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Dodgers’ Early Season Statistics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By Jack Trent Dorfman

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 05: Corey Seager #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers steals second base before Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Houston Astros can make the tag in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on August 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 05: Corey Seager #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers steals second base before Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Houston Astros can make the tag in the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on August 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 02: Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates with A.J. Pollock #11 after hitting a grand slam against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at Dodger Stadium on April 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /

The Dodgers are scoring runs and a lot of them. The team has scored 89 runs to this point in the year, good for the most in the National League and the second most in baseball behind the Seattle Mariners (110 runs) and are a top three team in terms of batting average (.281).

Much of their staggering run total has come via the home run. The Dodgers are third in baseball in home runs as of April 11, after finishing second in all of baseball last season.

They’re not just a home run hitting team though. The team is top five in doubles and home runs in all of baseball, and sixth in the league in singles making them one of the league’s most prolific and balanced offenses.

Even with the team’s home run heavy reputation (which is at least partially derived from their Opening Day barrage), the Dodgers really are capable of hitting singles and doubles, and thus are capable of big innings that don’t rely on the three-run home run.

On top of their hot bats, the team leads all of baseball in walks with 68 while ranking in the top ten teams in the league strikeouts with just 97. Last season, the Dodgers led the league in walks but struck out the eighth-most across the league.

Hitting singles and doubles and walking puts additional pressure on pitchers, forcing starters into the stretch and forcing relievers out of the game after a walk or a pair of baserunners. If they can continue to break free from the three true outcomes style of play they exhibited last season, the Dodgers could challenge the best offenses in the American League, namely the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox teams that have beaten the Dodgers these past two seasons.

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