The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the midst of their worst stretch since the middle of May, having dropped seven of their last 10 games while losing precious ground in the wide open National League West race.
After a promising series win over the Seattle Mariners last weekend, the Dodgers have since struggled to get out of their own way against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Los Angeles has produced only five runs in two losing efforts at home, most notably going a combined 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position.
Despite their recent offensive woes, Manny Machado sees better days ahead for the Dodgers, pointing out a recent string of good at-bats against the opposition, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
“Honestly, I like how we’re playing right now,” Machado said. “Obviously it hasn’t been showing, but we’re grinding. We’re grinding pitchers. We’re getting good at-bats. Our pitchers are doing their jobs. … At the end of the day, I like where we’re at. … We’re grinding. It’s August. Not going to put any excuses out there. At this point in the year, you’ve just got to keep grinding, keep doing what we’re doing. Once we turn that corner, nothing’s going to be able to hold us back.”
As Machado notes, the Dodgers are, at the very least, putting runners on base despite their inability to push runs across the plate. They stranded 11 on Tuesday, largely due in part to going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
While Los Angeles’ lineup has struggled as a whole as of late, the same can’t be said for Machado’s individual contributions. He went 3-for-5 on Tuesday, slugging his fifth home run with the club.
Dating back to Aug. 14, Machado has recorded at least one hit in six of his last seven contests. That includes three multi-hit games, to which he has homered three times while driving in seven RBI.
