Games 144-146 Thread: Sept 9-11 vs. Cubs

9.9: Walker Buehler vs. Kyle Hendricks
9.10: TBD vs. Shota Imanaga
9.11: TBD vs. Jordan Wicks
all games 7p first pitch

Former Dodger Cody Bellinger returns to Dodger Stadium again, as a revived hitter; he's batting .263 with a .744 OPS (108 OPS+), and would be better than his +1.5 bWAR if not for his injuries this year. Still, some believe Matt Chapman, who recently extended his deal with the Giants, would have been a better fit at Wrigley Field. Chapman has a far superior WAR this season (+6.5), but the Giants aren't vying for a 2024 postseason spot, either.

It's going to be hot as Hades Monday at the Stadium, but I'll be there to cheer on the Dodgers. This is a big start for Walker Buehler tonight, given how our starting rotation is in shambles (save Jack Flaherty, who dominated the Guardians Sunday in a 4-0 victory). Crossing fingers for Buehler!

photo: Michael Layton / Getty Images

Games 141-143 Thread: Sept 6-8 vs. Guardians

Fri 9.6 7p: TBD Landon Knack vs. Matthew Boyd
Sat 9.7 6p: TBD Ryan Brasier vs. Alex Cobb
Sun 9.8 1p: TBD Jack Flaherty vs. Gavin Williams

We know most Dodger fans don't keep up with the American League, let alone the sleepy AL Central--so let's recap this year. The Guardians weren't expected to be very good following the 2023 retirement of manager Terry Francona, yet here they are, leading the AL Central by four games (over Minnesota, who has climbed over the Royals by a half-game), not to mention only a half-game behind the Orioles for the best record in the league. New manager Stephen Vogt has a lot to do with the team's great performance this year, not to mention the on-field production from Stephen Kwan (batting .292) and Jose Ramirez (34 HR).

But the Dodgers haven't lost a series since August 5-7 against the Phillies. And since then, we've faced off against the leaders in the NL Central (Brewers) and the AL East (Orioles), not to mention the Cardinals, Mariners, Rays, and Diamondbacks, and we've done pretty well in that span--increasing our lead in the NL West (5.0 games ahead of the Padres, and 5.5 games ahead of the Diamondbacks).

Sure, we don't have a starting pitcher named by Thursday evening (when I am writing this GT). But I'm hoping the day off following that drubbing by the Angels has given us time to recover for this weekend's series.

UPDATE 9.6 5p: Gavin Stone to the IL. Geez.

On Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Lux, from the ESPN Baseball Tonight Podcast (8/21/24)

I'm a little bit late in transcribing this, but I wanted to codify the audio from a wonderful segment between host Buster Olney and guest Paul Hembekides regarding Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Lux. Unfortunately, I can't get all the text of the Kershaw part due to a hiccup in my feed--but I've gotten the gist of it. I heard this segment while on a run and wanted to get this on the blog for both of our readers.

The Olney / Hembo segment in the podcast started out by praising the Dodgers for giving Justin Turner the microphone when JT came back to the Stadium for the first time (as a visiting player)—which led to a really special moment for the fans and for Turner (Buster Olney agreed). And then came the deep dive into the Dodgers players (link below):

Paul Hembekides: Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to make his next start on Saturday at home against the Rays. It might be a historic day, Buster, and that’s because with seven more strikeouts, Kershaw will own the record by any pitcher at any ballpark, in the history of major league baseball. Right now, that is a record held by Steve Carlton, who struck out 1,615 batters at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Clayton Kershaw to date has struck out 1,609; he is six behind that record. Filling out the rest of the top five are Mickey Lolich at Tiger Stdium; Walter Johnson at Griffith Stadium; and Don Sutton at Dodger Stadium.

Buster, the mound at Dodger Stadium is a sanctuary: for Sutton, for Sandy Koufax, for Clayton Kershaw. Down the line I'll think of [Kershaw] like baseball historians think of Willie Mays traversing center field at the Polo Grounds, or Mel Ott using that short porch there, or Rickey Henderson on the basepaths at the Coliseum, or Ted Williams and Yastrzemski and Jim Rice in the shadow of the Green Monster. It's one of the great sanctuaries in baseball, and CLayton Kershaw, with seven more strikeouts, will have more recorded more strikeouts on that mound than any pitcher, on any mound, in the history of the sport.

[Unfortunately, Kershaw ended up getting only five strikeouts that Dodger Stadium start (8/24/24), and then went on the IL during the 8/30/24 road start after that-—so Kershaw is still chasing the record.]

