Cody Snavely
Happy Monday! The Los Angeles Dodgers are recovering from their first “slump” of the year after an abysmal homestand which saw them lose all three of their series to the Padres, Nationals, and Mets.
However, despite the losses, the Dodgers remain atop the NL West with a record of 13-11, one game above the San Diego Padres.
So, in this latest edition of Dodgers Notes, catch up on all the news and storylines on this Dodgers off day as they head on their nine-game road trip.
Week recap (4/15/24-4/21/24)
Nationals Recap: The Dodgers were looking to get back on track after a series loss to their NL West “rivals” but were immobilized by the young Washington Nationals, who demolished Tyler Glasnow in game one, dropping six runs as the Dodgers offense went quiet. Game two was a different story as Mookie Betts took matters in his own hands going 5-for-5 in a dominant 6-2 win. However, the Dodgers in the rubber match went silent as they were shut out for the first time since July 30th 2023.
- Game One: 6-3 L
- Game Two: 6-2 W
- Game Three: 2-0 L
Mets Recap: The Dodger’s woes of hitting with RISP and the inconsistent bullpen came back to bite them against a red-hot Mets team who entered the season winless in their first five games but went 10-3 over their last thirteen games. The Dodgers would drop the first two games of this series, pushing them close to .500, but Tyler Glasnow would put on a performance and avoid the sweep, going eight innings with ten strikeouts. The Dodgers offense would explode for ten runs on the day as they head East for their nine-game road trip.
- Game One: 9-4 L
- Game Two: 6-4 L
- Game Three: 10-0 W
Dodgers farm system making impact early
The Dodgers have made quite the roster moves over the past three weeks, with numerous call-ups from the minor league levels. However, the two biggest debuts this week were Andy Pages and Landon Knack, who each made their debuts against the Nationals.
The Dodgers also got help in the bullpen from several arms, such as Kyle Hurt, Nick Ramirez, Eduardo Salazar, and Ricky Vanasco.
However, the two biggest impactors would have to be Andy Pages and Landon Knack, who each helped the Dodgers during their struggles last week. Andy Pages, who was recalled from Triple-A OKC, went 1-for-4 in his debut before struggling the next few games. However, in the finale against the Mets, the young right-handed outfielder hit his first home run, going 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Landon Knack debuted in the finale against the Nationals and looked great, minus a bumpy first inning that saw him allow two runs. For the rest of his outing, Knack gave up only one more hit and left the game after five very respectable innings. His line on his first big league start on 75 pitches was 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
With Walker Buehler still one start behind in his rehab and still showing signs of command issues, Dave Roberts said it is expected Knack will get another turn in the rotation, facing those same Nationals this week in D.C.
Ohtani continues to make history
While the Dodgers as a whole struggled last week, Ohtani did not. Over his past seven games, he is batting .440 with 11 hits, a home run, 3 RBIs, and 6 runs scored.
However, Ohtani made more history by hitting a massive 430-ft. homerun that not only gave the Dodgers a 2-0 early lead but also passed Hideki Matsui as the all-time leader for home runs hit by a Japanese-born player.
Ohtani tied the record at 175 earlier, but his blast in the finale against the Mets was the 173rd of his legendary career. Ohtani looks to keep the good vibes going hoping to extend his great hitting on the road.
Two glaring issues the Dodgers need to address
Perhaps the Dodgers’ two biggest issues this season are the alarming number of strikeouts (122) and the number of innings the bullpen is throwing (102 1/3).
The Dodgers have struck out 122 times as a team, second in Major League Baseball, three behind the Boston Red Sox. Beyond the top four spots in the lineup, the Dodgers have struck out 30.7 percent of the time, the most frequent in baseball within that split.
The line-up, which already feels top-heavy after Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith, the bottom of the order, is a problem with hitters such as Max Muncy and James Outman striking out far too often.
The Dodgers hope to get some consistency at the bottom of the lineup with recently recalled Andy Pages, but putting that much dependability on a rookie with less than 30 career Triple-A at-bats is risky. Then again, it wouldn’t be the first time the Dodgers have thrown in a rookie in that situation, such as Corey Seager in 2015 and Cody Bellinger in 2017.
The second biggest issue is the number of innings that the Dodgers bullpen has thrown this season, which leads all of Major League Baseball at 102 1/3 innings.
The Dodgers simply are not getting enough innings from their starters, and when you have to run a six-man rotation with a bullpen game thrown in to accommodate Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s one-start-a-week policy, it can cause problems with durability and performance.
Thankfully Tyler Glasnow has been the silver lining in the rotation averaging 6.2 innings per start but compared to the rest of the rotation which is only making 4.4 innings per start with a 4.40 ERA.
This, in turn, created inflated numbers as the bullpen is taking the brunt of the innings on the season, and that cannot go on for a full 162-game season.
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