Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. The Dodgers play the Diamondbacks for the final four times in the regular season with an unusual Friday-Monday series (thank you, Labor Day.)

There are three teams that have a legitimate shot to win the NL West: the Dodgers, Arizona and San Diego. No matter who wins the division, barring an unbelievable collapse, all three teams will make the postseason. The Dodgers have four games with Arizona, and next month they have three with the Padres and that’s it against their two main competitors.

Let’s take a look at the standings:

Dodgers, 80-54
Arizona, 76-58, 4 GB
San Diego, 76-60, 5 GB
San Francisco, 67-68, 13.5 GB
Colorado, so far behind we lost sight of them a while back.

The Dodgers started the season hot and then cooled off before playing well again. Arizona started the season poorly before becoming one of the best teams in baseball the last six weeks. So, everything has evened out. Let’s look at how they fare head-to-head (through Wednesday).

Offense

Runs per game
Arizona, 5.35 (1st in MLB)
Dodgers, 4.93 (4th)

Run differential
Dodgers, +117 (3rd)
Arizona, +89 (6th)

Batting average
Arizona, .261 (2nd)
Dodgers, .251 (9th)

On-base %
Arizona, .334 (2nd)
Dodgers, .328 (4th)

Slugging %
Arizona, .4341 (4th)
Dodgers, .4339 (5th)

Doubles
Dodgers, 241 (4th)
Arizona, 224 (T11th)

Triples
Arizona, 33 (2nd)
Dodgers, 21 (T10th)

Home runs
Dodgers, 181 (3rd)
Arizona, 165 (8th)

Stolen bases
Dodgers, 96 (14th)
Arizona, 92 (15th)

Walks
Dodgers, 487 (3rd)
Arizona, 460 (4th)

Strikeouts
Dodgers, 1,115 (17th most)
Arizona, 1,031 (24th)

Sacrifice bunts
Arizona, 26 (1st)
Dodgers, 9 (T20th)

Batting with runners in scoring position
Arizona, .282 (2nd)
Dodgers, .255 (14th)

with two out and runners in scoring position
Arizona, .262 (2nd)
Dodgers, .241 (11th)

Batting average from first two spots in lineup
Dodgers, .290 (1st)
Arizona, .270 (6th)

From spots 3-6
Arizona, .265 (4th)
Dodgers, .250 (13th)

From 7-9
Arizona, .247 (5th)
Dodgers, .223 (21st)

Pitching

ERA
Dodgers, 3.72 (5th)
Arizona, 4.44 (26th)

WHIP
Dodgers, 1.206 (4th)
Arizona, 1.332 (26th)

Hits per 9 IP
Dodgers, 7.83 (3rd)
Arizona, 9.02 (28th)

BB per 9 IP
Arizona, 2.97 (12th)
Dodgers, 3.03 (15th)

K’s per 9 IP
Dodgers, 8.63 (14th)
Arizona, 7.75 (29th)

Home runs allowed
Dodgers, 162 (T7th most)
Arizona, 136 (25th)

Rotation ERA
Dodgers, 3.91 (10th)
Arizona, 4.77 (27th)

Bullpen ERA
Dodgers, 3.52 (4th)
Arizona, 4.02 (16th)

Saves
Dodgers, 43 (T3rd)
Arizona, 34 (T10th)

Blown saves
Dodgers, 26 (T3rd)
Arizona, 23 (T6th)

Save %
Dodgers, 62.3% (17th)
Arizona, 59.6% (23rd)

Inherited runners who score %
Dodgers, 32.1% (44 of 137, 12th)
Arizona, 41.4% (70 of 169, 29th)

Record before All-Star break
Dodgers, 56-41, .577
Arizona, 49-48, .505

Record after All-Star break
Arizona, 27-10, .730
Dodgers, 24-13, .649

Home record
Dodgers, 45-24, .652
Arizona, 38-28, .576

Road record
Arizona, 38-30, .559
Dodgers, 35-30, .538

Extra innings record
Dodgers, 8-7, .533
Arizona, 4-8, .333

One-run games record
Arizona, 24-15, .615
Dodgers, 17-17, .500

So, despite all the injuries to the Dodgers’ pitching staff, they have performed much better than Arizona, especially in the bullpen. Arizona’s entire batting lineup overall has hit better than the Dodgers, but the Dodgers first three hitters are better. They are pretty evenly matched. We could be seeing a postseason preview over the next four days. The Dodgers could come out of it with a commanding lead over Arizona, tied with by a game, or something in between.