Buster Olney: A guy playing behind [Kershaw] when he makes that start will be Gavin Lux at second base. Look, Karl and I talked about it last week, based on our conversation with Dave Roberts beginning of the year, 100% chance Mookie is gonna be our shortstop playing the middle of the infield the rest of the year, they changed that, and I think most of the reason is Gavin Lux.

PH: If you’re a Dodgers fan that gave up on Gavin Lux, I really can’t blame you. He entered this season with an OPS+ of 94 for his career, of course coming off a torn ACL. And the first three months of this season were really ugly. He woke up the morning of July 11 batting .207 with a .542 OPS. He was genuinely one of the worst regulars in all of baseball. In 33 games since--and it’s only 33 games--it’s a.362 / 429 / .657. It’s 1.7 WAR. He has accounted for 32% of his career WAR over the last month: that’s how good he’s been.

I’ve identified three reasons why he’s surging offensively.

• 1) He’s covering the inner half. He’s 18-for-44, 8 XBH, on pitches in the inner half of the zone.
• 2) He’s adjusting better than your starter is. Lux is 22-for-43, batting over .500, when he faces your starter the second and third time through the order.
• 3) He’s winning at bats late. Lux is 15-for-37, that’s a .405 average, in the fifth pitch or later during a plate appearance. For context, the league hits .190 in those situations.

Now is this sustainable? Probably not. But is It encouraging? Absolutely. He has settled in very nicely in to that five hole and has provided the Dodgers lineup the length they desperately need.

BO: You know it’s interesting, he’s always been a guy I’ve enjoyed talking with, connecting with, and I felt like h just needed this burst of success to put him over the top, if I’m making sense. He was a lot of anticipation, a smart guy trying to figure out, and once he does figure it out, then BOOM. You have someone absolutely taking off.

A good comp for me as a pitcher is Charlie Morton—you saw all the parts of a really good player, and to see it all together is pretty cool.

Awesome to see our small-market Dodgers finally getting some coverage in the national press!

Games 139-140 Thread: Sept 3-4 @ Angels

I don't recall this bobblehead driving fans to get in line 10 hours before first pitch. Life was simpler back then.

Tues 9.3: Buehler vs. Detmers
Wed 9.4: Miller vs. Canning
Both games 6.38p first pitch

On August 1, the Dodgers were still playing lackadaisically and had a 4.5-game lead on the Padres and 5.0-game lead on the Diamondbacks--and it was well established that our opponents in the NL West were carrying all the momentum (the Dodgers had a 9.0-game lead on June 20, so it made sense).

But after taking three of four against the Diamondbacks this Labor Day Weekend, the Dodgers are now 5.0 games up on the Padres and 6.0 games up on the Diamondbacks. And our rotation may still be swiss cheese, but at least a healthy offensive lineup is showing more signs of life.

And we have a little respite here against the last-place Angels (who are amazingly 2.5 games behind fourth-place Oakland), before hosting the Guardians and Cubs in a six-game homestand. Let's see if Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller can improve their bids for a postseason roster slot.

UPDATE 9.3 2p: I just heard on the Roggin and Rodney show that the Angels are not planning to do anything for Shohei Ohtani's return to Angel Stadium, for the first time since he left the team after last season. If that's true, that would be incredibly spiteful of Arte Moreno and the organization.

UPDATE 9.4 3p: Apparently, there was a 42-second tribute on the video screen (which seems really paltry, but whatever, Anaheim). And then they did this:

That about sums it up

(via meredith_lynn/IG) pic.twitter.com/3ho7jYIA8T

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 4, 2024

Games 135-138 Thread: Aug 30 - Sept 2 @ Diamondbacks

Not the right sport, or even the right state. But a nice logo nonetheless!

Fri 8.30 6.30p: Kershaw vs. Gallen
Sat 8.31 5p: Stone vs. Kelly
Sun 9.1 1p: TBD vs. Pfaadt
Mon 9.2 1p: Flaherty vs. Rodriguez

The Dodgers are four games ahead of the Diamondbacks going into this series, with the Diamondbacks ripping it up of late. Arizona has scored the most runs of any team in the majors (714), well ahead of the Dodgers' fourth-place run total of 662 (behind the Yankees and Orioles). That said, the Dodgers had a four-game divisional lead on Arizona on August 1...and still have a four-game divisional lead on the Snakes on August 30. So at least we have kept pace.

