pinch hit. Barnes delivered, hitting a game-tying, three-run home run off pitcher Tyler Rogers, the first pinch-hit homer of Barnes’ career. Barnes is 3-for-6 with a walk as a pinch-hitter this season, including a double and a homer in his last two such at bats.

Transactions

Monday: Utility man Travis Blankenhorn, who was designated for assignment on May 21, was claimed off waivers by the Mariners. Blankenhorn’s time on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster lated seven days.

Thursday: Mitch White was recalled from Triple-A, and Dennis Santana was optioned to Oklahoma City.

Saturday: Cody Bellinger was activated off the injured list after missing over seven weeks with a fractured left fibula. Zach McKinstry was activated off the injured list after missing six weeks with a right oblique strain. Sheldon Neuse and DJ Peters were optioned to Triple-A.

Game results

• Tuesday: Dodgers 9, Astros 2
• Wednesday: Astros 5, Dodgers 2
• Thursday: Dodgers 4, Giants 3
• Friday: Giants 8, Dodgers 5 (10 innings)
• Saturday: Giants 11, Dodgers 6
• Sunday: Giants 5, Dodgers 4

Previous reviews: Apr. 1-4 | Apr. 5-11 | Apr. 12-18 | Apr. 19-25 | Apr. 26-May 2 | May 3-9 | May 10-16 | May 17-23

Up next

The Dodgers run the Gerald Perry gauntlet, finishing off the homestand with three games against the Cardinals, followed by a new road trip starting in Atlanta for an NLCS rematch with the Braves.