The Los Angeles Dodgers turned to Blake Snell as they tried to avoid being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but instead it resulted in another loss during what’s been a frustrating two months for the club.
Snell allowed five runs over five innings while giving up nine hits and walking three. Most of the damage came during his final inning, when Snell allowed four runs on four hits, which broke the game open and put it out of reach for the Dodgers.
After being swept, the Dodgers are now 1-5 in their last six games, and they’ve gone 25-30 since the start of July. It has caused their nine-game lead in the National League West to evaporate and left them in a battle for the division.
After the game, Snell addressed the Dodgers’ recent struggles, which has included an inconsistent offense and pitching staff, and called on the team to play better, he said on SportsNet LA:
“I don’t know. We’re just not playing good baseball. I mean, I think that’s really it. It’s pretty simple. We’re just not playing good ball. We go to Baltimore, and they played good against San Diego, so we’ve got to come out with energy. We’ve got to set the tone with pitching and do what we know we can do. We’re a really good time. We’ve got to figure that out. That’s on us to do that. We’ve got to get it going. It’s crunch time right now, so can’t really have excuses. You’ve got to figure it out and make it happen.”
Snell has seen his ERA rise from 1.97 to 3.19 over his last two outings, as he’s allowed eight runs in 10.1 innings. Granted, he’s only thrown 42.1 total innings this season, but Snell’s struggles come at a time when the team needs him to be at his best.
But even with Snell’s trouble in the game, the offense was also silent for most of the night. After being shut out on Wednesday, the Dodgers didn’t score until the ninth inning on Thursday, giving them a 17-inning scoreless stretch.
The Dodgers rallied for three runs, but it was not enough to avoid the loss, and the offense has scored just 16 total runs in their last six games, an average of 2.6 per game.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has attributed the struggles to a lack of focus and an overeliance on the feeling they can flip a switch once the postseason begins.
However, as the Dodgers fight for their playoff seeding and the division, that should seemingly be enough to get players locked in.
Mookie Betts & Clayton Kershaw address Dodgers’ struggles
Since July 28, the Dodgers are just 6-12 against sub-.500 teams. In contrast, they are 11-4 against opponents with a winning record as they have seeming played up or down to the talent level of opposing teams.
Clayton Kershaw and Mookie Betts both brushed off the idea that the Dodgers play to the level of opponent and said they try to win every game. But both also acknowledged the need to play better and find ways to win games.
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