The perfect start for the Los Angeles Dodgers with an eight-game winning streak has come to a screeching halt after theChicago Cubs humiliated them, winning the series with a 4-2 victory on Sunday night.
What was predicted to be a historic season for the Los Angeles Dodgers to defend their World Series title, due to the talent in their roster with a powerful lineup and a respectable rotation, has changed in the last 10 games, in which they have won four and lost six, to stay with a record of 11-6 in third place in their division, behind the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants.
The first setbacks were understandable as they were away from home, but the blue and white team still had their unbeaten home record to boast about, which was abruptly lost on Saturday, when they fell 16-0 to the Chicago Cubs, in the worst shutout at home in the history of the franchise. The humiliation was completed on Sunday, with a 4-2 defeat thanks to home runs by Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch.
Dave Roberts points out the Dodgers’ problem
If the Cubs won thanks to home runs, for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, his team’s problem in this series and in general in the six losses they have accumulated this season, as he told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, has been on offense, with his players’ at-bats.
“In manager Dave Roberts’ opinion, there has been a lack of quality ‘team at-bats,’ and the manager laments his team’s tendency to chase pitches out of the zone in key situations,” Harris wrote of the Dodgers loss.
The entire lineup has failed at the plate, and perhaps the most anxious has been Shohei Ohtani, with a lack of patience in order to hit home runs and, as a result, he has accumulated several strikeouts in his last few games.
But the problem of out-of-zone pitches is also shared by Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and even Freddie Freeman, who was absent for several games due to injury.
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