The month of August was a mixed bag for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as the club finished the first half with a 6-8 showing, mired by a five-game losing streak in the process.
The Dodgers saw a major improvement in the latter half of August, however, as they posted a solid 8-5 record to conclude the month, which included a stretch of six wins over their last seven games.
Los Angeles now enters September in the midst of a tightly-contested National League West race, trailing the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks by only one game in the standings.
Let’s look back at the final two weeks of August and evaluate the state of the Dodgers’ roster, including those who are on the up and the others that are looking for a bounce back.
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Brian Dozier: Dating back to Aug. 18, Dozier is hitting a weak .217/.308/.326 with two doubles, one home run and three RBI in 52 plate appearances (12 games).
In that span, he’s struck out 11 times while drawing six walks, and additionally grounded into two double plays.
Yasmani Grandal: It’s been a rough two-week stretch for Grandal as well, as evidenced by his .133/.316/.233 slash line in 38 trips to the plate (11 games).
The switch-hitter accumulated one extra-base hit — a solo home run — during the span while leading the Dodgers in strikeouts (14) and walks (eight).
Kenley Jansen: Jansen hasn’t looked quite himself since returning from the disabled list nearly two weeks ago, posting a 12.60 ERA over his last five appearances. In that span, he’s allowed 11 hits (four home runs) and seven runs in five innings pitched.
The 30-year-old looked solid in Friday’s contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks, however, when he tossed a scoreless frame en route to his 33rd save of the season.
Joc Pederson: The second half of August was a struggle for Pederson, who batted .192/.276/.308 in 29 plate appearances (10 games).
Pederson only struck out five times during the stretch but sacrificed some power in doing so, as he only recorded one extra-base hit — a home run.
Yasiel Puig: The final two weeks of August weren’t kind to Puig, as he hit a mere .206/.250/.265 over 36 plate appearances.
Puig tallied seven hits and one triple, striking out 10 times while only reaching base once via walk.
Chris Taylor: Taylor has slumped as of late, hitting a meager .184/.279/.342 in his previous 43 trips to the plate. He tied for the club lead in strikeouts (14), drawing only four walks while racking up four extra-base hits.
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Cody Bellinger: Bellinger has been on a tear over the last two weeks of play, hitting .289/.313/.533 with three doubles, one triple, two home runs and eight RBI in 48 plate appearances.
Walker Buehler: The rookie is in the midst of a dominant stretch, yielding only 11 baserunners and two runs in his last 11 innings pitched — good for a minuscule 1.64 ERA and 1.00 WHIP (two starts).
Buehler didn’t allow a home run during the stretch, accumulating 13 strikeouts against only four walks.
Kiké Hernandez: Hernandez has received more playing time as of late with his newfound success against right-handed pitching, to which he is taking full advantage of.
Over the last 10 games, Hernandez is slashing .423/.500/.769 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI across 33 trips to the plate. In that span, he’s cut back on strikeouts while drawing the same amount of walks (five).
Clayton Kershaw: Kershaw, too, has excelled over the last two weeks of play, going 1-0 with a paltry 1.80 ERA and 0.80 WHIP across 15 innings of work.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner led the Dodgers with 0.6 FanGraphs’ WAR during the span, striking out 16 batters while only issuing one free pass.
Manny Machado: Machado has torn the cover off the ball since the middle of August, batting .255/.316/.549 over his last 57 plate appearances.
He leads the Dodgers in home runs (five) during the stretch while additionally ranking second in RBI (13) and runs (eight).
Max Muncy: Though he’s been relegated to more pinch-hit opportunities as of late, Muncy is nevertheless sporting an excellent slash line of .286/.444/.714 over his last 27 opportunities (10 games).
He’s hit three doubles and three home runs dating back to Aug. 8, driving in five RBI while reaching base a total of 12 times.
Justin Turner: Turner finished the month of August with one of the best batting lines in all of baseball at .396/.500/.750 across 58 trips to the plate (12 games).
Turner led the Dodgers in virtually every category, including hits (19), doubles (five), runs (10) and RBI (16).
Alex Wood: Dating back to the middle of August, Wood has posted a 1-0 record, 2.45 ERA, 3.79 FIP and 1.36 WHIP over his last 11 innings pitched (two starts).
Honorable Mentions
Rich Hill: In his last three outings, Hill owns a 3.71 ERA, 3.39 FIP and 1.06 WHIP with a team-high 23 strikeouts and six walks over 17 frames.
Hyun-Jin Ryu: Ryu, too, has three starts under his belt since Aug. 18, to which he has posted a solid 3.24 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 17 punch outs in 16.2 innings of work.