The Dodgers are 4-5 against the Snakes this year, including 2-1 at Chase Field. This is the last time we'll face the Diamondbacks this year. If we can even come away with a split, I'll be content.

At-Game Recap: The Night Of Inappropriate Jerseys (August 29, 2024)

Last night, SoSG Orel and I were at the game, to watch the Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles in the rubber match, winning the series with a 6-3 victory.

It was an amazing game, even though Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 with a K. Mookie Betts had two hits, a run and an RBI single; new Dodger Tommy Edman (batting cleanup!) went 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly RBI; and Miguel Rojas went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Bobby Miller had a servicable start, even though he gave up a three-run HR to Colton Cowser in the fifth inning, which trimmed the lead at the time to a two-run margin.

But unbelievably, last night we also saw Chris Taylor get his first multi-hit game since June (Taylor also had an RBI and even had a nice defensive play at third). And Austin Barnes also had a multi-hit game, his first in a month, with two RBI on the night.

I don't want to say that seeing both Barnes and Taylor get multi-hit games was as momentous as Shohei Ohtani's 40-40 night. However, it was pretty historic nonetheless. The last time both Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor had a multi-hit game in the same game, it was Friday, May 13, 2022--over two full years ago (a 12-10 loss to the Phillies at home).

It was so long ago, Phil Bickford was pitching for our team then. That's insane.

I am still lamenting the departure of Jason Heyward to make a spot for Taylor, who sports a 56 OPS+ and a -0.9 bWAR this season. But at least Taylor was able to contribute last night. I'm crossing my fingers for more from CT3 down the stretch.

Here's Chris Taylor, following his RBI single, wondering what comes after reaching first base. (Taylor was later forced out at second by Gavin Lux.)

Anyway, the game was a blast and I'm glad the Dodgers notched the game and series victory, punctuated by Evan Phillips' 17th save to secure the win. Here's Phillips' entrance in the top of the ninth:

And, always good to catch up with Orel.

The weird thing about the evening was seeing all the inappropriate jerseys around. I'll reminisce in order.

First, there was the Orioles fan, whom I appreciate for suiting up for this game. Gotta love this O's team with all of their incredible young position players, as well as the fact that the Orioles are still in the thick of the AL West race along with the YankMes.

But given the orange color is going to stand out...can we at least consider a better jersey than this former Oriole?

But wait, it gets worse. Sitting in front of this guy, is another guy who has to remind Dodger fans that Manny Machado also brought his pouty persona to Los Angeles once:

Man, I'm just revolted by this point. I'm going to the bathroom to get rid of the slight bit of vomit that has just come up my esophagus and into my mouth. But on the way to the concourse, I see this guy:

Okay, now I really have to puke.

The Sax Family Got The Shohei / Decoy Bobbleheads

Had to share the photos!

Apparently, a friend opened one of them up and had pulled a special gold one! Big night for Shohei Ohtani, as well, leading off the game with a HR en route to a 6-4 victory.

Games 132-134 Thread: Aug 27-29 vs. Orioles

For some history on the goofy Oriole bird's ebbs and flows, check out this great piece by Todd Radom.

Tue 8.27: Flaherty vs. Irvin
Wed 8.28: Buehler vs. Burnes
Thu 8.29: TBD Miller vs. Povich
All games 7p first pitch

This should be another playoff-caliber series!

The Baltimore Orioles, a worthy opponent, were leading the AL East until recently, when injuries to their starting rotation put them on a mediocre skid (sound familiar?). They're now 1.5 games back of the division-leading Yankees, but in ownership of the first Wild Card spot by three games. And with the O's hurling staff ace Corbin Burnes (12-6, 3.28) on Saturday, against our Walker Buehler who is valiantly (but, to date, unsuccessfully) trying to figure out if he can return to form (1-4, 6.09 ERA; not good)--we will be hard-pressed to get a series victory here.

But it all starts with Jack Flaherty, Tuesday's starter, who is 3-0 with a 3.22 ERA in four starts since joining his hometown Dodgers at the trade deadline.

Thursday's starter is TBD (and I'm planning on going to this game, with SoSG Orel!), right before we head into the lions' den in Arizona for four games over Labor Day Weekend.

Games 129-131 Thread: August 23-25 vs. Rays

Mookie Betts, 2020 WS Game 6.

