Dodgers Week 26: Just good enough

In a vacuum, the Dodgers had a mostly fine week in an exceptional season, one of the finest in franchise history. But in a division viewed through a black and orange tint, the Dodgers don’t have the luxury to appreciate merely winning two-thirds of their games.

LA’s final road trip of the season saw them play the also-rans of the National League West. They beat the Rockies twice in three games, with both wins coming in extra innings, including a stunning comeback late on Thursday in Denver. The Dodgers also won two out of three in the desert against the 106-loss Diamondbacks, though the series left us wondering why Arizona doesn’t now have 107 losses instead.

That’s because the Giants just keep winning. After the Dodgers took the series at Coors Field, San Francisco one-upped them by sweeping three games in Colorado.

The Dodgers haven’t dropped a series since losing two out of three in San Francisco from September 3-5. LA is 14-5 since that weekend. But the Giants are 15-4, and now lead the division by two games with six left to play.

If there’s a concern for the Dodgers, other than San Francisco simply refusing to even crack open the door to the division, it’s an offense that isn’t hitting as well as it should. The Dodgers scored nine runs in three games against a truly terrible D-backs team, and in a nine-game road trip to hitters havens in Cincinnati, Denver, and Phoenix, the Dodgers slugged just .396 and scored only 4.44 runs per game.

Sunday’s victory in the desert gave the Dodgers 100 wins on the season, the third time in the last five years they’ve won at least 100 games. The Dodgers are clearly a good team, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that they could and should be better.

Batter of the week

Trea Turner was already having a productive week heading into Saturday, when he homered in his final two at-bats. He then homered again in his first time up on Sunday and doubled off the wall in his second at-bat. Since joining the Dodgers he’s hitting .322/.373/.519, a 140 wRC+.

Heading into the final week of the season, Turner leads the National League with 31 stolen bases, three more than Tommy Edman of the Cardinals. Turner’s .32224 batting average also leads the NL, just a shade above former Nationals teammate Juan Soto (.32158).

Pitcher of the week

Kenley Jansen won twice and saved two games in his four appearances, striking out six in his four scoreless innings. Saturday was Jansen’s 347th career save, tying Randy Myers for 13th all-time.

This award almost always goes to a starting pitcher, but the rotation had a 5.90 ERA in six games, with nobody standing out. The high-leverage relievers were pretty awesome, with only Alex Vesia allowing runs.

Week 26 results

4-2 record
26 runs scored (4.33 per game)
28 runs allowed (4.67 per game)
.466 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

100-56 record
783 runs scored (5.02 per game)
536 runs allowed (3.44 per game)
.667 pythagorean win percentage (104-52)

Miscellany

Three amigos: Max Muncy’s game-winning home run in the 10th inning on Thursday at Coors Field was his 35th of the season, matching his career high. He is just the third Dodger with three seasons of 35 or more home runs. He matched his elder, Mike Piazza. The late, great Duke Snider had five such seasons, all of which featured at least 40 home runs.

Triple digits, twice: Trea Turner’s home run in the first inning on Sunday and Corey Seager’s home run in the third inning (his second of the game) were the 100th career home run for each player. “Hopefully a lot more to come,” Turner said on SportsNet LA. “I’ve always wanted to be a dangerous hitter, and to do that you have to hit homers.”

Transactions

Tuesday: Cody Bellinger was placed on the injured list with a fractured left rib, retroactive to September 18. Luke Raley was recalled from Triple-A.

Wednesday: AJ Pollock returned after missing 15 games with a right hamstring strain, and pitcher Shane Greene was designated for assignment after going two weeks without appearing in a game.

Sunday: Southpaw Andrew Vasquez was called up for pitching help, and Raley was optioned.

Game results

• Tuesday: Dodgers 5, Rockies 4 (10 innings)
• Wednesday: Rockies 10, Dodgers 5
• Thursday: Dodgers 7, Rockies 5 (10 innings)
• Friday: Dodgers 4, D-backs 2
• Saturday: D-backs 7, Dodgers 2
• Sunday: Dodgers 3, D-backs 0

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 | May 24-30 | May 31-June 6 | June 7-13 | June 14-20 | June 21-27 | June 28-July 4 | July 5-11 | July 12-18 | July 19-25 | July 26-Aug. 1 | Aug. 2-8 | Aug. 9-15 | Aug. 16-22 | Aug. 23-29 | Aug. 30-Sep. 5 | Sep. 6-12 | Sep. 13-19

Up next

The Dodgers run the Mark Loretta gauntlet in finishing out the regular season*, hosting the Padres and Brewers at home. Lots of unknowns in the opposing starting pitchers in the week ahead.

*Monday, October 4 could also be a part of the regular season, should the Dodgers and Giants finish tied after 162 games.