The Los Angeles Dodgers came out of the All-Star break winning six of their first seven games, but since July 26, they’ve played a different brand of baseball.
Losers of four of their last five games heading into the off day on Thursday, beginning with their three-game set against the Houston Astros this past week, the Dodgers’ offense has just 31 hits across five games.
Alongside their lack of base hits, the Dodgers’ offense tallied 66 strikeouts, leading to a complete drop-off in scoring opportunities and production.
“The strikeouts are alarming,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Certainly in that Houston series, where we’ve got to move the ball forward. Everyone in baseball has big stuff. That’s just the way it is. But to strike out at the alarming clip that we have, that’s something we’ve got to get better at, regardless of who we run out there.”
Their 34.6% strikeout rate in their last five game is well above their season average of 21.9% as a unit. The Dodgers’ 117 wRC+ still grades out as the third-highest mark in Major League Baseball, even with the injuries they’ve accrued throughout the year.
Still without Max Muncy, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the group of Andy Pages, Jason Heyward, Cavan Biggio, James Outman and Kiké Hernández have struggled mightily to find any rhythm in the lower part of the batting order.
Now with the trade deadline behind them, some good news is ahead of the Dodgers, who bolstered the options for Roberts and the lineup.
How MLB trade deadline helped Dodgers
Acquiring Amed Rosario, Tommy Edman and Kevin Kiermaier, the Dodgers now have three fresh pieces to their current starting lineup.
Kiermaier figures to be more of a late-inning defensive first guy, but Edman and Rosario will be starting players, given their floor of production is much higher. The Dodgers expect to have Muncy, Betts and Freeman back at varying points, giving a green light on if there is a good outlook for the club.
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