The Dodgers made historical past once they opened the season with eight straight wins, one thing no reigning World Collection champion had ever accomplished. However they’ve been only a shade above mediocre since then.
“I wouldn’t say [I’m] worried. It’s kind of where we’re at right now,” supervisor Dave Roberts stated.
“It’s been hard to gain traction.”
If something, the Dodgers have been spinning their wheels. As a result of with Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the New York Mets, the workforce’s third loss in 4 video games, the Dodgers fell to .500 during the last month and their lead within the Nationwide League West remained at only a recreation over the San Diego Padres heading into Thursday’s get-away day matinee with the Mets.
Since their historic begin, the Dodgers have had simply three profitable streaks of greater than two video games, however three dropping streaks of greater than two video games. For each three steps ahead, the workforce has taken 2 ½ steps again.
And whereas the Dodgers entered Thursday with the fourth-best report within the league, during the last two months they’ve a decrease profitable share than the Milwaukee Brewers, the third-best workforce within the Central Division. The rationale why, Roberts stated, is pitching.
Or reasonably the shortage of pitching.
The workers ERA in Could was 4.39; solely 4 groups within the Nationwide League had been worse. The ERA is only a tick decrease 4 video games into June.
“Teams win consistently over stretches — as far as winning streaks — by preventing runs,” stated Roberts, whose workforce had three shutouts within the first 23 video games however hasn’t had one since. “It’s hard to do that without it. So for us, it’s just getting a quality start, then have good innings out of the pen.
Mookie Betts fields a grounder in the first inning.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“If you look at the last few weeks, we just haven’t been able to do that. And that’s kind of the reason we’ve played .500 baseball the last few weeks.”
Take Wednesday for instance. Starter Tony Gonsolin lasted simply 5 innings, giving up three runs, all within the first inning. Two got here on a Pete Alonso homer. However at the very least Gonsolin, who was making his seventh begin since coming back from Tommy John surgical procedure, was in a position to take the mound. The Dodgers have 15 different pitchers on the injured record.
“Just threw a bad one to Pete, and he didn’t miss it,” stated Gonsolin (3-2) of the house run, Alonso’s thirteenth of the season and the primary of two on the night time. “That was my least favorite [pitch] of the outing, for sure.”
The bullpen didn’t fare a lot better. After a pair of hitless innings from Anthony Banda and Lou Trivino, Ryan Loutos hit the primary batter he confronted within the eighth, walked the following, then gave up a three-run homer to Alonso, who completed with a season-high 5 RBIs.
The Dodgers’ solely run got here on Andy Pages’ solo homer, his twelfth of the season, with one out within the ninth. The hit was Pages’ third of the night time — half his workforce’s complete. He additionally had a second-inning infield single and a seventh-inning double, extending his hitting streak to a season-high 9 video games and elevating his common to .290.
For the Mets, starter Griffin Canning (6-2) cruised by means of his six innings, going through simply 4 batters over the minimal. The previous Angel gave up three hits, walked one and struck out seven in his greatest outing of the season, profitable for the primary time in practically a month.
And that left the Dodgers struck in a rut, looking for sufficient traction to get themselves out.
“We know we’re not playing the way we started,” outfielder Michael Conforto stated. “We’ve been a little bit banged up. A lot of the pitchers are banged up. And even a lot of our our position players are working through some stuff. So there’s a bit of that.
“And then there’s just the lack of coming through in big spots, myself included in that. But obviously we understand who we are and what we can do when we’re clicking on all cylinders.”
And so on.
Relievers Kirby Yates (hamstring) and Michael Kopech (shoulder) each threw brief simulated video games Wednesday and Roberts stated each are near being activated. Kopech gave up 11 runs in 6.1 innings whereas on a rehab task in Oklahoma Metropolis. Kopech’s final big-league look got here within the fifth and deciding recreation of final fall’s World Collection.
