Dodgers Week 11: Stuck in neutral

The Dodgers lost their best pitcher last week, and this week saw their best hitter go down. Without Mookie Betts for the weekend, and for at least another couple weeks with a cracked rib, the offense understandably continued to struggle.

But the Walker Buehler-less pitching staff picked up the slack, allowing under two runs per game. They allowed only nine runs for the week, albeit a condensed one that included two off days. But a third of those runs allowed came in the final two innings on Sunday, turning a lead and potential 4-1 week into a unsatisfying 3-2. That’s what happens when a sputtering lineup doesn’t leave any margin for error.

Twelve Dodgers batted last week, and all of two hitters had an OPS above .684. Three and a half runs per game have been scored by this offense over the last 20 games.

It’s a long season, and there are peaks and valleys, but the Dodgers are playing mediocre baseball at the moment.

The offense isn’t playing well enough to win right now, at least not at a pace needed to win a competitive National League West. Taking a gander at the depth in the minors, there are no saviors en route to Los Angeles in the immediate future. It’s up to the current lineup (sans Betts for now) to produce.

Batter of the week

Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman were the two Dodgers batters with a good OPS last week, both over 1.000. We’ll go with Turner here in a close call, with one of the separators Turner’s two hits with runners in scoring position, including a two-run home run on Saturday.

The Dodgers as a team had six hits in 44 at-bats (.136) with runners in scoring position last week. In June, they are hitting .174 in those situations.

Pitcher of the week

Tyler Anderson nearly had a no-hitter that started with a hit. But the outfield collision on the first play of the game on Wednesday was soon changed to an error on Cody Bellinger, a play that also proved costly to Betts, who cracked a rib and was placed on the injured list. But after that blip, which included Bellinger recovering to throw out Taylor Ward at second base, Anderson barely allowed anything else. He took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, which began with a strikeout of Mike Trout. Shohei Ohtani broke things up with a triple into the right field corder, which facilitated a long ovation for Anderson, whose 123 pitches were the second-most in an MLB game this season.

Week 11 results

3-2 record
17 runs scored (3.40 per game)
9 runs allowed (1.80 per game)
.762 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

40-25 record
326 runs scored (5.02 per game)
212 runs allowed (3.26 per game)
.687 pythagorean win percentage (45-20)

Miscellany

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Center of attention: The Dodgers on Saturday unveiled a statue of legendary Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax in the center field plaza at Dodger Stadium. It’s the second such structure at the ballpark, next to a sculpture of Jackie Robinson, whose final two seasons with Brooklyn were Koufax’s first two years in the majors. “Sixty-seven years ago, Jackie Robinson became my teammate and friend,” Koufax said Saturday. “At that time, sharing the same space with him was absolutely unimaginable. It’s one of the greatest honors of my life.”

The other league: Last week’s schedule was all against American League teams, giving the Dodgers a 9-4 record in interleague play this season. Dating back to 2017, the Dodgers are 75-38 (.664) against AL teams, trailing only Boston (72-35, .673) for best interleague record in MLB.

The Dodgers’ next interleague series is another battle with the Angels, this one a two-game series in Anaheim on July 15-16, taking both teams into the All-Star break.

Transactions

Monday: Michael Grove was optioned to Triple-A.

Tuesday: Reyes Moronta was recalled from Oklahoma City.

Sunday: Mookie Betts was placed on the injured list with a right rib fracture, and Zach McKinstry was recalled from Triple-A.

Sunday: Andrew Heaney was activated off the injured list, and Reyes Moronta was optioned.

Game results

• Tuesday: Dodgers 2, Angels 0
• Wednesday: Dodgers 4, Angels 1
• Friday: Guardians 2, Dodgers 1 (10 innings)
• Saturday: Dodgers 7, Guardians 1
• Sunday: Guardians 5, Dodgers 3

Previous weekly reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10

Up next

The Dodgers are off Monday, then hit the road to run the Jeff Treadway gauntlet, starting a road trip with series against the Reds and Braves, the latter Freddie Freeman’s heavily-anticipated return to Atlanta.

Joe Davis will be on the call for Saturday’s Fox broadcast of Dodgers-Braves, as well as Saturday, July 2 for Dodgers-Padres in Los Angeles.