The Los Angeles Dodgers lost their fourth consecutive game on Friday and continued their trend of playing poorly over the last few months.
Through July 1, the Dodgers were 54-32 with an eight-game lead in the National League West. Since then, the Dodgers have gone 24-31 to put themselves in position to play in the Wild Card Series while also fighting for the division title.
In addition, the Dodgers are just 6-13 against teams under .500 since July 28.
Freddie Freeman had two hits, including a home run, on Friday, but his contributions were still not enough for the Dodgers. After the Dodgers’ walk-off loss to the Baltimore Orioles, he called on the team to turn things around quickly amid their rough stretch, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Going into every game we feel confident and good. I figured I was going to get talked to after this game, and I was trying to come up with some answers. Sometimes you just don’t have the right answers. I’m not going to sit here and give some cliches. We’re just not playing very good. Our pitching was great tonight, offensively we were not good. There’s no sugarcoating this. We need to figure this out, and figure this out quick.”
Manager Dave Roberts has also been vocal about the Dodgers’ struggles for quite some time, which has included calling the team out publicly for a lack of focus, and even going on to bench Teoscar Hernández for a game.
Miguel Rojas spoke out about the Dodgers’ “embarrassing” play, and Blake Snell said there were no excuses for how the team is performing.
Clayton Kershaw and Mookie Betts both brushed off the idea that the Dodgers are playing to the level of their opponent, saying they try to win every game and carry that same level of focus no matter who they play. But both also acknowledged a need for the team to play to be better and find ways to win games.
Nevertheless, Roberts calling out a lack of focus and effort is a concern, and Rojas added the team is not finding joy when playing. Both things are a concern, especially with a division title on the line and seeding for the postseason bracket.
Dodgers maintain NL West lead
Fortunately for the Dodgers, they have remained in first place in the NL West thanks to the abysmal play of the San Diego Padres, who are on a five-game losing streak and have gone 2-8 in their last 10 games.
The San Francisco Giants are creeping up in the division after winning 10 of their last 11, but still sit six games behind L.A. However, both clubs are slated to play six more times this season, so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities for the Giants to chase down the Dodgers.
This is an important final three weeks for the Dodgers, and how they respond will say a lot about the team.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
