Absurd feats from the Dodgers' 12-game winning streak

The Boys in Blue were finally brought down on Sunday, but not before redefining dominance on the baseball diamond

With everything the Dodgers have been able to accomplish in the past 12 games, who would have thought their first loss since July 30 would come on a travel day game against a 20-games-under .500 opponent?

Not me.

The juggernaut Dodgers fell prey to an unsuspecting opponent on Sunday in the form of the Kansas City Royals and third-year starting pitcher Brady Singer. The Royals put an end to what is now the second longest winning streak in Los Angeles Dodgers history with a 4-0 shutout win at Kauffman Stadium, but the Boys in Blue still catapulted themselves in both the standings and the stat sheet with their insane display of dominance since July 31.

The Dodgers’ 12-game winning streak began in Colorado on the final day of July. From then until August 13, LA won every game by no less than 2 runs.

In 108 innings, the Dodgers pitching staff sported a 2.25 ERA — allowing just 8 home runs in that stretch.

Julio Urias continued his dominant summer, picking up two more wins to his tally since July 31.

How about this stat: In his two August appearances, Urias yielded ZERO barrels (hits with expected average >.500, slugging >1.500) and just eight hard hits (>95mph).

You would have to go back to July 12 to see the last time that the Dodgers lost a game that Urias started in — even then, the southpaw had 10 Ks and only two ERs in a six-inning outing that the Dodgers were shutout in versus the Giants. The longest tenured Dodgers starter currently active in the rotation is 9-0 since June 18.

In Craig Kimbrel’s five appearances during the win streak, the “closer” managed to complete zero clean innings; allowing five hits, two walks and two earned runs total. Just for kicks, the HardHit% on balls hit off of Kimbrel was 43.8% in that stretch.

The Yang to Kimbrel’s Yin had to be Evan Phillips, who in five innings pitched struck out seven, walked just one, and did not allow a single run during LA’s historic streak. In San Francisco, the right hander evaded not one, but two bases loaded and no-out situations in back-to-back games. In the war of attrition that the Dodgers pitching staff has labored through this (and last) season, Phillips has emerged as one of, if not the most reliable arm in the team’s bullpen.

On offense, LA scored an absurd 87 runs during the 12-game streak for a 7.25 runs-per-game average. As a team, the Dodgers shared a .308 batting average.

Joey Gallo, the “of course, why not?” acquisition at the trade deadline, began his Dodgers tenure going 5-19 (.263) with two home runs, including a three-run opposite-field bomb against the Twins on Wednesday that ended up being the difference in the game. LA’s pet project is still a work in progress, as he struck out in 50% of his ABs over the win streak.

Alas, Max Muncy is showing signs of life and then some. It was a tough sight for Dodgers fans for about four months, wincing at the TV while a former all-star embarrassed himself at the plate. But on the eve of the MLB trade deadline (perhaps a major motivator), Muncy simply lit on fire. In 40 plate appearances between July 31 and August 13, Muncy touted a .400 AVG, 13 RBIs and nine extra base hits — 5 of which were homers.

Muncy’s K-rate during the streak was a respectable 22.5%, a mark that all involved with the Dodgers organization should marvel at.

Finally, even after Sunday’s loss, LA is a whopping 16 games ahead of the second place San Diego Padres in the NL West Division standings. Considering that the Friars will not be getting Fernando Tatis, Jr. back until over 40 games into the 2023 regular season, that lead might very well continue to grow.

Up next is a four game road series against the playoff-peripheral Milwaukee Brewers, where Urias will look to win his tenth decision in a row on Monday.