Dodgers Week 8: Tyler Anderson, Mookie Betts & a successful road trip

The Dodgers completed a wildly successful road trip by winning eight of 10 games, including six out of seven last week against the Nationals and Diamondbacks. Los Angeles is 17-7 with one week to go in their 31-game, 30-day gauntlet, but all 24 games have come against teams currently under .500.

But that brings up an interesting question regarding Arizona, who got swept by the Dodgers in four games in each of the last few weeks. The D-backs are 23-26 on the season, but are they a bad team or have they just fallen victim to playing the Dodgers in nearly a quarter of their games? Arizona when not playing the Dodgers is 21-17 (.553), with a reasonably respectable run differential of -3.

However, teams can only play who is on their schedule, and the Dodgers are taking care of business.

The recipe for success last week was the top three in the lineup running roughshod over teams. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Trea Turner combined to hit .363/.433/.725 with 20 runs scored and 26 runs batted in. That trio hit seven of the Dodgers’ 11 home runs, and had 14 extra-base hits. Los Angeles out-homered opponents 11-1 last week.

Combine that with a pitching staff that allowed only two runs per game, and spread out the work such that nobody pitched more than twice last week. The Dodgers scored more than triple the runs of their foes. That’s impressive no matter what teams you play.

Batter of the week

Mookie Betts continued to wreak havoc atop the Dodgers lineup, leading the Dodgers in hits (11), home runs (four), extra-base hits (six), and runs scored (nine). He had a 1.462 OPS even with an 0-for-4 on Sunday.

Honorable mention goes to Evan Phillips, so far the only Dodgers pitcher to bat this season. Up at the plate with an 11-run lead and the DH already moved to first base, Phillips walked on four pitches.

Pitcher of the week

Tyler Anderson was at his best with 14 scoreless innings in his two starts. He took a perfect game into the sixth inning Monday in Washington D.C., and while he allowed runners in all but one of his six innings Sunday against the Diamondbacks, Anderson still kept Arizona off the scoreboard. Anderson has an active streak of 20 consecutive scoreless frames.

Anderson had the audacity to walk Cooper Hummel on Sunday in Phoenix, his first walk in 28 innings, dating back to May 7. Anderson struck out 28 batters in between walks. On the season, the left-hander has 48 strikeouts against only six walks in his 49⅔ innings, his 8.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranking third among major league pitchers with at least 40 innings.

Week 8 results

6-1 record
45 runs scored (6.43 per game)
14 runs allowed (2.00 per game)
.894 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

33-14 record
262 runs scored (5.57 per game)
143 runs allowed (3.04 per game)
.752 pythagorean win percentage (35-12)

Miscellany

Bench mob: Wednesday’s series finale in Washington saw Austin Barnes at catcher, Edwin Ríos at designated hitter, and Hanser Alberto making his second career start in right field. It marked the first time this season all three started in the same game. That happened to be the only time the Dodgers were shut out this season, but Ríos especially took advantage of more playing time. With Max Muncy injured, Ríos has started the last eight games, and despite most of the season as a reserve he ranks second on the team with six home runs.

Bett he’ll score: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was committed to get Mookie Betts a day off last week, in the second half of a month-long schedule gauntlet. The plans for a Tuesday rest were scrapped when Cody Bellinger fell ill, and all Betts did was hit two home runs in Washington. Betts finally got his rest on getaway day against the Nationals, though he did pinch-hit late in the Dodgers’ 1-0 defeat. That blip interrupted one of the most prolific stretches in franchise history. Betts tied Rafael Furcal’s Los Angeles Dodgers record by scoring a run in 12 straight games. Betts kept scoring once he returned to the lineup, and his 15 straight starts scoring a run marked the longest-ever Dodgers streak.

Betts also had an extra-base hit in nine straight starts, tying Jack Fournier (1925) for the franchise record.

Worth the wait: Will Smith took two strikes from Zach Davies in the second inning on Sunday, then after running the count full Smith fouled off six pitches in a row. On the 12th pitch of the at-bat, Smith drove a ball into the pool area in right center field at Chase Field for his fifth home run of the season. Twelve pitches is tied for the longest at-bat that ended in a home run this season in MLB, along with Paul Goldschmidt (April 29), Kolten Wong (May 4), and José Ramírez (May 24).

Transactions

Friday: Ryan Pepiot was recalled from Triple-A to make his third major league start, and Phil Bickford was optioned to Oklahoma City.

Saturday: Max Muncy landed on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation, and Pepiot was optioned. Kevin Pillar had his contract selected from Triple-A, and Michael Grove was called up as a fresh arm. To make room for Pillar on the 40-man roster, Tommy Kahnle was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Game results

• Monday: Dodgers 10, Nationals 1
• Tuesday: Dodgers 9, Nationals 4
• Wednesday: Nationals 1, Dodgers 0
• Thursday: Dodgers 14, D-backs 1
• Friday: Dodgers 6, D-backs 4
• Saturday: Dodgers 3, D-backs 2
• Sunday: Dodgers 3, D-backs 1

Previous weekly reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7

Up next

The Dodgers run the Lee Mazzilli gauntlet, back home to host the Pirates and Mets, finishing off a stretch of 31 games in 30 days.