The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered yet another deflating loss to the Cincinnati Reds, with their pitching and situational hitting again letting them down. The script has largely been the same for the better part of the past three weeks.
The loss was the Dodgers’ fifth in the past six games. The downturn comes after a modest three-game winning streak. Moreover, Los Angeles is 5-12 since improving to one game over .500 on April 23.
With the repetitive nature of their losses, manager Dave Roberts has been left to answer the same questions on a near-nightly basis. It’s that same feeling Roberts wants his club to avoid defaulting to and instead light a spark for themselves, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“Momentum is real. I think so. I believe in it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I believe in making your own breaks and being proactive. But when you get behind and see the same old thing again, that’s contagious too. As opposed to getting behind and saying, ‘We’re going to win.’ Those thoughts are contagious too.
“But you have to win games to create that. It doesn’t just manifest itself out of thin air. You’ve got to live it first. We haven’t done that consistently.”
The recent rough patch put a damper on any optimism that was present when the Dodgers notched back-to-back wins to split a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. But that was followed by dropping two of three to the San Diego Padres.
Struggling against a National League bottom feeder wasn’t exactly a new development. The Dodgers previously lost a home series to the Miami Marlins, and at best can only split the four-game set against the Reds.
Considering how the season has unfolded thus far, Justin Turner coming off the disabled list might be the only development that will reverse the Dodgers’ fortunes. He’s joining High-A Rancho Cucamonga on a rehab assignment this weekend.
