The numbers that defined the Dodgers’ April

The Dodgers straddled .500 for nearly the entire month of April, but thanks to a sweep on the final weekend ended the month in a tie for first place in the National League West. It was an uneven and inconsistent month.

Dodgers in April

16-13 record
146 runs scored (5.03 per game, 9th in MLB)
129 runs allowed (4.45 per game, 14th in MLB)
.556 pythagorean win percentage (16-13)

For baseball purposes, April also includes any games in March, which this year included two days on the major league schedule. Here are some notable numbers for the month.

Max Muncy led the majors in the season’s first month in home runs (11), slugging percentage (.663), OPS (1.070), and isolated power (.425). He won National League player of the week for the week of April 17-23.

Clayton Kershaw led the National League in innings pitched (38), WHIP (0.763), and wins (five), the latter tying for the major league lead. It was a month to remember.

James Outman in April led major league rookies in home runs (seven), triples (three), extra-base hits (14), slugging percentage (.615), and OPS (.991). He led National League rookies with 20 RBI, the first Dodgers rookie to drive in 20 runs in a month since Cody Bellinger in September 2017.

Dodgers batters struck out 25.1 percent of the time in April, their highest strikeout rate in franchise history for any month. The previous highest was April 2021 (24.2 percent). Los Angeles had the seventh-highest strikeout rate in the majors.

Among players with at least 70 plate appearances, Chris Taylor has the highest strikeout rate in the majors (41.7 percent).

Dodgers batters ranked 27th in the majors and last in the NL in batting average (.224), but 10th in OPS (.753) and 13th in wRC+ (106).

Muncy led the team with a 180 wRC+. Austin Barnes, with four hits in 43 at-bats, had a -15 wRC+.

The bullpen in April ranked 26th in the majors in ERA (4.76), 16th in FIP (4.09), and 24th in strikeout rate (22.4 percent).

Alex Vesia had a 8.68 ERA in 12 appearances, with his 22 hits allowed more than any two-month stretch in his career.

Yency Almonte had a 8.49 ERA in 13 appearances, and struck out seven of his 57 batters faced (12.3 percent), the latter ranking 333rd among the 343 pitchers who have thrown at least 10 innings in 2023.

Among 76 qualified major league pitchers, Noah Syndergaard’s 15.2-percent strikeout rate ranks 74th. He has a 6.32 ERA through six starts.

The Dodgers hit .171/.280/.342 with a 74 wRC+ against left-handed pitching in April, the latter ranking 28th in the majors. Against right-handers, LA hit .242/.334/.464, fourth in MLB with a 117 wRC+.

Dodgers hitters had the highest walk rate in the majors (11.9 percent), while Dodgers pitchers had the lowest walk rate (6.9 percent). As a team, LA walked 56 more times than they allowed in 29 games.

Four Dodgers went on the paternity list in April, with Mookie Betts, Evan Phillips, Muncy, and Brusdar Graterol all welcoming babies into the world.

The Dodgers in the opening month were 1-1, 2-2, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, and 13-13, before finishing the month 16-13.