Through the first seven weeks of the regular season the Los Angeles Dodgers have largely looked the part of a team dealing with multiple injuries to expected starters. Their inability to sustain any consistency recently lent to manager Dave Roberts expressing some frustration.
After losing to the New York Mets on a Curtis Granderson walk-off home run, Roberts called on the need for his club to play with a collective approach and unified focus at the plate. His emphasis on quality at-bats has been a rallying cry of sorts for the up-and-down Dodgers.
They responded to hit five home runs against New York, led by Chase Utley‘s pair of homers, including a grand slam. Los Angeles then came away with a win in the series finale behind a timely Adrian Gonzalez two-run single.
However, they hit the skids on Monday, managing just one hit against Chicago Cubs pitching. After the Memorial Day loss, Roberts again pointed to staying the course as a means of improving on their record, according to ESPN’s Doug Padilla:
“I think it’s just a matter of continuing to persevere and keep going and conduct those consistent at-bats and continue to pitch, which we have been doing, and playing defense, which we have been doing,” Roberts said, when asked how the club can break the cycle.
Monday’s loss was just the Dodgers’ second in their last seven games. They face an uphill battle on Tuesday as Chicago starts ace Jake Arrieta, who threw a no-hitter the last time he started against Los Angeles.
After concluding a four-game series at Wrigley Field on Thursday, the Dodgers open a six-game homestand with series against the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies.
