Los Angeles Dodgers: Five players of the week, May 18

3. Kenta Maeda

• Weekly stats: 1-1, 12.2 IP, 3.55 ERA, 13 Ks

The week did not start well for Kenta Maeda. In fact, the week started pretty poorly for Maeda when he took the bump on May 11 against the Reds. In that outing, Maeda only threw 4.2 innings but allowed five hits, five earned runs and walked two. That start brought Maeda’s ERA to 4.75 on the year and made him look even more like a reliever.

However, Maeda responded with his best performance of the season, perhaps the best performance by a Dodgers starter this year and maybe the best performance of his entire career. The only start that even gives this a run for its money is the combined no-hitter started by Walker Buehler.

Maeda threw eight scoreless innings for the Dodgers, allowing just two hits while striking out eight. The Marlins’ last hit off Maeda came in the third inning with one out. Thus, Maeda retired the last 17 batters he faced in a row.

Having such a redemptive start lands Maeda on the number three spot on this list. Just a decent start last Friday and Maeda easily would’ve been the number one player on this list. However, since the numbers still aren’t all the way there, third seems fitting for Maeda.