Dodgers Week 5: Stolen bases, catcher’s interference & a sweep of St. Louis

In a week the Dodgers were without J.D. Martinez but got back Tony Gonsolin, Will Smith, and Max Muncy by the weekend, their performance as a team followed a similar path.

Los Angeles walked the plank against the Pirates, winning only one of three games in Pittsburgh and needing the biggest comeback of the season to do so. But back home at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers swept away the Cardinals to complete their second straight winning week.

“We’re not completely whole, but it does feel good to have the guys we intended on being in the lineup every day, and feel really good about them,” manager Dave Roberts said.

After an uneven performance over the first month, the Dodgers end April tied for first place in the National League West.

Batter of the week

Jason Heyward has hit the ball hard all season, and finally got some results to show for it. He had five hits, including two doubles, and reached base eight times in 16 trips to the plate. Two of those plate appearances didn’t even count against his on-base percentage thanks to catcher’s interference, including his 99.9-mph drive that was caught on the warning track Friday, one of the wilder things I’ve ever seen in a baseball game.

Pitcher of the week

Clayton Kershaw struck out nine with no walks and no runs allowed in seven innings for the second week in a row, ending an incredible opening month to beat the Cardinals on Friday night.

Week 5 results

4-2 record
25 runs scored (4.17 per game)
27 runs allowed (4.50 per game)
.465 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

16-13 record
146 runs scored (5.03 per game)
129 runs allowed (4.45 per game)
.556 pythagorean win percentage (16-13)

Miscellany

Welcome aboard: Michael Busch made his major league debut on Tuesday, starting at designated hitter against the Pirates. He had an RBI single for his first major league hit, and later walked and scored on Chris Taylor’s game-winning home run. Busch had 32 family and friends in attendance at PNC Park, and after the game was asked what he would do with the ball from his first hit.

“My dad asked if he could take it home, so we’ll have to fight over that one,” Busch said with a smile Tuesday night, per SportsNet LA.

For the glove of the game: On Friday’s episode of the Effectively Wild podcast at FanGraphs, hosts Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discussed the rise in catchers interference calls of late, and that was before Heyward’s drive to remember above. After MLB set a record with 62 catchers interference calls in 2021, then broke that with 74 calls last season. Through Sunday, there have already been 29 catchers interference calls this year, on pace for roughly 165. One of them came in the first inning on Tuesday, when Heyward reached on interference by Pirates catcher Austin Hedges, producing this incredible GIF:

Burglaries galore: The running game was at the forefront last week, allowing 16 stolen bases from Tuesday to Friday, the first time in franchise history the Dodgers allowed three steals in four straight games. But LA kept the Cardinals from running in each of the last two games, with even Noah Syndergaard holding runners on Sunday. The Dodgers themselves stole three bases on both Saturday and Sunday, and were nine for nine in steal attempts for the week.

Transactions

Tuesday: Max Muncy and Brusdar Graterol were both placed on the paternity list. Evan Phillips was activated from the paternity list, and Michael Busch was recalled from Oklahoma City.

Friday: Max Muncy and Brusdar Graterol were activated off the paternity list after missing three games. Luke Williams and Justin Bruihl were optioned to Triple-A.

Friday: Will Smith was activated off the injured list after missing 13 games with a concussion. J.D. Martinez was placed on the 10-day injured list with lower back tightness, retroactive to Tuesday.

Game scores

• Tuesday: Dodgers 8, Pirates 7
• Wednesday: Pirates 8, Dodgers 1
• Thursday: Pirates 6, Dodgers 2
• Friday: Dodgers 7, Cardinals 3
• Saturday: Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0
• Sunday: Dodgers 6, Cardinals 3

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

The week ahead

The Dodgers run the Clay Condrey gauntlet, finishing off the homestand with three games against the Phillies before heading to San Diego for a weekend series between two NL West contenders off to underwhelming starts this season.

Wednesday will be Gavin Stone’s major league debut.

How the Dodgers order their starters after the Stone start and Thursday off day remains to be seen. I kept the rotation in order here, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Julio Urías start Sunday in San Diego.