8.23 7p: Bobby Miller vs. Tyler Alexander
8.24 6p: Clayton Kershaw vs. Taj Bradley
8.25 1p: Gavin Stone vs. Shane Baz

It's a rare off-year for the Rays, the small-market team that always overperforms in the AL East. But they're 10.5 games off the divisional lead, and seven games out of the third wild card slot (needing to vault over Boston as well). Such is the craziness of the expanded playoff structure: there's a lot of teams right in the middle, not yet out of it but probably not in the race.

That said, the Rays did just sweep the Diamondbacks last week. So let's not expect this to be a cakewalk.

The Dodgers' recent 10-3 streak, punctuated by a sweep over the Mariners at home, now has us not only clear of the Diamondbacks and Padres by 4.0 and 4.5 games, but also wielding the best record in all of baseball. No surprise that our recent improved performance is tied to the return of some key players (Mookie Betts, Max Muncy) and the sudden upswings from players named Gavin (Lux and Stone).

But we'll still need to see Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani start to bat with some better consistency.

And then there's that Chris Taylor issue: recently activated at the high cost of DFAing Jason Heyward. I am still shaking my head over that one.

JeyHay: Oh No

The Dodgers designated Jason Heyward for assignment, in order to make room for Chris Taylor. This comes one night after Heyward hit a pinch-hit HR to give the Dodgers the victory over the Mariners:

But worse than that, it replaces a left-handed .208 batter (91 OPS+, 0.8 bWAR) who has had strokes of brilliance this and last year, with a right-handed .167 batter (55 OPS+, -0.9 bWAR) who has been largely disastrous the last two years. Taylor has been screwing around with an ineffective swing for over a season and a half now, and we're activating that guy?

Not to mention, we also have right-handed .210 batter Kiké Hernandez (70 OPS+, 0.4 bWAR) sitting around taking up space on the bench (and on the roster).

And that leaves Kevin Kiermaier as the only other lefty off the bench. And Heyward did pretty well in a reduced role: 6-for-15 with three home runs in 14 games as a non-starter.

I don't know, man. This sucks.

Thank you, Jason. Wish we had DFAd someone else.

Games 126-128 Thread: Aug 19-21 vs. Mariners

That does not look like Jason Momoa. But speaking of superheroes...what about Superman in 2020? He's on the Mariners now!

Mon 8.19: Stone vs. Woo
Tue 8.20: Buehler vs. Miller
Wed 8.21: Flaherty vs. Gilbert
All games 7p

The 2024 Mariners are known not only for their tridents (as well as their lack of tooth decay); they're also known for their solid pitching. But it's their lack of bats which have caused them to lose their grip on first place in the AL West in the last month (to the Cheaters, no less; the Mariners are now four games behind). But back to the arms: they are starting three solid pitchers against us this series (Miller has a 3.29 ERA; the other two starters are sub-3.00).

Meanwhile--and not that we're checking the out-of-town scoreboard all the time, right?--the Diamondbacks are on the road at Miami (early games), and the Padres are hosting the Twins.

Post-Game 125 Thread: A Glimmer of Hope?

DODGERS 2, CARDINALS 1

Things weren't looking good for the Dodgers, coming out of Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Cardinals. Bobby Miller, in his return to the majors since struggling earlier this season, continued to struggle. Freddie Freeman ended the game with a defensive play that jammed his finger, knocking him out of today's season finale.

And yet, the Dodgers came away with a clutch 2-1 victory Sunday, which was neither expected nor easy. Shohei Ohtani broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with his 39th home run, and Miguel Rojas tacked on an RBI single to make it 2-0 LA. And even though Lars Nootbar took Daniel Hudson yard in the eighth--AND the Dodgers' 6-9 hitters (Kevin Kiermaier, Kiké "Black Hole" Hernandez, base stealers' best friend Austin Barnes, and Nick Ahmed) went a combined 0-for-14 with 4 Ks--the Dodgers had just enough to eke out a victory for Clayton Kershaw, who went six scoreless in his best start of the year (4 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks, 70 pitches).

Kudos to Michael Kopech as well for picking up his 11th save of the year with a shutdown ninth, overcoming not only the Cardinals but also Barnes, who made an error with one out, throwing wild of first.

Don't get me started on Barnes (who has had one hit for the entire month of August, now appearing in eight games). I've been advised I need to be more optimistic.

And indeed, there was room for optimism following the Dodgers' victory today, after the Rays beat the Diamondbacks in extras (8-7 final, in 12), and the Rockies held on to beat the Padres 3-2. The Snakes were swept this weekend in Tampa, and the Padres lost two of three in Colorado. That leaves the Dodgers three games on San Diego and four games on Arizona, with 37 games to play.

