For the first time all season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are facing adversity after dropping 10 of their last 13 games, which included being swept for the first time this season.
What’s more, Los Angeles has lost their last three series, another first for them. During the stretch, the club has scored just 33 runs while allowing 50 runs — amounting to an uncharacteristic -17 run differential.
Injuries have plagued the Dodgers, but Cody Bellinger, Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood were all recently activated from the disabled list and should provide much needed reinforcements going forward.
Let’s look back at the previous two weeks and determine what went wrong for the Dodgers and some bright spots during the difficult two weeks.
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Yasmani Grandal: The switch-hitting catcher has struggled at the plate dating back to mid-August, hitting a weak .205/.265/.364 in his last 49 opportunities with three-extra base hits and 14 strikeouts.
Logan Forsythe: It was a relatively poor offensive display from Forsythe over the past two weeks, with the exception of drawing walks.
In 43 trips to the plate, the versatile infielder posted a .125/.349/.250 slash line with one double and one home run to go along with 13 strikeouts.
On the bright side, Forsythe led the team with 11 walks — good for a 25.6 percent walk rate.
Adrian Gonzalez: Unfortunately for Gonzalez, his offensive woes from earlier this season have carried over into the dog days of summer.
In 40 plate appearances, the first baseman is slashing .237/.275/.421 (82 wRC+) with five extra-base hits (one home run). During the period, Gonzalez has struck out six times while drawing just two walks.
Yu Darvish: It was a rough two weeks for Darvish, who hasn’t looked sharp since returning from the 10-day disabled list at the end of August.
In eight innings (two starts), the right-hander pitched to a 9.00 ERA and 5.64 FIP — allowing 6.8 walks and 2.3 home runs per nine innings during the timeframe.
Darvish’s control has been spotty in recent outings as well, so it’s fair to wonder if something is wrong either mechanically or health-wise.
Alex Wood: Over his last two starts (12 innings pitched), Wood has posted a 5.25 ERA and 7.30 FIP with a team-high 3.8 home runs per nine. Interestingly enough, he stranded every runner on base but a third of his fly balls went out of the ballpark.
Hyun-Jin Ryu: The left-hander owns a 6.30 ERA and 7.73 FIP in his last 10 innings pitched, posting higher walks per nine ratio (4.5) than strikeouts per nine (3.6).
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Yasiel Puig: Despite the club’s offensive struggles, Puig picked up where he left off from his excellent showing in August.
In his last 54 plate appearances, Puig hit .302/.434/.628 with four doubles, three home runs and eight walks. The 26-year-old easily led the team in FanGraphs’ WAR (0.8), wRC+ (187) and wOBA (.455).
Justin Turner: After a brief slump, Turner’s offensive production has returned to normal.
Over his last 54 plate appearances, the 32-year-old is batting .277/.370/.468 with six doubles, one home run and a 126 wRC+ while scoring seven runs and driving in six.
Kenley Jansen: While the Dodgers’ starting pitching staff underperformed for the most part, the bullpen’s anchor, Jansen, didn’t disappoint.
The two-time All-Star picked up three saves during the span, tossing five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts to just one walk.
Jansen led the Dodgers in pitching WAR (FanGraphs) with 0.4 and posted a negative FIP (-0.27).
Honorable Mentions
Corey Seager: It was an odd two-week period for Seager, who posted a .323/.323/.323 slash line in 31 plate appearances.
Seager hit for a good average but didn’t tally any walks or extra-base hits — negatively affecting his wRC+ as a result.
He hasn’t started since Aug. 27 because of elbow irritation, but has received some pinch-hit appearances in the meantime and will begin a throwing program on Monday.
Curtis Granderson: The veteran outfielder collected just five hits in 45 at-bats (.111 batting average), but three of those went for home run — good for a .200 ISO.
What’s more, Granderson posted the second-best walk percentage (17.9) on the club among qualified players and drove in a team-high eight runs.
Austin Barnes: It was another successful two-week span for Barnes, who sported a .333 batting average and .391 on-base percentage in 23 plate appearances.
Clayton Kershaw: In his first start since the end of July, the three-time Cy Young Award winner didn’t miss a beat.
In six shutout innings against the Padres, Kershaw allowed just two hits and struck out seven batters — propelling the Dodgers to a 1-0 victory. The club is now 20-2 this season when Kershaw takes the mound.
