Dodgers Stat of the Day: June 2021
MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Dodgers this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.
June 29: Dodgers 3, Giants 1: Muncy's dominance over Giants
With his solo homer in the third inning on Tuesday, Max Muncy has now hit seven homers in eight starts against the Giants this season. In his career, Muncy has 15 homers against San Francisco, the second most against any opponent (Colorado, 16).
June 28: Dodgers 3, Giants 2 -- Jansen passes Wetteland
With his 19th save of the season, Kenley Jansen recorded his 331st career save, passing John Wetteland for 15th all-time. Jansen is now just 10 saves away from tying Rollie Fingers for 14th all-time.
June 27: Dodgers 7, Cubs 1 -- Kershaw turns back clock
Clayton Kershaw set season highs for himself with 13 strikeouts and eight innings pitched. He last struck out at least 13 batters on July 9, 2017, against the Royals. He hadn’t completed eight innings in a start since August 2018, when he did it twice.
June 26: Dodgers 3, Cubs 2 -- Urías collecting K’s
Julio Urías, who set a new career high for strikeouts with 12 against the Cubs, hit double-digit K's in a start for the fourth time this season. Before 2021, he had never struck out more than nine batters in a game.
June 25: Dodgers 6, Cubs 2 -- Gonsolin's mini-streak
Tony Gonsolin struck out seven and allowed just one run over four innings of work. The right-hander has not allowed more than one run in any of his four starts this season.
June 24: Cubs 4, Dodgers 0 -- Buehler's streak ends
Walker Buehler allowed three runs over six innings and picked up his first loss of the season, ending his unbeaten streak at 23 games. It's the first loss for Buehler since Sept. 21, 2019, against the Rockies.
June 23: Padres 5, Dodgers 3 -- Rare sweep in S.D.
With the loss, the Dodgers were swept in a three-game series at Petco Park for the first time since Sept. 6-8, 2010. The Dodgers have lost seven of their past eight games against the Padres, falling to 3-7 against them this season.
June 22: Padres 3, Dodgers 2 -- Sleeping bats
The Dodgers have one of the most potent lineups in the Majors, but they haven't been able to figure out the Padres' pitching staff. Austin Barnes homered in the ninth to make it a one-run game, but the Dodgers have scored two or fewer runs in six of their nine meetings against the Padres this season. L.A. has just nine runs against San Diego's starting rotation.
June 21: Padres 6, Dodgers 2 -- Mookie powering up
Mookie Betts hasn't hit for much power this season, but the outfielder is starting to get on a nice groove at the plate. With his solo homer in the third inning on Monday, Betts has now hit four homers in his last 10 games.
June 20: Dodgers 9, D-backs 8 -- Dominating a division rival
The Dodgers completed a three-game sweep against the D-backs, continuing their dominance over Arizona. With the sweep, the Dodgers improved to 15-2 against the D-backs over the last two seasons, including seven consecutive wins in 2021.
June 19: Dodgers 9, D-backs 3 -- Smith's power surge
Will Smith went 3-for-4 with a homer. After hitting five home runs in his first 49 games this season, Smith has hit three homers in his last seven. He's improved his OPS to .860.
June 18: Dodgers 3, D-backs 0 -- Taylor providing a spark
Chris Taylor reached base twice via walks and continues to be a force on offense. He leads the team in runs (50) and RBIs (35), and his nine home runs rank third on the team.
June 16: Phillies 2, Dodgers 0 -- Offense goes quiet
The Dodgers' offense has been one of the best in the Majors over the last few seasons, but on Wednesday, Los Angeles was shut out for the first time since Sept. 14, 2019, against the Mets. It snapped a streak of 139 regular-season games without being held scoreless.
June 15: Dodgers 5, Phillies 3 -- Pitcher who rakes
Dodgers starter Julio Urías recorded an RBI double in the fourth inning off Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin. It marked the fifth consecutive start that Urías recorded an RBI hit, tying Don Drysdale for the longest streak by a Dodgers pitcher since RBIs became an official stat in 1920.
