The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped their seventh consecutive game on the last days, suffering an 8-7 defeat at Oracle Park, a skid not seen since their infamous 11-game slide in September 2017. Manager Dave Roberts admitted the slump is “their worst stretch since 2017”, underscoring how a comfortable season has suddenly become fiercely competitive in the NL West. The team, now 56-39, holds just a four-game lead over the Giants, signaling trouble in what once seemed like a cushioned division advantage.
Pitching struggles have been highlighted as the mainissue in this obstacle. Even NL MVP frontrunner Shohei Ohtani hasn’t been able to escape from the scrutiny. Now the premier franchise in the MLB for the last decades has to endure a baseball crisis that threatens the defending of their 2024 World Series triumph.
Pitching breakdown for Dodgers collapse
Roberts was blunt about his concern over the pitching staff, particularly right-hander Dustin May. After a strong start, May unraveled in the fifth inning, giving up seven earned runs on five hits and issuing four walks across 4.2 innings. “Early on the stuff was really good…then he started losing command and the four walks”, Roberts said, a breakdown that shifted momentum to the Giants.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. The team’s rotations have been inconsistent: Ben Casparius alowed six runs in three innings, Noah Davis surrendered ten runs in a single frame, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto couldn’t navigate past the first inning recently. The pitching struggles have cost them daily, as Roberts emphasized, “You’ve got to pitch well…if all three of those things (pitching, defense, at-bats) don’t line up in one night, it’s hard to get a win”.
Offensive bright spots amid the tumult in Los Angeles
Despite the rough patch, batting showed signs of revival. Over the first six losses, the Dodgers were outscored 44-10, yet Friday’s performance broke that trend. Shohei Ohtani launched a two-run homer, his 32nd of the season, into McCovey Cove, initiating a comeback attempt.
The lineup rallied even more in the sixth inning, tallying four runs via Teoscar Hernández’s double and Michael Conforto’s homer. Mookie Betts also drove in a run with a single in the seventh, sparking hope late into the game. Betts acknowledged the fighting spirit, “We strung some hits together…you have to try to take some positive out of it”.
Time to reset and rebuild confidence for Dave Roberts’ squad
While facing a historic losing streak, Roberts maintains a long-view apprach. He praised his hitters’ fight and expressed trust in his squad’s ability to rebound in the final two game of the San Francisco series. History reminds us of the 2017 squad that rebunded from an 11-game skid to win 104 games and capture the division.
The Dodgers still boast a lead in the NL West, but Roberts warns time is running out to reverse course before the All-Star break. With improved pitching and the offense staying aggressive, LA looks to clean up command issues, tighten defense, and regain cohesion, key steps to emerge from this slump.
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