Through the first 42 games of the 2016 season the Los Angeles Dodgers are 21-21 and 3.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West. Being at or near .500 is familiar territory for the Dodgers, particularly in May.
During the current calendar month, the Dodgers have been stuck at .500 on six different occasions. They’ve endured a six-game losing streak at home and just dropped three of four games in the home-and-home Freeway Series against crosstown rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
As has often been the case thus far, the Dodgers’ lone win in the series came behind a dominant Clayton Kershaw outing — he tossed eight innings of one-run ball against the Angels, and collected 11 strikeouts.
After dropping another game in which his club held a lead at one point, first-year manager Dave Roberts expressed some frustration over not being able to generate any consistent success, according to Bill Plunkett of the OC Register:
#Dodgers mgr Dave Roberts: "We haven't been able to sustain any traction. It's frustrating."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 20, 2016
Kershaw has been as good as advertised in 2016. The left-hander is 6-1 with a 1.67 ERA, 1.36 FIP and 0.70 WHIP to go along with 88 strikeouts and just four walks. The Dodgers have won eight out of Kershaw’s nine starts.
The problem has been games that Kershaw hasn’t started, as the club is just 13-20 in those games. In their series against the Angels, starters not named Kershaw gave up 12 runs in 13 innings pitched.
What’s more, that trio — Mike Bolisnger, Kenta Maeda, and Ross Stripling — all failed to complete five innings. Coupled with an inconsistent offense, that placed plenty of additional pressure on a Dodgers bullpen that ranks 19th in baseball with a 3.98 ERA.
The patchwork rotation may get a lift within the six weeks or so, as Mike Bolsinger has returned to action, Hyun-Jin Ryu is on a rehab assignment, and Brandon McCarthy is closing in on beginning his rehab assignment.
After a three-game weekend series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, the Dodgers will host the Cincinnati Reds for a three-game set before hitting the road on a trip they’ll face the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs.
