Dodgers Dugout: The offense should return the same day Cody Bellinger comes back

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and baseball seems insignificant compared to what is happening in Texas.

Is it time to panic yet?

Cody Bellinger goes on the disabled list and the Dodgers lose their first series since early June. Coincidence?

Bellinger played his last game Aug. 19, and since then the Dodgers have gone 4-4. And it is strengthening the fears of some Dodger fans who think this amazing run they have been on is a mirage and they are just going to lose in the playoffs again.

So let’s try to calm some of those fears.

If you are going to panic because a team went 4-4, you may as well stop following baseball because all teams are going to go 4-4 at some point in the season. But what is the root of this bump in the road?

No Bellinger. When you remove 34 home runs from the lineup and replace it with a guy who still seems to have some back problems, the offense is going to take a hit. The offense is averaging 3.1 runs per game since Bellinger went on the DL. In the 30 games before he got hurt, the offense averaged 5.03 runs per game.

The Dodgers are 78-23 when Bellinger plays, 13-15 when he doesn’t.

Since Bellinger got hurt, Justin Turner is hitting .143 with one extra-base hit and two RBIs. In the 16 games before Bellinger was injured, Turner hit .288 and slugged .644 with six homers and 15 RBIs.

So the offense is down, but there’s every reason to believe it will pick up when Bellinger returns on Wednesday. For one, he will provide Turner with some protection in the lineup. Second, Dave Roberts said that Adrian Gonzalez will go to the bench after Bellinger returns.

I have a lot of respect for Gonzalez. He has been a very good player for a very long time. But it’s beginning to look like he should consider taking the rest of the season off and try for a comeback in 2018. He moves like a 90-year-old man. He is hitting .184/.220/.316 since coming back from the DL. And he complained of “back tightness” on Sunday. These are not good signs. Right now, I would not include him on the playoff roster.

Gonzalez, being the excellent teammate he is, has said he will play whatever role the Dodgers need him to play the rest of this season. Bellinger has said that Gonzalez has been a tremendous help to him, saying: “I think everyone in the locker room would tell you he is one of the better teammates. He has been completely helpful to me.”

The other concern I hear a lot is that the Dodgers really haven’t done well against potential playoff opponents this season. Is this true? Setting aside the ridiculousness of thinking that a team with a 91-38 record hasn’t beaten anyone good, let’s take a look at their record against NL teams that have a reasonable chance at making the postseason.

vs. Arizona, 8-5

vs. Chicago Cubs, 4-2

vs. Colorado, 7-5

vs. Miami, 6-1

vs. Milwaukee, 3-3

vs. St. Louis, 4-3

vs. Washington, 1-2

They are 33-21 against potential playoff teams, a .611 winning percentage, which would be 99-63 over a full season.

So, before anyone panics, let’s get Bellinger back and see what happens. Let’s get Clayton Kershaw back and see what happens. I have no idea if this team will win the World Series.

But I’ll happily take the 2017 Dodgers against any other team and see what happens.

Will the Dodgers get Justin Verlander?

I was listening to the “Mason and Ireland Show” on ESPN710 the other day when the great actor and Dodger fan Bryan Cranston phoned in (self-serving note: If you somehow read this, I’d love to do a Q&A with you for this newsletter). One of the things Cranston mentioned is that the Dodgers should give serious consideration to trading for Detroit’s Justin Verlander. I also get a few emails each week from fans who say the same thing.

There are a couple of reasons that isn’t going to happen.

The Tigers are going to want either Alex Verdugo or Walker Buehler in return, and the Dodgers aren’t going to do that.

Verlander is making $28 million a year through the 2019 season. And the only way the Dodgers are going to give anyone $28 million a year to pitch for them, is if his first name is Clayton and his last name is Kershaw.

What about Joc?

Joc Pederson is hitting .184/.220/.342 in nine games with triple-A Oklahoma City.

The obscure Dodgers record of the week

The Dodgers have a 1.110 team WHIP this season, which would be their lowest since moving to L.A. A look at the top 10 in L.A.:

1. 1965 Dodgers, 1.117

2. 1966 Dodgers, 1.127

3. 1975 Dodgers, 1.132

4. 1972 Dodgers, 1.158

5. 1973 Dodgers, 1.161

6. 1964 Dodgers, 1.177

7. 1968 Dodgers, 1.178

8. 1963 Dodgers, 1.178

9. 2015 Dodgers, 1.184

10. 1974 Dodgers, 1.185

The five worst:

1. 1958 Dodgers, 1.465

2. 1999 Dodgers, 1.398

3. 2006 Dodgers, 1.381

4. 1994 Dodgers, 1.376

5. 1961 Dodgers, 1.371

Next series

Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. PDT, Dodgers (Rich Hill, 9-5, 3.32) at Arizona (Zack Godley, 5-7, 3.15)

Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. PDT, Dodgers (Hyun-jin Ryu, 5-6, 3.34) at Arizona (Robbie Ray, 10-5, 3.06)

Thursday, 12:30 p.m. PDT, Dodgers (Kenta Maeda, 12-5, 3.76) at Arizona (Zack Greinke, 15-6, 3.14)

Note: Pitchers are subject to change.

Magic numbers

The Dodgers are on pace to finish with a 114-48 record.

Their magic number to clinch another NL West title is 14.

Reminder

For those of you living in the L.A. area, five Dodger games will be on KTLA-TV Channel 5 the rest of the season. All of them will be on a Tuesday. They are:

Tonight, 6:30 p.m. at Arizona

Sept. 5, 7 p.m. vs. Arizona

Sept. 12, 7:15 p.m. at San Francisco

Sept. 19, 4 p.m. at Philadelphia

Sept. 26, 7 p.m. vs. San Diego

And finally

Vin Scully isn’t planning a return to the Dodgers broadcast booth. Read all about it here.

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter:@latimeshouston

Houston.mitchell@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimeshouston