Dodgers: The Long Ball Tells the Story of Success and Failure

In an era where the launch angle is worshipped, the long ball details the success for the Dodgers as they have been the best team in baseball since May 17.

During June, the Dodgers are the best slugging team in baseball since they found success with their launch angle.

Through 22 games, the Dodgers offense has slugged 51 home runs, the most in baseball for the month of June. The New York Yankees are a close second with 40.

With three games left to play for the calendar month, the Dodgers are six home runs away from setting a new record for most home runs hit by a single team in one month.

The long ball equals success for the Dodgers.

In two straight games, against the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers scored nine runs. All nine runs came from solo home runs.

During June, when the lineup hits at least one home run in a game, the Dodgers are 16-2. When the offense doesn’t hit one out of the park, the team is 0-4.

In other words, when the Dodgers hit a home run during a game in June, they have an 89 percent chance of winning.

The home-run-and-wins stat correlates with the Dodgers performance through April and the first half of May.

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When the Dodgers reached their lowest record, 16-26, the team only had 38 home runs. Yasmani Grandal led the club with seven homers.

Since then, the Dodgers have gone 27-10, the best record in baseball during that stretch, while homering 69 times.

The launch angle was blamed for the Dodgers looking more like a tanking team than a World Series team. Strikeouts and flyouts frequented the field more than runs did for the Dodgers, two symptoms of the launch angle philosophy.

But since the treacherous start to the season, the Dodgers lead the majors in slugging with a .509 percentage for the month of June, according to Fangraphs.

The home-run surge has bounced off multiple bats through the lineup.

Joc Pederson sits in second place in the league for home runs in June, with 10. Max Muncy is one spot behind Pederson, with nine home runs for the month. In two months, Enrique Hernandez surpassed his career-high eleven home runs in a season.

Next: Dodgers Quick Hits: Machado, Buehler, Roberts

Averaging two-and-a-half home runs per game and needing six to break the home run record in a month, with three games left to play in June, isn’t a long shot for the Dodgers.h