This is supposed to be the fun part of the season, folks. Two teams trying for a prime postseason spot, going head to head. Don’t forget to enjoy it.

Bobblehead mania

Wednesday was Shohei Ohtani (and his dog) bobblehead night at the stadium. Social media was filled with posts showing fans in line as early as 7 a.m. for a 7 p.m. game so they could get their bobblehead. The first 40,000 ticket holders get a bobblehead. Of course, the game was sold out, which meant there would be at least 53,000 people trying to get a bobblehead. That leaves around 13,000 people disappointed.

Bill Shaikin wrote a nice story about bobblehead promotions that you can read here. A key passage:

—For one, Dodgers president Stan Kasten said, the corporate sponsors that cover the cost of most giveaways may not have the budget for 53,000 promotional items.

—“And, when you get there early, you have the opportunity to do other kinds of shopping, whether it’s food or merchandise,” Kasten said. “It also helps with traffic and things like that.”

—“We try to make all our fans happy. Most fans, when there is a limit and they come late, I think they understand.”

Well, not to burst your bubble Stan, but not all the fans understand. I get several emails every season similar to below:

“Just wanted to say how disappointed I was with the Dodgers. I got off work at 5, grabbed my kids from day care and we rushed to Dodger Stadium. They were so looking forward to getting the bobblehead. We got there as fast as possible with all the traffic only to be told they were out. Two very disappointed kids.”

To be fair, most teams limit their promotional giveaways, it’s not just the Dodgers. But, this is a Dodgers newsletter.

Seems to me, the Dodgers could afford to cover the cost between what the sponsor pays for 40,000 bobbleheads, and what it would cost for 60,000 bobbleheads. Yes, you would have some left over. But every kid who went to the stadium that night would be happy. And you could take the left over bobbleheads and sell them in the souvenir shop, recouping some of your cost. Better yet, you could give some bobbleheads out when Dodgers visit schools or hospitals. The kids there would love it.

Because some people buy tickets to bobblehead night just to get the bobblehead so they can sell it online for a tremendous profit. Even before Wednesday’s game started, you could buy that night’s bobblehead on Ebay for prices ranging from $200 to $1,000. I have witnessed people in line with eight tickets, use all eight tickets to get eight bobbleheads, then immediately leave the stadium, not even staying for the game. It seems likely that some of those people in line at 7 a.m. didn’t care at all about the Dodgers, they just wanted to make some money. Meanwhile, the 9-year-old kid in school, counting down the hours until the game, gets there and gets nothing.

I’m not sure why that’s allowed, and why it’s passed off as “I think they understand.”

Dogs are great

To repeat, dogs are great. I have long believed every child should be assigned a dog at 5 years old and that dog becomes their companion the rest of their life. I still miss my first dog, Lucky, a German shepherd my parents got me when I was 5. He died when I was 18. When you come home, especially as a teenager, from a terrible day, you can count on your dog to love you.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that the first pitch Wednesday night, where Ohtani’s dog, Decoy, grabbed the ball from the mound and ran it to Ohtani at home plate was one of the greatest things in the history of mankind or dogkind. OK, perhaps I’m getting a little carried away. But it was a reminder of what I tell our more pessimistic readers all the time. Following your favorite baseball team is supposed to be fun. It’s not supposed to make you angry every time they lose. So, in the spirit of that, here’s 90 seconds of joy.

To watch the first pitch, go here.

Jason Heyward update

Jason Heyward has agreed to a deal with the Houston Astros. I can just see it now… “Here we are in the ninth inning of Game 7 of a great World Series, the Dodgers clinging to a 4-3 lead, one man on, two out. And the Astros are sending up Jason Heyward to pinch hit. There’s a drive… (hey, was that a trash can I heard?)”

