Cubs & Dodgers in the second half & September

The first table below shows the team stats in the 2nd half. It sure looks like the Cubs had been playing better than the Dodgers, especially when you look at the OPS differential. The Cubs were ahead by .059 (.112 vs. .053). Run differential was a big edge for the Dodgers (127 vs. 27).

Stat	Cubs	Dodgers
W	49	43
L	25	29
Pct	0.662	0.597
Runs	423	307
Opp. Runs	296	280
Differential	127	27
OPS	0.811	0.749
Opp OPS	0.699	0.696
OPS Diff	0.112	0.053

The Cubs had an even bigger lead in Sept. They were 6.5 games better, 52 runs better and .068 better in OPS differential. Yet, the Dodgers easily beat the Cubs in the LCS. The Dodgers also swept their division series while it took the Cubs 5 games.

Stat	Cubs	Dodgers
W	19	13
L	10	17
Pct	0.655	0.433
Runs	147	114
Opp. Runs	114	133
Differential	33	-19
OPS	0.753	0.710
Opp OPS	0.705	0.730
OPS Diff	0.048	-0.020

Trout Has Highest OPS+ of Career (187)

His previous high was 176 in 2015. On August 8th, I suggested that he might be the first guy to reach 200 since 2004 (and only 19th since 1900). He as at 216 then in 68 games played and it looked like, overall, he was going to face below average pitching the rest of the way.

He ended up playing 114 games. I estimated he would reach 200 if he had an OPS+ of 178 the rest of the way (assuming he played in all remaining games-he played in 46 of the Angels last 49 games). But he only managed an OPS+ of about 145 the rest of the way. His lowest for a full season has been 168. So a bit of a slump (for him).

Here are his monthly stats:

Split	PA	HR	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip
April/March	115	7	14	23	0.364	0.443	0.707	1.151	0.414
May	91	9	22	19	0.297	0.484	0.797	1.28	0.263
July	64	3	10	13	0.315	0.422	0.5	0.922	0.368
August	120	8	27	21	0.315	0.475	0.63	1.105	0.333
Sept/Oct	117	6	21	14	0.237	0.385	0.505	0.89	0.216

He only struck out 14 times in 117 PAs in the last month. Looks like a pretty low rate compared to the other months. Yet his BAbip was very low. He was making contact. Maybe it was weak contact. But he still had decent power, with an ISO of .268 (SLG - BA).