After completing a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field last weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers had the tables turned on them by the San Diego Padres. L.A. was swept by their National League West rival in three games at Petco Park to cap off a 3-3 road trip.
The Dodgers then returned home for the start of a four-game series with the Chicago Cubs and saw their struggles continue. They fell 4-0 last Thursday in a combined no-hitter that was started by Zach Davies.
“No one likes to lose, but to lose three on the road to a division rival and then come home and get no-hit, that doesn’t make anyone feel good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think the word embarrassment probably sums it up.”
While being on the other end of a no-hitter can be frustrating for a team, the Dodgers responded nicely by winning their next three games against the Cubs. Roberts credited his group of players for showing a sense of urgency and not hitting the panic button.
“I think that’s definitely the balance and the challenge. I do think the ebbs and flows of a season, ups and downs, you have to weather them,” Roberts said. “As Mookie said the other night, you’re not going to be hot as an offense all year.
“It’s just not making your lows too low and trying to be consistent. I think for us, after getting swept in San Diego and then you get no-hit, our guys just don’t spiral. We have a way of kind of regrouping to win a baseball game.
“I think that’s shown over the last six years how we’ve responded to some adversities and at the end of the year we’re at the top of the division. I don’t see that playing out any different this year either.”
Kershaw disagrees ’embarrassment’
While Roberts felt the Dodgers’ four-game losing streak brought about some embarrassment for the team, Kershaw downplayed any worries and believes it boiled down to simply being outplayed. “I don’t know about embarrassed or anything like that. We just got outplayed for three games,” Kershaw said.
“Over the course of a season that’s going to happen. But then coming back here and being no-hit, I think maybe it was a wakeup call in some regards. But at the end of the day, hitting is not easy and you kind of go with the ebbs and flows.
“As starting pitchers we gave up a homer in the first inning for five straight games. Putting guys behind the 8-ball, it was kind of a collective effort, the reasons why we were struggling.
“Kind of got back on the hide the last three games, and it was good to see. I think going into the Giants games the next two days with some momentum is a good thing.”
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