Games 123-125 Thread: August 16-18 @ Cardinals

Fri 8.16 5.15p: TBD Wrobleski vs. Mikolas
Sat 8.17 4.15p: Glasnow Miller vs. Pallante
Sun 8.18 11.15a: Kershaw vs. S Gray

The dog days had better be over, because dropping two games against the Brewers, giving up an early lead due to just craptacular defensive play and/or lack of offense when it counts and/or bullpen meltdowns...just have to stop.

We've got 40 games left this season, and the Dodgers look like they're on fumes.

I know, we're tied for the most wins in the National League, and we sport the second-best record in the NL as well (the Phillies have one fewer loss). But the problem is that with our series split with the Brewers earlier this week, the Snakes and Padres are now tied for the wild card lead, and only two games behind us (not to mention, mere percentage points behind the Brewers. the NL Central leaders). All that to say: there's a very good likelihood we lose the division race, and fall to a wild-card spot.

St. Louis is reeling, 3-7 in their last 10 and falling into a tie with the Reds for second place in the NL Central, nine games behind Milwaukee. Seems like a perfect time for one of these two teams, the Dodgers or the Cardinals, to snap out of its funk and notch a series victory.

Somehow, I don't think it's going to be us.

UPDATE 8.17 11.26a: With yesterday's news that Tyler Glasnow has been moved to the 15-day IL with elbow tendinitis, Bobby Miller was called up from the minors (like yesterday's starter, Justin Wrobleski) to start today (Saturday). Miller is 1-2 with a 8.07 ERA this year, with a -0.8 WAR across seven appearances and 29.0 IP. (Miller has a 1.2 WAR for his career, with a 12-6 record and 4.58 ERA, but this year has been a challenge.)

Games 119-122 Thread: August 12-15 @ Brewers

Mon 8.12 5p: Kershaw vs. Peralta
Tue 8.13 5p: Stone vs. Rea
Wed 8.14 5p: TBD vs. Montas
Thu 8.15 11a: TBD vs. Myers

A HUGE welcome back to Mookie Betts, who returns to the Dodgers' lineup after getting breaking his hand on an inside pitch on June 16. The Dodgers are 43-29 with Mookie Betts in the lineup this year; without him, they're only 26-20.

(To be fair, according to ESPN: the Dodgers' 26-20 record stands up decently well against other teams who were hot going into mid-June: Orioles (24-25 since then); Guardians (25-25); Phillies (22-26); Yankees (20-26). But it still ain't great.)

And Mookie's return heralds some changes: Betts moves to right field, and will also drop a slot to bat second, behind Shohei Ohtani. Look, we need Betts and his 3.9 WAR (156 OPS+) back in the lineup, anywhere; I'm just hoping that he can still swing the bat effectively, because you never know how one recovers from a hand injury. If anyone can do it, though, it's the super-human Mookie Betts.

Meanwhile, the Brewers were supposed to be in a rebuilding year (losing Corbin Burnes, and then watching Craig Counsell skip town for Chicago)--and yet, here they are, 7.5 games up on the Cardinals to lead their division. And that's with Christian Yelich out with back issues, no less. The Brewers have a 91.0% chance of winning their division, according to FanGraphs today.

And the Dodgers? With only a 3.5-game lead over the surging Padres and stalwart Diamondbacks, we have only a 75.1% chance of winning our division. Sure, we still have the best odds of any team to win the World Series (16.5%; the Yankees are at 14.9% and the Phillies at 11.9%).

But it's crunch time, in August. And the Dodgers have to prove themselves now, with Mookie Betts back in the lineup.

Games 116-118 Thread: August 9-11 vs. Pirates

Fri 8.9 7p: Flaherty vs. Keller
Sat 8.10 6p: Ryan vs. Skenes
Sun 8.11 1p: Glasnow vs. Falter

Well, that last series with the Phillies didn't go very well for the Dodgers, whose meltdown on Wednesday (including a Dave Roberts ejection) capped a series loss and brought the Dodgers to a 1-5 record against the likely 2024 National League Champion. Sure, Roberts was correct in disputing the bullshit interference call at third base. But to be fair, it's also Roberts to blame for pencilling in a lineup batting Kiké Hernandez (.209 BA) in cleanup, Austin Barnes handling catching, and Kevin Kiermaier (.188 BA) in centerfield.

