Dodgers Week 3: Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy, strong starting pitching

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are going through some things in the early going, including both of their premium free agent acquisitions this winter. Kyle Tucker hasn’t really hit much at all yet, and closer Edwin Díaz struggled and has lost velocity on his fastball to the point that the Dodgers are trying to figure out an issue they insist is not injured-list worthy just yet.

But it’s a testament to the depth that even with the hiccups, the Dodgers keep racking up wins, including winning two series last week, first over the Blue Jays in Toronto in the second-earliest World Series rematch, then against the Rangers at Dodger Stadium.

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Batter of the week

Shohei Ohtani broke another Ichiro Suzuki record (see below) and also upped the power, including leadoff home runs in back-to-back games over the weekend against Texas.

Honorable mention goes to Dalton Rushing, who had a four-hit game with two home runs in Toronto and is off to a terrific start; and to Andy Pages, who’s been the Dodgers’ best hitter for the season to date.

Pitcher of the week

Yoshinobu Yamamoto continues to be rock solid, including a win last week over the Blue Jays with a lone run allowed in six innings, with six strikeouts. He’s pitched four times at Rogers Centre in Toronto, and won all four games. You might remember the first three.

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Emmet Sheehan and Justin Wrobleski also had their best starts this week, supporting a top three in the rotation that has gone exactly six innings every time out so far this season. The starters have set the pitching staff and team up quite well through the first five series of the season.

“Right now, these guys are allowing us to deploy the bullpen in their rightful spots,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Those guys are all pretty fresh, and we’re going to lean on them at some point, but it’s nice to get our feet underneath us with the starting pitching as the season starts.”

Week 3 results

4-2 record
37 runs scored (6.17 per game)
22 runs allowed (3.67 per game)
.721 pythagorean win percentage

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Year to date

11-4 record
91 runs scored (6.07 per game)
56 runs allowed (3.73 per game)
.709 pythagorean win percentage (11-4)

Miscellany

On the climb: Third baseman Max Muncy on Friday night passed Steve Garvey into sixth place on the Dodgers home run list, now with 213 home runs since coming to Los Angeles. That was part of Muncy’s second career three-homer game, which is tied for most in franchise history, and he’s just the second Dodger to end a game of at least three home runs with a walk-off blast, joining Don Demeter in 1959.

On-base machine: Shohei Ohtani broke another record of Ichiro Suzuki, one of his heroes growing up. Friday was Ohtani’s 44th consecutive regular season game reaching base, passing the Hall of Famer for longest MLB streak by a Japanese player. Ohtani’s streak of 46 straight games and counting is the fifth-longest streak in modern Dodgers history, since 1900. “He’s taking walks, he’s getting hits, and he really hasn’t even gotten going yet,” Roberts said Friday.

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Blow out the candles, and the rally: With Díaz on the shelf on Saturday, Alex Vesia was called on to record the last out against the Rangers, and his strikeout both closed out the win and earned a save on the left-hander’s 30th birthday. Vesia is the fifth Dodgers reliever to record a save on his birthday, joining Lerrin LaGrow (1979), Tom Niedenfuer (1986, 1987), Kenley Jansen (2017), and Caleb Ferguson (2018).

Transactions

Saturday: Pitcher Grant Holman’s 10-day stay on the 40-man roster ended when the Tigers claimed off waivers. Holman, who was claimed by the Dodgers from the Diamondbacks on April 1, did not pitch in the minors during his time in the organization.

Game results

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2

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Up next

The Dodgers run the Jay Payton gauntlet this week, hosting the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium (including Jackie Robinson Day on Wednesday, an ESPN-exclusive telecast) before hitting the road to face the Colorado Rockies. The stay at Coors Field extends into Monday, with the first three games of the wraparound series included in Week 4.