Dodgers went 9-6 over their last 15 games despite improved run prevention
From August 23 to September 8, 2026, the Dodgers scored at the same rate as the prior 15 games and allowed fewer runs per game, but a 2-6 mid-stretch skid dropped their record from 10-5 to 9-6.
Published: · Figures as of September 9, 2026
Asked: How did the Dodgers play over their last 15 games through September 8, 2026, compared with the 15 before? What changed most?
Dodgers were 9-6 over their last 15, one worse than 10-5 in the 15 before, despite better pitching
Los Angeles is 87-57 and 1.5 games behind Milwaukee for the NL's top overall record, sitting 2nd in the league and 1st in the NL West. Zooming into the last 15 games (August 23 - September 8) versus the 15 immediately before (August 7-22), not much moved: the offense was identical and the pitching actually got a bit better, but the record slipped because a mid-stretch slump (2-6 from August 25 to September 2) sat between two stronger patches, including the six-game winning streak that's still running.
The two windows side by side:
| Window | Runs Scored (runs/game) | Runs Allowed (runs/game) |
|---|---|---|
| Prior 15 (8/7-8/22) | 4.33 | 3.87 |
| Last 15 (8/23-9/8) | 4.33 | 3.73 |
- Offense: flat. 4.33 runs a game in both windows — not a rounding coincidence, the sums are identical (65 runs in each 15-game stretch). Nothing changed on that side.
- Pitching/defense: a touch better. Runs allowed dropped from 3.87 to 3.73 a game. Measured against what their specific opponents (Braves, Tigers, Cardinals, Nationals, Reds, Pirates) were scoring coming in, the Dodgers held them 0.77 runs below their own going-in average — a real schedule-adjusted number, not just a soft slate. The offense, by the same yardstick, was almost exactly neutral (0.15 runs below what those same opponents normally allow).
- The record still slipped, 10-5 to 9-6, because the 15 games weren't uniform: a 2-6 skid from August 25 through September 2 — two of those losses were shootouts, 13-8 to the Nationals and 8-6 to the Reds — sat between an opening win and the current six-game streak (September 3-8) that closed the window. The prior 15-game stretch, by contrast, had no comparable trough.
What moved inside the pitching staff: reliever Seth Halvorsen is the standout of the window relative to the rest of the league — his ERA jumped from 4.50 in his games before this stretch to 13.50 across 5 outings in it, the largest deviation on the roster. That kind of bullpen line lines up with the two shootout losses that defined the rough patch. On the other side, Edgardo Henriquez and Evan Phillips didn't allow an earned run in the window (down from 2.96 and 4.70 respectively beforehand), which is part of why the staff's overall runs-allowed number still improved despite Halvorsen's stretch.
Confidence: High on the record and the scoring/runs-allowed numbers, which are full 15-game counts on both sides. Medium on crediting Halvorsen specifically for the slump — five outings is a small sample, and the shootout losses likely involved more than one pitcher.