Dodgers Week 19: Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts & the new guys

The Dodgers last week took care of business against a couple under-.500 teams, sweeping away the lowly A’s then taking two of the first three against a Padres team struggling to get on track.

Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts led the way on offense, as they are wont to do, but the Dodgers also got big contributions from trade deadline acquisitions Kiké Hernández and Amed Rosario, with the new duo combining to drive in 14 runs.

The only real blemish of the week was a disastrous eighth inning on Saturday in San Diego that prevented a six-game win streak.

The Dodgers will have to settle for being four games up in the National League West instead.

Batter of the week

Freddie Freeman hit literally .500 last week, with 13 hits in 26 at-bats. He had five doubles, reaching 40 on the season faster than any Dodger, and hit two home runs, including a three-run shot on Sunday against Rich Hill at the end of a 10-pitch battle. Freeman even stole three bases, and leads the team in that department, too, with a career-best 16 steals.

Betts was right there with him, scoring 10 runs with a 1,324 OPS, and hit three home runs to give him 30 on the season, the fourth 30-homer season of his career and five shy of his career high, set last year.

Pitcher of the week

Lance Lynn had the worst ERA among Dodgers starters last week, but it was only 2.77. And he was the only Dodgers pitcher to last beyond five innings, doing so twice with a seven-inning win over the A’s at home, followed by six inning Sunday in San Diego to beat the Padres. The Dodgers traded for Lynn to provide volume, and so far he’s given them quantity to go with quality.

Week 19 results

5-1 record
46 runs scored (7.67 per game)
21 runs allowed (3.50 per game)
.808 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

64-46 record
624 runs scored (5.67 per game)
511 runs allowed (4.65 per game)
.590 pythagorean win percentage (65-45)

Miscellany

New additions: The Dodgers traded for Hernández and Rosario ahead of the trade deadline to help against left-handed pitching, and did so at the right time in their schedule. Since Hernández was activated on July 26, the Dodgers have faced a left-handed starter in seven of 10 games, with Rosario active for the last nine games. During that time, the Dodgers as a whole have hit a robust .315/.428/.557 against lefties, and had the most plate appearances against them. For context, the Dodgers faced a left-handed starter seven times in their previous 36 games before this stretch.

Running wild: The Dodgers stole three bases on Friday night in San Diego, then swiped four against the Padres, before stealing three more bases on Sunday. Three games in a row with at least three stolen bases ties a franchise record, dating back to at least 1901. The last time the Dodgers had such a streak was June 25-27, 2008. To put those 10 weekend steals in perspective, it matches the Dodgers total in their previous 28 games, from June 29 to August 3.

Power play: Mookie Betts on Sunday hit his 30th home run of the season, which ranks third in the National League. It’s also his second 30-homer season with the Dodgers, after hitting 35 home runs in 2022. He’s the 12th player to hit multiple 30-homer seasons with the Dodgers.

Transactions

Tuesday: Three recently-designated-for-assignment players were traded elsewhere for cash — Justin Bruihl to the Rockies, Eddys Leonard to the Tigers, and Phil Bickford (plus minor league lefty Adam Kolarek) to the Mets.

Tuesday: The Dodgers did not trade for Tigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez. But they did trade for Royals left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, in exchange for minor leaguers Devin Mann and Derlin Figueroa.

Wednesday: Ryan Pepiot was activated off the 60-day injured list after making four rehab starts in Triple-A. He was on the IL for the first four months of the season, and was simultaneously optioned, remaining with Oklahoma City. Tyson Miller was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Friday: Miller was claimed off waivers by the Mets.

Friday: Yarbrough was activated in San Diego, and Emmet Sheehan was optioned to Triple-A.

Sunday: Michael Grove landed on the IL with lat tightness, and left-hander Bryan Hudson was recalled from Oklahoma City.

Game results

• Tuesday: Dodgers 7, A’s 3
• Wednesday: Dodgers 10, A’s 1
• Thursday: Dodgers 8, A’s 2
• Friday: Dodgers 10, Padres 5
• Saturday: Padres 8, Dodgers 3
• Sunday: Dodgers 8, Padres 2

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18

The week ahead

It’s all divisional games for the first time in a while. The Dodgers run the Henry Blanco gauntlet, finishing up with one game in San Diego, two in Phoenix, then four games back in Los Angeles against the Rockies.

The pitching matchups beyond Tuesday are essentially placeholders. To be decided in the next few days is whether Clayton Kershaw slots in Wednesday in Arizona or Thursday at home, and whether the Dodgers use a six-man rotation to finish out this stretch of 13 game days in a row.