The last two weeks

How the Dodgers hitters and pitchers have fared the last two weeks (through Wednesday):

Hunter Feduccia, 1 for 2, 1 walk, 1 K
Jason Heyward, 2 for 5, 1 homer, 4 RBIs
Miguel Rojas, .393/.400/.536, 28 at-bats, 1 double, 1 homer, 5 RBIs, 1 walk, 1 K
Shohei Ohtani, .300/.352/.640, 50 at-bats, 1 triple, 5 homers, 9 RBIs, 3 walks, 11 K’s
Gavin Lux, .263/.333/.553, 38 at-bats, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 4 RBIs, 4 walks, 10 K’s
Kevin Kiermaier, .263/.263/.526, 19 at-bats, 1 triple, 1 homer, 4 RBIs, 7 K’s
Kiké Hernández, .259/.286/.519, 27 at-bats, 1 double, 2 homers, 5 RBIs, 1 walk, 4 K’s
Mookie Betts, .227/.300/.455, 44 at-bats, 4 doubles, 2 homers, 9 RBIs, 5 walks, 6 K’s
Max Muncy, .217/.357/.609, 23 at-bats, 3 doubles, 2 homers, 6 RBIs, 4 walks, 8 K’s
Tommy Edman, .207/.233/.310, 29 at-bats, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 walk, 6 K’s
Freddie Freeman, .200/.243/.257, 35 at-bats, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, 11 K’s
Teoscar Hernández, .195/.250/.342, 41 at-bats, 2 homers, 7 RBIs, 3 walks, 14 K’s
Will Smith, .152/.256/.182, 33 at-bats, 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 9 K’s
Andy Pages, 1 for 7, 1 double, 1 RBI
Austin Barnes, 0 for 4, 1 walk, 1 K
Chris Taylor, 0 for 6, 1 walk, 1 K
Nick Ahmed, 0 for 4, 1 K
Team, .235/.294/.435, 16 doubles, 3 triples, 19 homers, 29 walks, 91 K’s, 4.83 runs per games

Pitching

Ryan Brasier, 0.00 ERA, 6.1 IP, 2 hits, 3 K’s
Anthony Banda, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 save, 5.1 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 7 K’s
Gavin Stone, 1-0, 0.64 ERA, 14 IP, 5 hits, 4 walks, 17 K’s
Michael Kopech, 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 3 saves, 7 IP, 2 hits, 2 walks, 9 K’s
Evan Phillips, 1.50 ERA, 1 save, 6 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 9 K’s
Alex Vesia, 2.08 ERA, 4.1 IP, 1 hit, 4 walks, 5 K’s
Joe Kelly, 1-1, 2.25 ERA, 4 IP, 2 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Blake Treinen, 1-0. 3.00 ERA, 3 IP, 5 hits, 1 walk, 1 K
Jack Flaherty, 1-1, 3.78 ERA, 16.2 IP, 15 hits, 5 walks, 17 K’s
Clayton Kershaw, 1-0, 4.09 ERA, 11 IP, 13 hits, 3 walks, 7 K’s
Brent Honeywell, 4.50 ERA, 2 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk
Walker Buehler, 5.19 ERA, 8.2 IP, 12 hits, 4 walks, 5 K’s
Bobby Miller, 0-1, 5,91 ERA, 10.2 IP, 15 hits, 1 walk, 10 K’s
Justin Wrobleski, 1-0, 7.20 ERA, 5 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Daniel Hudson, 0-1, 13.50 ERA, 1 save, 2.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 walk
Michael Grove, 54.00 ERA, 0.1 IP, 2 walks
Team, 8-4, 3.45 ERA, 6 saves, 107 IP, 91 hits, 34 walks, 96 K’s

Up next

Friday: Dodgers (*Clayton Kershaw, 2-2, 3.72 ERA) at Arizona (Zac Gallen, 10-6, 3.65 ERA), 6:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Saturday: Dodgers (Gavin Stone, 11-5, 3.33 ERA) at Arizona (Merrill Kelly, 4-0, 3.98 ERA), 5:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Sunday: Dodgers (Jack Flaherty, 10-6, 3.07 ERA) at Arizona (Brandon Pfaadt, 8-7, 4.31 ERA), 1:10 p.m., Roku, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Monday: Dodgers (TBD) at Arizona (*Eduardo Rodriguez, 2-0, 5.06 ERA), 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Shaikin: ‘I don’t see why not.’ Diamondbacks primed to take down Dodgers again

Watch Shohei Ohtani’s dog, Decoy, throw out first pitch at Dodger Stadium

Rich Hill is not over the hill. Red Sox call up 44-year-old to pitch in 20th season

Got your ticket for bobblehead night? Check. Get the bobblehead? Not so fast

Evan Phillips regained command of his arsenal. He’s also regained Dodgers’ trust

Hernández: From friendship to fandom, Luis Cruz amazed by Shohei Ohtani’s accomplishments

Plaschke: Sho-Time is back! Ohtani dramatically swings his way into history

And finally

Don Drysdale talks about knocking down batters. Watch and listen here.