The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the New York Mets in a 6-4 loss on Saturday, which included a comeback effort that was squandered after the bullpen again faltered late.
Losers of seven of their last nine games, the Dodgers still lead the National League West by one game. But the skid has put an uneasy strain on the club.
“The message is just keep playing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Saturday’s game. “Keep preparing, keep competing and expect things to turn. Today was a little bit of what we’ve seen in the sense of the pitching, you allow nine free bases by way of walk or hit batsman.
“We did a good job conversely of getting guys on base by way of the walk and hit batsman. We just didn’t get the hits we needed to put up some crooked numbers. And then when we do make a bad pitch, it seems to go out of the ballpark. That’s just what happens when things aren’t going well.
“My point is you’ve just got to keep going. We’re in it, and you’ve just got to keep going. No one is going to feel sorry for you. You’ve got to play the game the right way and expect things to turn.”
With as much talent as the Dodgers roster has, it’s difficult to see a way they don’t snap out of their funk. The offense is putting up enough runs to win games, but the pitching staff has yet to find their own consistency.
“You haven’t really seen any quit,” said Max Muncy. “We’ve continued to give ourselves opportunities at any point in every game. We’ve just got to pull through.
“It’s part of the learning process when you have a team starting the year. To be honest, as long as I’ve been here, I don’t know if we’ve ever played great in April. It’s just one of those things that you’ve got to weather the storm, grind through it and know that in the end we’re going to be just fine.
“Like I said, half the battle is just giving ourselves the opportunity. We’re doing that. Now we’ve just got to capitalize on the other part.”
Dave Roberts can’t pinpoint one clear issue for Dodgers
Over their last four games, the Dodgers have seen losses caused by each area of their team.
Bullpen flubs, offensive letdowns and starting pitching woes. That many weak moments in the course of a week is likely to have a down effect on the team. But Roberts maintains that each of those units have a hand in their situation.
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