June 14: Dodgers 3, Phillies 1 -- Jansen passes Rodney
Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen recorded his 16th save of the season, tossing a perfect ninth inning. With that save, Jansen has now recorded 328 in his career, passing Fernando Rodney for 17th on the all-time list. Jansen needs one more save to tie Francisco Cordero for 16th all-time.
June 13: Dodgers 5, Rangers 3 -- Buehler refuses to lose
Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler improved to 6-0 on the season after he tossed six scoreless frames. He extended his streak without a loss to 22 consecutive regular-season starts. Buehler has not suffered a loss since Sept. 21, 2019, against the Rockies.
June 12: Rangers 12, Dodgers 1 -- Burns, baby, Burns
Dodgers infielder Andy Burns recorded his first Major League hit in the second inning. According to Elias Sports Bureau, at 30 years, 309 days, Burns is the sixth-oldest position player to get his first career hit with the Dodgers since the move to Los Angeles. The oldest player is John Lindsey, who recorded his first hit at 33 years, 225 days.
June 11: Dodgers 12, Rangers 1 -- Kershaw K's four in the fourth
Clayton Kershaw struck out all four batters he faced in the fourth inning. It was the eighth time in Dodgers history that a pitcher recorded four strikeouts in an inning. The last to accomplish the feat was Sergio Santos, who struck out four Rockies hitters on May 16, 2015, the day after Kenley Jansen also accomplished the feat.
June 10: Dodgers 6, Pirates 3 (8 innings) -- Dodgers have Bucs' number
With their 6-3 rain-shortened win on Thursday, the Dodgers have now won 13 consecutive games against the Pirates. It's the longest streak against Pittsburgh since the team moved to Los Angeles and ties the franchise record, set by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952.
June 9: Dodgers 2, Pirates 1 -- Turner owns Anderson
After going 2-for-3 against Pirates left-hander Tyler Anderson, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is now 17-for-34 (.500) with three home runs against the southpaw. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the only batting average higher than Turner's against Anderson in an active batter-pitcher matchup with at least 30 at-bats is Nolan Arenado vs. Hyun Jin Ryu (.516).
June 8: Dodgers 5, Pirates 3 -- All he does is win, win, win
Walker Buehler picked up his fifth win of the season and is now unbeaten in his last 21 starts, tying Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urías for the longest streak since the team moved to Los Angeles. Buehler last took a loss on Sept. 21, 2019, against the Rockies.
June 6: Braves 4, Dodgers 2 -- Pujols chips away at history
Albert Pujols notched two hits in the series finale, moving him past Barry Bonds on the list of most career total bases. Pujols' single in the fourth tied him with the former Giants slugger with 5,976 total bases, and his leadoff homer in the ninth, which was his 671st career home run, put him in sole possession of fourth place with 5,980. Pujols is now looking up at Willie Mays, who ranks third with 6,066 total bases.
June 5: Braves 6, Dodgers 4 -- Ace takes rare loss
After the Braves scored five runs with two outs in the third inning, Clayton Kershaw was tagged for his first career regular-season loss to Atlanta in his 12th career start against the team. He allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings with nine strikeouts and one walk.
June 4: Dodgers 9, Braves 5 -- Big-inning fever
When the Dodgers pushed across eight runs in the fifth inning against the Braves, they became the first team since the 1969 Astros to record an eight-run inning following a game in which they scored 11 runs in a single inning. Los Angeles plated 11 runs in the first inning in Wednesday’s 14-3 win over the Cardinals.
June 2: Dodgers 14, Cardinals 3 -- Record-setting first
The Dodgers scored 11 runs in the first inning. It was their most runs scored in an inning during a regular-season game since the team moved to Los Angeles and the third-most in franchise history. Cody Bellinger capped the frame with his sixth career grand slam, finishing with a franchise-record six RBIs in a single inning.
June 1: Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2 -- One-run losses piling up
Los Angeles is now 7-13 in one-run games this season. The 13 losses in such games are the most in the Majors. The Dodgers are 25-10 in all other contests in 2021.