The Los Angeles Dodgers have been playing some uninspiring baseball as of late, losing eight of their last 10 after Tuesday night’s 5-2 defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The recent stretch has dropped the Dodgers to third place in the National League West as they sit 3.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and two games behind the Colorado Rockies entering Wednesday.
There still is over a month left in the season though, and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman remains confident that his team will be able to improve their play and return to the postseason, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Andrew Friedman on #Dodgers string of late losses over past 10 days: "Those things have happened. They’re in the bank. But as we look ahead, we feel really good about all facets of our team and feel we will click and play really good baseball down the stretch."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 22, 2018
One of the biggest issues for the Dodgers has been their ability to hit with runners in scoring position. They went 1-for-8 on Tuesday night, stranding 11 runners on base.
Additionally, the bullpen has struggled, particularly while All-Star closer Kenley Jansen was out due to a heart issue. Jansen’s return saw him surrender back-to-back home runs, allowing the Cardinals to take a decided lead.
Friedman and his staff addressed the offensive issue before the non-waiver trade deadline, acquiring Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles and Brian Dozier from the Minnesota Twins. But they didn’t do much to address the bullpen, only acquiring John Axford from the Toronto Blue Jays. He is now on the 10-day disabled list with a fractured fibula.
There is still time to make moves before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline, and the team recently claimed Bryce Harper although they were unable to complete a trade with the Washington Nationals.
If the Dodgers want to win the NL West for the sixth consecutive season, something will need to change quickly as they are currently heading in the wrong direction.
