Wins have been hard to come by for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018, as after Tuesday night’s loss to the Miami Marlins, they dropped to 16-25 on the season. That left them 8.5 games out of first place in the National League West.
Wins have particularly been hard to come by for Alex Wood, who dropped to 0-4 on the season. That’s despite allowing just two runs (one earned) over six innings, while striking out five against the Marlins.
Wood’s start to the 2018 season is a lot different than how he began last year. After emerging from the bullpen to solidify a spot in the rotation, Wood went 11-0 and didn’t lose his first decision until July 21, 2017.
He became the first Dodgers pitcher to open a season 10-0 since reliever Ed Roebuck in 1962, and first starter to accomplish as much since Don Newcombe in 1955.
While he obviously would prefer to have victories on his record, Wood said that his main focus is on the team succeeding, not personal stats, via Glenn Sattell on MLB.com:
“I’ve never bought much into wins as a starting pitcher, it’s a team game,” Wood said. “We play together. We win together. We lose together. It’s one of those things where I’m just hoping that every time I can give us a chance to win.”
Wood’s 0-4 record is certainly not indicative of how he has pitched so far this year. He has a 3.35 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, with 47 strikeouts compared to just eight walks in 51 innings. Opponents are batting just .237 against him.
The biggest reason Wood doesn’t have a win is because the Dodgers seemingly forget how to hit every time he pitches. They average 3.44 runs of support while Wood pitches, which ranks in the bottom 20 for starting pitchers in all of baseball.
The Dodgers are 4-5 in games Wood has started.
