September 2023, Dodger Game Log: Freeman set Dodger’s single-season record for most doubles. LA wins NL West for 10th time in last 11 seasons.

Volume 19: Issue 1

Dodgers sweep D-Backs, drop 3 of 4 games against the NL best, Braves, at home, 8/28-9/3/23

The Dodgers won the opener vs. the D-Backs, lighting up Cy Young contender Zac Gallen for six runs and a career-high four home runs. Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy got the scoring started early with a pair of homers to put LA up 3 to 0 in the 1st. After Bobby Miller allowed four runs, surrendering the 3-0 lead, the Dodgers offense responded with back-to-back home runs from Jason Heyward and James Outman as LA regained the lead in the 6th. Outman singled in another run in the 7th as LA won, 7-4. -8/28/23

The Dodgers lit up Merrill Kelly early to win the series. LA scored 3 runs on doubles from Peralta and Heyward. Rojas singled in a run in the 2nd, Peralta singled in another, and Taylor doubled in a run on his Bobblehead night in the 3rd. Outman hit a sac fly, and Mookie Betts and Will Smith launched solo home runs in the 6th. Mookie’s solo shot was his 36th homer of the season, setting a career-high for most homers in a season. Clayton Kershaw pitched 5 solid innings and tied Don Drysdale for the most wins in Dodgers history. The Dodgers won, 9-1. -8/29/23

The Dodgers swept the D-Backs with a dominating 7-0 shutout victory. Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward put the Dodgers up 4 with a pair of 2 run homers in the 3rd. In the 4th, doubled in 2 more and drove in another run in the 6th. Ryan Pepiot and Ryan Yarbrough piggybacked and combined for 7 strikeouts allowing 0 runs over the full 9 innings. The Dodgers are now 24 and 4 in August and will take on the NL best, Atlanta Braves for an exciting 4 game series. -8/30/23

The Dodgers fell behind 7-1 early but fought back, turning this game into one of the most exciting games of the season. Mookie Betts cut the lead in half with a 3-run homer in the 5th. After Atlanta capitalized on an error from Muncy to go up 8-4, Michael Busch and Mookie Betts launched solo homers in the 7th. Muncy launched his 32nd homer of the year in the 8th, but it wasn’t enough. LA fell short of the biggest comeback win of the season, losing, 8-7. -8/31/23

The 2nd game was underwhelming, as LA fell behind 6-0 early. The only positive from the night was when Kolten Wong, who was signed to a minor league contract just days ago, launched a 3-run homer in his 1st Dodger at-bat. LA lost the 2nd game, 6-3. -9/1/23

The Dodgers lost their 3rd game in a row, in extra innings. Orlando Arica launched a go-ahead home run in the 10th. The Dodgers went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and dropped the series to the Braves. LA lost the game 4-2, and will look to avoid getting swept in the 4-game series against the Braves. -9/2/23

The Dodgers avoided getting swept in the final game of the series. Bobby Miller pitched one of his best outings of his career, pitching 7 innings with 5 strikeouts, allowing just 1 run. The Dodgers got just enough offense, scoring a total of 3 runs. Rojas got LA on the board in the 5th with a double and Mookie Betts drove him in on a single. James Outman tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single in the 8th and Brusdar Graterol got the save. LA won, 3-1. -9/3/23

LA drops series to Marlins, J.D. returns, Urias fired for domestic violence, Buehler shut down for 2023, win series vs. Nationals during 6-game road trip, 9/5-9/10/23

The Dodgers unfortunately dropped the first game of the series to the Marlins. LA jumped in front early on RBI singles from Rojas and Freeman but Clayton Kershaw surrendered the lead. Chris Taylor briefly tied the game at 3 with a home run but that was all, as LA lost the 1st game, 6-3. -9/5/23

The Dodgers looked like they were in control of this game until Lance Lynn imploded. Jason Heyward put LA on the board with a solo home run and made a leaping catch as well. The Marlins had a 9-run 5th inning, blowing the Dodgers out of the game. James Outman did homer for LA but LA lost 11-4. -9/6/23

The Dodgers got back on track, blowing the Marlins out, 10-0. Ryan Pepiot had the best start of his career, taking a no-hitter into the 7th. Pepiot finished the night with 7 shutout innings, with 3 Ks, allowing just 1 hit. Amed Rosario and Miguel Rojas made some nice plays defensively. LA scored on singles from Smith and Taylor, and double from Hernandez and Freeman. Freeman tied the franchise record for most doubles in a single season with his 52nd of the year. Rosario singled and Taylor doubled in another. Chris Taylor launched a 3 run homer as well. Taylor finished the night going 3 for 5 with a homer and 5 RBIs. -9/7/23

The Dodgers mashed their way to a game 1 victory in Washington DC. J.D. Martinez homered in his 1st at-bat since being activated off the IL to put LA up 2-0 in the 1st. LA fell behind 3-2, before taking the lead on solo shots from Max Muncy and Kike Hernandez. The Nationals took the lead briefly before a 4 run 6th from the Dodgers. Chris Taylor, who has been hit of late, drove in 2 on a double, J.D. had a sac-fly, and Max Muncy hit a 2 run single. Freddie Freeman also set the Dodgers single season record for most doubles in a season with 53, hustling out of the box to turn a single into a 2 bagger. The Dodgers won the 1st game, 8-5. -9/8/23

The Dodgers dropped the 2nd game in extras on a wild pitch. The teams traded runs all night. The Dodgers stormed back from a 3 run deficit on a 2 run homer from Max Muncy and a game tying single from Kolten Wong. Kike Hernandez gave LA the lead in the 10th on a single, but the Dodgers were unable to score the ghost runner in the 11th and the Nationals walked LA off. -9/9/23