And August doesn't get any easier as the month continues, with the Pirates having wild-card dreams of their own. Saturday starts the 2024 National League All-Star starter Paul Skenes, which should be a doozy. And right after the Sunday game, the Dodgers head out for a seven-day, seven-game road trip to Milwaukee and St. Louis.

I haven't even mentioned the Padres, coming on strong since the break, now only 2.5 games behind the Dodgers in the division. Yep, it's pretty miserable here in Chavez Ravine...except I will say this: I'm really looking forward to the return of Harvard-Westlake phenom Jack Flaherty to the mound tonight. Let's go, Dodgers!

Games 113-115 Thread: Aug 5-7 vs. Phillies

Mon 8.5: Glasnow vs. Nola
Tue 8.6: Kershaw vs. Sanchez
Wed 8.7: Stone vs. Phillips
All games 7p

Like two prizefighters clinching at the end of a heavyweight bout, the Dodgers and Phillies are exhausted rounding into the last third of the season. The Dodgers wrapped up 3-5 road trip--replete with multiple off-days, separating largely west-coast travel--with two wins over the feeble Oakland A's. The Dodgers are 4-6 over their last ten games, watching their division lead on the Padres shrink to 4.5 games.

The Phillies own the best record in the National League and have been coasting all season, but even they have hit the skids: 2-8 over their last ten games, including getting swept by the Yankees at home. That said, the Phillies did sweep the Dodgers at home right before the All-Star Break, outscoring Los Angeles 19-5. Yeesh.

Philly has two of their aces going against...two guys who recently activated from IL stints. And we're excited to hear that Maximus Freeman is out of the hospital and back home, after a scary incident--but no word as to when Freddie Freeman will re-join the Dodgers' lineup. (Take the time you need for family, Freddie!)

Games 111-113 Thread: Aug 2-4 @ A’s

Sorry I didn't post this GT early enough for the first two games (a heartbreaking collapse; and then a 10-0 walloping).

Today's game starts River Ryan. Let's get the series victory, please.

Games 108-110 Thread: July 30-31 @ Padres

Tues 7.30 6.40p: Glasnow vs Waldron
Wed 7.31 5.40p: Kershaw vs Cease

Out of pocket this week; will try to post more later.

Games 105-107 Thread: July 26-28 @ Cheaters

Fri 7.26 5p: Stone vs. Valdez the Cheater
Sat 7.27 4p: Wrobleski vs. Blanco the Cheater
Sun 7.28 11a: TBD vs. Arrighetti the Cheater

The names may change, but the stench of the 2017 World Series remains clad in Astro orange and blue. And with Cheaters Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve helping the 2024 Astros claw back into first place in the AL West (ahead of Seattle by a game, and Texas by 2.5 games), there's little doubt that they will be up to even more illicit and morally corrupt behavior in this series.

Gavin Lux Named NL Player of the "Week"

How is it even possible that, on a roster with many All-Stars, Gavin Lux becomes the NL Player of the Week? Well, for one thing, it's a short week:

The Dodger second baseman went 5-for-9 with two home runs, two doubles and a stolen base with a .556/.556/1.444/2.000 in three games after the All-Star Break. His 13 total bases led the National League during the short week.

Talk about benefitting from small sample size. Lux has a 0.5 WAR this year and is batting .222 with a 72 OPS+, carrying an OPS of .603 (below his mediocre career OPS, .687, which is still only an 89 OPS+).

I know Lux is still recovering from his torn ACL in spring training last year. But I've been incredibly frustrated waiting for the pride of Kenosha Wisconsin to reach mediocrity, let alone the levels we would expect from a middle infielder (not only offensively, but also defensively, where he is hovering at league average this year and below league average for his career).

I watched last night's game (a 3-2 win over the Giants), where Lux went 0-for-3 with 2 Ks. Not excatly inspirational. But the Dodgers broadcasters (I think it was Orel Hershiser in particular) were talking about how Lux may finally be turning a corner at the plate.

We'll see. I'm not hopeful.

And anyway, if you want to count the ACTUAL week in baseball, wouldn't you give the NL Player of the Week trophy to Teoscar Hernandez, the Dodger who won the 2024 Home Run Derby? (Hernandez also singlehandedly lifted the Dodgers to victory last night, accounting for all three RBI.)

So, congratulations, Gavin Lux. Let's see if you can string a hot bat to longer than three games in a row. Please.