Dodgers Week 12: Road warriors

After losing their best pitcher and best player over the last two weeks, the Dodgers got more terrible injury news last week. They lost their most consistent reliever, Daniel Hudson, for the season to an ACL tear, and saw Andrew Heaney land back on the shelf after just one start back from shoulder issues.

But on the field, Los Angeles moved on. They beat up on the last-place Reds in Cincinnati to get the offense right in a sweep, but then nearly saw that progress go up in smoke with an inconsistent weekend in Atlanta.

A series of late rallies Sunday night against the Braves somehow turned a series loss into a series win, an actual, honest-to-goodness extra-inning win, and a 5-1 week. The Dodgers started the week up by a half-game in the National League West, but ended it with a two-game advantage.

Progress.

Batter of the week

In a reversal of last week’s decision here, I am compelled to pick Freddie Freeman for tops on offense. He hit .440, led the team in on-base percentage, slugging, extra-base hits (tied), and walks. He also drove in 11 runs, ten of which came in the Reds series. In his tear-filled return to Atlanta, Freeman reached base three times and scored twice in Friday’s win, and had two hits and reached base twice in Sunday’s win, including the Dodgers’ first extra-inning extra-base hit all season.

Trea Turner and Will Smith were awesome, and that group hit 1-2-3 all week, which was a big reason the offense got back on track.

Pitcher of the week

Remember the concern about Julio Urías’ fastball earlier this season? It sure looked good on Friday in Atlanta, getting 12 swinging strikes on the pitch, reaching 95.5 mph. Urías struck out nine in six innings to beat the Braves, lowering his ERA on the season to 2.48. His 3.08 xERA is nearly the same as last year (3.10), when he won 20 games.

Week 12 results

5-1 record
38 runs scored (6.33 per game)
20 runs allowed (3.33 per game)
.764 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

45-26 record
364 runs scored (5.13 per game)
232 runs allowed (3.27 per game)
.695 pythagorean win percentage (49-22)

Miscellany

Scoring correction: Tyler Anderson allowed five hits and four runs in a no-decision on Wednesday, but from week to week his seasonal hit total increased by six. That’s because after an appeal by the Angels, Anderson’s seventh-inning errant throw was changed from a two-base error to a single for Jared Walsh plus advancing to second base on the throw. So instead of taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning on June 15, Anderson instead had hit no-hitter stopped in the seventh. The now-hit for Walsh came on Anderson’s 96th pitch, and he stayed in to throw a career-high 123 pitches. But it’s not that cut-and-dry, as Walsh said he wouldn’t have appealed had Anderson not allowed another hit, per Jack Harris and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

Sacrificial: In the fourth inning on Tuesday in Cincinnati, in the Dodgers’ 66th game of the season, Eddy Alvarez bunted Justin Turner over to third base. It was the Dodgers’ first sacrifice bunt this season. Ending the week, only three MLB teams are without a sacrifice (Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco). Following the bunt on Tuesday, Gavin Lux flew out deep enough to score Turner. The Dodgers had two sacrifice flies in that game, then two more the next night. Their six sacrifice flies over a four-game span, through Friday, matched the team’s total over the previous 39 games.

Transactions

Monday: Trayce Thompson was acquired from the Tigers for cash considerations.

Monday: Caleb Ferguson was placed on the 15-day injured list with left forearm tendinits, reducing the active roster to 13 pitchers.

Tuesday: Thompson was added to the roster, and Walker Buehler was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Wednesday: Hanser Alberto was placed on paternity leave, outfielder Stefen Romero was called up from Triple-A, and Edwin Ríos was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Friday: Andrew Heaney was placed back on the injured list after only one start back, and Reyes Moronta was recalled.

Saturday: Mitch White was recalled to start in Atlanta, and Daniel Hudson was placed on the injured list with a season-ending ACL tear.

Saturday: Alberto was activated off paternity leave, and Romero was designated for assignment.

Game results

• Tuesday: Dodgers 8, Reds 2
• Wednesday: Dodgers 8, Reds 4
• Thursday: Dodgers 10, Reds 5
• Friday: Dodgers 4, Braves 1
• Saturday: Braves 5, Dodgers 3
• Sunday: Dodgers 5, Atlanta 3 (11 innings)

Previous weekly reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11

Up next

The Dodgers run the Seth Smith gauntlet, finishing off the road trip in Colorado before returning home for four games against the Padres. The rotation for next weekend is just a guess, but I’d expect changes, possibly on both sides.