The Dodgers won the series finale with a team effort. Jason Heyward put LA up early on a 2 run single in the 1st. James Outman hit his 19th home run of the year in the 2nd and Peralta was hit in the elbow with the bases loaded. Peralta had to exit the game. Rojas singled in a run, Barnes drove in another on a sac-fly, and Kike Hernandez doubled a run in. LA won the final game, 7-3, winning the series 2-1, and finishing the road trip with a 3 and 3 record. -9/10/23

LA drops 2 of 3 at home in short 3-game series against the Padres, 9/11-9/13/23

The Dodgers blew the first game of the series to the Padres. The Dodgers made this game look like it was over early, taking a 7-2 lead in the 3rd. Mookie led the game off with a home run, his 12th of the season, Rojas got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and LA scored 5 in the 3rd. Muncy crushed his 35th homer of the season, 1 shy of his career-high total of 36 back in 2021. Taylor hit a 2-run single, and Betts stretched the lead with a 2-run double. The Padres stormed back and scored 4 runs off Evan Phillips in the 9th to take an 11-7 lead. The Dodgers scored 1 in the 9th but left the bases loaded and dropped the first game, 11-8. -9/11/23

Freddie Freeman led the Dodgers to a blowout win in the 2nd game of the series. Freeman went 4 for 5 on his birthday with a 2-run homer and a double. Will Smith also homered. Lance Lynn had a solid start, pitching 7 innings, allowing just 2 runs with 3 strikeouts. Minor League strikeout percentage leader, Kyle Hurt, made his MLB debut for the Dodgers pitching 2 perfect innings of relief with 3 strikeouts. The Dodgers tied the series at 1 game apiece, and won the game, 11-2. The Magic Number to win the division is down to 5. -9/12/23.

The Dodgers didn’t do much, dropping the final game of the series, 6-1. Ryan Pepiot allowed 4 runs over 6 innings. Blake Snell shut down the Dodgers offense, throwing 6 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts, allowing just the leadoff single to Betts. Kolten Wong homered in the 9th to avoid the shutout but the Dodgers lost the series, 2-1. -9/13/23

Dodgers win the NL West for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons, sweep the Mariners in 3 game series, 9/15-9/17/23

The Dodgers won an entertaining first game of a 3 game set versus the Mariners on Roberto Clemente Day. After falling behind 1-0, Miguel Rojas launched a 2-run homer to put LA in front. LA tacked on 2 more runs in the 6th on a triple from Muncy, his 1st of the season, and a single from J.D. The Mariners rallied for 2 in the bottom of the inning but the Dodgers tacked on some insurance runs to seal the deal. J.D. singled in a run in the 8th, and James Outman launched his 20th homer of the season. Evan Phillips got the save and LA won the game, 6-3. -9/15/23

The Dodgers won the NL West Division for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons with an exciting extra-inning victory. Clayton Kershaw pitched 4 scoreless innings with 4 Ks, followed by Emmet Sheehan’s 3 scoreless innings with 5 Ks. Vesia got in trouble but Ryan Brasier got out of a jam with two big strikeouts on Julio Rodriguez and Teoscar Hernandez. The Dodgers struck first on a sac fly from Kolten Wong but gave up a run in the bottom of the 10th. In the 11th, the Dodgers rallied for 5 runs. LA scored on singles from Muncy, Taylor, and Hernandez. Joe Kelly shut the door in the 11th and the Dodgers won the game, 6-2, the series, and the Division title for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. -9/16/23

The Dodgers gave all of their stars the day off, but it didn’t matter as LA swept the Mariners. Jason Heyward and Austin Barnes homered early. Kolten Wong singled in a run. Jason Heyward drove in another on a single. James Outman launched the 21st home run of the season. LA won, 6-1. -9/17/23

Dodgers host Tigers and Giants for 7 games for final homestand of 2023,  9/18-9/24/23

J.D. Martinez had a big night, leading LA to an 8-3 win over his former team, the Detroit Tigers. Prior to the game, the Dodgers honored Miguel Cabrera, and held a pregame ceremony for the legend, who will retire at the end of the season. J.D. got LA on the board with an opposite-field home run in the 1st to put LA up 1-0. After a 12-pitch AB, Will Smith got a sac-fly to make it a 2-0 game. J.D. broke the game open with a 3-run moonshot in the 3rd to put LA up 5-0. After the lead was cut to 2, KIke drove in a run on a single in the 6th. LA scored 2 more in the 8th on Miguel Rojas’ 5th homer of the season, and an RBI single from J.D. Freddie Freeman also stole his 20th base of the season. Freeman became the first 1st baseman in Dodger history to record a 20 home run, 20 stolen base season. Lance Lynn pitched 5 solid innings with 6 Ks and LA won the 1st game, 8-3. -9/18/23

The Dodgers came back from down 2-0 to walk off the Tigers. After falling behind 2-0, J.D. Martinez cut the lead in half with a solo shot in the 4th. Brusdar Graterol came on the mound and pitched a scoreless inning, but this wasn’t just any ordinary outing. Brusdar’s mother watched him pitch for the 1st time, after 7 years living apart. David Peralta tied the game in the 8th with a double. In the bottom of the 9th, Max Muncy gave the Dodgers their 6th walk-off win of the season, with a walk-off RBI single. LA won the game, 3-2. -9/19/23

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi/Loa Angeles Times