Dodgers Dugout: Breaking down the amazing 29-4 run

Assistant Sports Editor

July 18, 2017 8 AM PT

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and it doesn’t seem the Home Run Derby has hurt Cody Bellinger too much.

The amazing race

After completing a three-game sweep of Miami over the weekend, the Dodgers have won 29 of their last 33 games, an amazing stretch that has lifted them from 35-25 and two games back in the NL West to 64-29 and 10 1/2 games ahead. They have the best record in baseball and are on pace to win 111 games. The record for most wins in a season is 116, by the 1906 Chicago Cubs and the 2001 Seattle Mariners.

What can you say about a streak like this? Is it just a fluke? Are the Dodgers actually this good? Well, it’s probably something in between. The Dodgers are the best team in baseball right now. Unfortunately, it is mid-July and the playoffs don’t start until October. So a lot can happen. But instead of worrying about what could happen, let’s just enjoy this ride for as long as it lasts.

Here’s a look at some key numbers during this 29-4 stretch, which began with a 2-1 win over Washington on June 7.

Record against teams .500 or better: 12-1

Record against teams below .500: 17-3

Only losses in that stretch

June 15 at Cleveland, 12-5. Losing pitcher: Rich Hill

June 26 vs. Angels, 4-0. Losing pitcher: Rich Hill

June 28 at Angels, 3-2. Losing pitcher: Pedro Baez

July 2 at San Diego, 5-3. Losing pitcher: Kenta Maeda

Record vs. teams

Cincinnati, 6-0

New York Mets, 4-0

Colorado, 3-0

Arizona, 3-0

Kansas City, 3-0

Miami, 3-0

Washington, 1-0

Cleveland, 2-1

San Diego, 2-1

Angels, 2-2

vs. National League: 25-1

vs. American League: 4-3

Runs scored: 193

Runs allowed: 102

at home: 18-1

on the road: 11-3

Main players during run

Batters

Justin Turner: .367/.488/.714, 10 homers, 22 RBIs

Corey Seager: .340/.421/.630, 7 homers, 22 RBIs

Austin Barnes, .326/.442/.605, 3 homers, 12 RBIs

Joc Pederson: .315/.438/.684, 7 homers, 15 RBIs.

Cody Bellinger: .289/.379/.727, 14 homers, 30 RBIs. (Bellinger is the only Dodger to play in every game during the run.)

Logan Forsythe, .284/.395/.402, 2 homers, 11 RBIs

Yasiel Puig: .278/.355/.588, 9 homers, 16 RBIs

Yasmani Grandal: .273/.312/.534, 6 homers, 13 RBIs.

Chris Taylor: .264/.326/.446. 14 extra-base hits, 14 RBIs, seven steals.

Chase Utley, .211/.304/.394, 2 homers, 8 RBIs

Enrique Hernandez, .174/.321/.391, 4 homers, 7 RBIs

Starting pitchers

Alex Wood, 5-0, 1.40 ERA, 0.724 WHIP

Clayton Kershaw, 7-0, 2.01 ERA, 0.831 WHIP

Kenta Maeda, 3-1, 2.81 ERA, 1.013 WHIP, 1 save

Rich Hill, 4-2, 3.15 ERA, 1.000 WHIP

Brandon McCarthy, 1-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.320 WHIP

Hyun-jin Ryu, 1-0, 4.58 ERA, 1.577 WHIP

Relievers

Kenley Jansen, 1-0, 0.53 ERA, 0.480 WHIP, 14 saves

Brock Stewart, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.455 WHIP, 1 save, 1 hold

Pedro Baez, 2-1, 2.84 ERA, 1.817 WHIP, 6 holds

Brandon Morrow, 0-0, 3.73 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 2 holds

Sergio Romo, 0-0, 5.06 ERA, 1.501 WHIP

Luis Avilan, 1-0, 5.79 ERA, 1.715 WHIP, 3 holds

Josh Fields, 3-0, 6.24 ERA, 1.387 WHIP, 1 hold

Ross Stripling, 1-0, 9.00 ERA, 2.125 WHIP

Nationals get some help

The two best teams in the National League are the Dodgers and the Washington Nationals, with the Nationals biggest weakness being a horrible bullpen. Well, they just did something about that.

On Sunday, Washington acquired relievers Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle from Oakland for pitchers Blake Treinen and two prospects, pitcher Jesus Luzardo and third baseman Sheldon Neuse.

Doolittle, 30, is a left-hander who has a 3.38 ERA, 3 saves and 31 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings. Left-handers are 0 for 23 against him this season.

Madson, 36, is a right-hander with a 2.06 ERA in 39 1/3 innings this season. Both are former closers with Oakland and should shore up Washington’s bullpen nicely.

Treinen has struggled with Washington this season, while Luzardo and Neuse are good prospects. Luzardo, 19, is coming off Tommy John surgery and is 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA in three starts in rookie ball this season. Neuse, 22, is the Nationals No. 7 prospect and was hitting .291 with nine homers is Class A ball.

Rumor has it that the Dodgers are trying to acquire left-handed reliever Zach Britton from Baltimore, but most teams the Dodgers talk to want Alex Verdugo in return, and the Dodgers would prefer not to part with him or top pitching prospect Walker Buehler.

The Dodgers are also interested in Detroit right fielder J.D. Martinez, who has hit .298/.379/.602 this season. Again though, who to give up to acquire him? With the non-waiver trade deadline looming two weeks from today, keep an eye on this page to keep track of all the latest rumors.

The obscure Dodgers record of the week

Since the end of the dead-ball era around 1919, which Dodgers have allowed the most home runs per nine innings, with a minimum of 500 innings with the team?

1. Ed Roebuck, 1.14

2. Odalis Perez, 1.13

3. Preacher Roe, 1.11

4. Roger Craig, 1.07

5. Jeff Weaver, 1.05

6. Carl Erskine, 1.04

7. Eric Gagne, 1.0233

8. Don Newcombe, 1.0230

9. Hideo Nomo, 1.01

10. Billy Loes, 0.97

The 10 worst L.A. Dodgers:

1. Perez, 1.13