Dodgers Stat of the Day: July 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.
July 31: Dodgers 8, D-backs 3 -- Taylor caps torrid July
Chris Taylor went 2-for-5 with an RBI single to finish his impressive July. During the month, he batted .333 (35-for-105) with seven doubles, seven homers, 20 RBIs and 21 runs scored, while hitting safely in 22 of his 26 games played. He was named the National League Player of the Week for the week of July 19-25.
July 30: D-backs 6, Dodgers 5 (10 innings) -- Pujols achieves rare SB feat
With two outs in the eighth inning, Albert Pujols swiped second base for his first steal since joining the Dodgers. He became the first player since Rickey Henderson in 2000 to record a stolen base in both the American League and National League in the same season at age 40 or older. The 41-year-old Pujols also had a steal for the Angels on April 19. In 2000, Henderson had five steals for the Mets and 31 for the Mariners in his age-41 season.
July 29: Giants 5, Dodgers 0 -- Quiet finale in San Francisco
The Dodgers were shut out for the third time this season. Los Angeles has scored three or fewer runs in four of its past five games.
July 28: Dodgers 8, Giants 0 -- Smith's stellar production
Will Smith drove in two runs, giving him a team-leading 16 RBIs since the All-Star break. In fact, Smith's 16 RBIs are tied with Nationals outfielder Juan Soto and Reds first baseman Joey Votto for the most in the Majors in the second half.
July 27: Giants 2, Dodgers 1 -- Pollock's hot streak
AJ Pollock extended his hitting streak to six games with a double in the seventh inning against the Giants. In July, Pollock has six doubles, seven homers and 10 RBIs in 20 games.
July 25: Dodgers 3, Rockies 2 -- Kelly closes out the Rockies
Joe Kelly nabbed his first save of the season by shutting down the Rockies in the 9th inning. The right-hander faced four batters and retired the last three after he gave up a lead-off single. Kelly last recorded a save on July 14, 2019, against the Red Sox.
July 24: Dodgers 1, Rockies 0 -- Taylor's torrid stretch continues
Chris Taylor extended his hitting streak to six games with a single in the first inning and is hitting .333 with four homers and 14 RBIs in July.
July 23: Rockies 9, Dodgers 6 -- Price stretching out
David Price is making strong progress building up as a starter. Price recorded season highs in pitches (74) and innings (5 2/3). He took a no-decision after allowing three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and just one walk.
July 22: Giants 5, Dodgers 3 -- Back-to-back losses
With Kenley Jansen blowing another save, it was the first time since at least 1974 that the Dodgers lost back-to-back games against the Giants when taking a lead into the ninth inning.
July 21: Giants 4, Dodgers 2 -- History in the rivalry
On July 20, the Dodgers completed a ninth-inning comeback to beat the Giants. On July 21, the Giants flipped the script with a ninth-inning comeback of their own. It's the first time in the modern era that the rivals have each had ninth-inning comeback wins against each other in back-to-back games, according to Stats, LLC.
July 20: Dodgers 8, Giants 6 -- Gray's solid debut
Dodgers top pitching prospect Josiah Gray made his Major League debut on Tuesday and struck out seven over four innings. That's the most strikeouts by a Dodgers pitcher making his debut since José De León struck out nine in 2016.
July 19: Giants 7, Dodgers 2 -- Max's dominance against S.F.
With his first-inning blast on Monday, Max Muncy has hit eight homers against the Giants this season. That is now the most by a player against a single team this season. Muncy was previously tied with Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber, who each had seven against the Orioles and Mets, respectively.
July 18: Rockies 6, Dodgers 5 (10 innings) -- Smith's big weekend
Despite the loss, Will Smith's performance at the plate was a big positive for the Dodgers this series. The catcher went 2-for-3 with a homer in the finale and went 5-for-8 with seven RBIs in two games against the Rockies.
July 17: Dodgers 9, Rockies 2 -- Dominance against Colorado
With the victory, the Dodgers have now won eight consecutive games against the Rockies and are 15-4 in the clubs' last 19 meetings. Since the start of 2018, L.A. is 43-15 against Colorado.
July 16: Dodgers 10, Rockies 4 -- Pujols passes Mays
Albert Pujols recorded his 3,284th career hit, passing Willie Mays for No. 11 on the all-time AL/NL hits list. Pujols needs 31 hits to tie Eddie Collins for 10th place.
July 11: Dodgers 7, D-backs 4 -- Pujols ties Mays
Albert Pujols led off the bottom of the ninth by ripping a single up the middle of the field. It marked his 3,283rd hit of his storied career, tying him with Giants legend Willie Mays for 11th on the all-time AL/NL hits list.
July 10: Dodgers 22, D-backs 1 -- Turner's first career slam
Justin Turner has become a respected slugger since joining the Dodgers in 2014, but the veteran third baseman had never hit a grand slam in his 13-year big league career. That changed in the second inning, when he crushed a Caleb Smith fastball to left-center field for his 15th home run of the season, giving Los Angeles a 9-0 lead.
July 9: D-backs 5, Dodgers 2 -- Muncy extends on-base streak
In the third inning, Max Muncy lined a two-out double to center field to extend his on-base streak to 18 games. During that stretch, he has 11 extra-base hits, 12 runs scored and 16 RBIs.
July 8: Dodgers 6, Marlins 1 -- Urías' strong first half
Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías picked up his 11th win of the season on Thursday, tying Esteban Loaiza and Fernando Valenzuela for the second-most by a Mexican-born pitcher before the All-Star break.
July 7: Marlins 9, Dodgers 6 -- Unusual late loss
The Dodgers took a 5-4 lead into the sixth, but weren't able to hold on to it. Los Angeles is now 40-4 when entering the sixth inning with a lead.
July 6: Marlins 2, Dodgers 1 (10 innings) -- Taylor extends streak
Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor went 2-for-5, extending his hitting streak to seven games. During the streak, Taylor is 10-for-26 with six RBIs.
July 5: Marlins 5, Dodgers 4 -- Pujols reaches 6,000 total bases
Albert Pujols singled in the eighth inning to give himself 6,000 total bases in his career, becoming just the fourth player to reach the mark. He joined Henry Aaron (6,856), Stan Musial (6,134) and Willie Mays (6,080)
July 4: Dodgers 5, Nationals 1 -- Season-high winning streak
With the four-game sweep of the Nationals, the Dodgers have now won nine consecutive games. That's the longest winning streak for Los Angeles this season, and the longest since 2017.
July 3: Dodgers 5, Nationals 3 -- Hot streak vs. Nationals
Since the beginning of the 2018 season, the Dodgers are now 15-4 against the Nationals in the regular season. The .789 winning percentage is the second highest for the Dodgers against one team during that span, behind the Pirates (.933).
July 2: Dodgers 10, Nationals 5 -- Offensive eruptions
A team has scored eight or more runs in an inning 16 times this season. The Dodgers are responsible for five of those after Friday’s outburst. No other team has more than two such innings.
July 1: Dodgers 6, Nationals 2 (5 innings) -- Bickford turns heads
Phil Bickford faced -- and retired -- just one batter, but the right-hander continued his impressive run on the mound. Bickford hasn't allowed a run in his last seven appearances, striking out 13 over nine innings.