The Dodgers made historical past once they opened the season with eight straight wins, one thing no reigning World Sequence champion had ever completed. 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 mentioned.
“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 crew’s third loss in 4 video games, the Dodgers fell to .500 over the past 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 successful streaks of greater than two video games, however three shedding streaks of greater than two video games. For each three steps ahead, the crew has taken 2 ½ steps again.
And whereas the Dodgers entered Thursday with the fourth-best document within the league, over the past two months they’ve a decrease successful share than the Milwaukee Brewers, the third-best crew within the Central Division. The rationale why, Roberts mentioned, is pitching.
Or quite the shortage of pitching.
The employees ERA in Might was 4.39; solely 4 groups within the Nationwide League have 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,” mentioned Roberts, whose crew 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 example. 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 least Gonsolin, who was making his seventh begin since coming back from Tommy John surgical procedure, was capable of take the mound. The Dodgers have 15 different pitchers on the injured checklist.
“Just threw a bad one to Pete, and he didn’t miss it,” mentioned Gonsolin (3-2) of the house run, Alonso’s thirteenth of the season and the primary of two on the evening. “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 evening — half his crew’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 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, successful 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 mentioned. “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 many others.
Relievers Kirby Yates (hamstring) and Michael Kopech (shoulder) each threw quick simulated video games Wednesday and Roberts mentioned each are near being activated. Kopech gave up 11 runs in 6.1 innings whereas on a rehab project in Oklahoma Metropolis. Kopech’s final big-league look got here within the fifth and deciding recreation of final fall’s World Sequence.
