It was a near-perfect two week stretch for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who, entering play Monday, have won 10 in a row and 14 of their last 15 games while outscoring their opponents 111-60 during the span.
The Dodgers took five out of six on their road trip through Ohio, then proceeded to win the first seven games of their current homestand, including a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in a key National League West matchup.
While the pitching staff has been superb over the last two weeks, the offense has been on a roll as well, homering in 17 consecutive games and reaching double-digits in runs five times since the beginning of June.
Let’s recap the previous 15 games and evaluate which Dodgers found success and those that struggled during the period.
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Rich Hill: Over the last 15 games, Hill is the only Dodgers pitcher to be tabbed with a loss.
In two starts over the span, the 37-year-old has pitched to an 8.00 ERA, 5.69 FIP and 5.40 xFIP in nine innings. While Hill’s strikeouts are up (12 strikeouts per nine innings), the southpaw has also seen an increase in walks (five walks per nine) and home runs (two per nine).
On the bright side for Hill, hits are falling against him at an unsustainable rate (.400 BABIP) and his left on-base percentage of 67.9 percent will almost certainly regress to the mean as well.
Hyun-Jin Ryu: It was a rough two weeks for Ryu, who posted cumulative a 5.14 ERA and 6.49 FIP in 14 innings (three starts).
While the left-hander’s strikeouts and walks per nine ratios were solid, Ryu especially struggled with home run ball, allowing 3.21 per nine innings.
Like Hill, Ryu battled some tough luck as shown by his .368 BABIP, though he was more successful stranding runners on base (93.8 left on-base percentage).
Chase Utley: After a torrid offensive display in May, Utley cooled down a bit in the middle of June.
The 38-year-old slashed an underwhelming .156/.289/.313 in 38 plate appearances, collecting two doubles and a homer with seven strikeouts and five walks.
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Cody Bellinger: The rookie continues putting up historic numbers at a record-setting pace.
In 64 plate appearances (14 games), Bellinger hit .362/.406/1.207 with six doubles and 11 home runs — leading the club with 1.2 WAR (per FanGraphs) during the span.
The Dodgers’ top prospect became the fastest player in Major League Baseball history to reach 21 home runs and broke Mike Piazza’s franchise record for most multi-home run games as a rookie with six.
Bellinger was named NL Player of the Week for games played June 19-25.
Yasmani Grandal: The switch-hitting catcher rebounded from an early-month slump, batting .295 with an .879 on-base plus slugging in 45 plate appearances during the two-week span.
Joc Pederson: Like many other Dodgers players, Pederson has torn the cover off the ball over the last weeks.
In 53 plate appearances, the 25-year-old slashed .341/.491/.756 with five doubles, four home runs and 12 runs scored.
Yasiel Puig: It was a productive two weeks for Puig, who batted .293/.412/.707 in 51 plate appearances with five home runs — second on the club to Bellinger during the stretch.
With his elite defense in right field and hot hitting as of late, Puig accumulated 0.7 WAR during the period — fourth-best among Dodgers positional players.
Corey Seager: In his last 12 games (50 plate appearances), the shortstop has put up an absurd slash line of .419/.500/.767 with four home runs and three doubles.
Unfortunately for Seager, he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain on Sunday, after exiting Saturday’s contest early, but is optimistic in avoiding a disabled list stint.
Justin Turner: He has been on a tear since returning from the disabled list earlier this month.
In his last 58 plate appearances, Turner has slashed .426/.534/.681 with three doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI.
During the last two-week stretch, Turner has tallied seven multi-hit games, including a four-hit game against his former team, the New York Mets.
Alex Wood: The 26-year-old is making an excellent case for his first All-Star Game selection with each appearance.
In two starts, Wood picked up wins in both contests, improving to a perfect 8-0 record on the year. The lefty put up a 1.29 ERA and 2.99 FIP in 14 innings and struck out 12 batters while walking just two.
With one week remaining in June, Wood leads the NL with a 1.86 ERA (minimum of 60 innings) and his 2.6 WAR (FanGraphs) tops all Dodgers pitchers.
Honorable Mentions
Kiké Hernandez: The versatile utility man continued racking up extra-base hits, clubbing two doubles and three home runs in his last 33 at-bats (.545 slugging percentage).
Kenley Jansen: The Dodgers closer enjoyed another dominant two-week period in which he did not allow a run and struck out 10 batters in 7.1 innings.
Jansen recorded seven saves in the process and knocked in his first career RBI with a double on Sunday.
Clayton Kershaw: The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner posted a 3.72 ERA and 3.25 xFIP over his last three starts, allowing a combined five home runs in 19.1 innings.
Kershaw returned to form, however, in his most recent outing against the Rockies on Saturday, tossing six scoreless and striking out eight batters while issuing just one free pass.
Brandon McCarthy: Prior to Sunday’s sloppy start against the Rockies, McCarthy had pitched to a minuscule 0.79 ERA in his previous 11.1 frames without allowing a home run.
The right-hander’s command was noticeably worse in the outing, yielding three wild pitches in the second inning after not throwing one over his first 12 starts of the season.
McCarthy battled the yips in 2016 but it’s not clear if that’s what ailed him on Sunday.
