Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the midst of a slump that has led to some historically poor results for their club, which is coming shortly after a historic offseason that included signing Shohei Ohtani.
After losing six of their last eight games, and eight of their last 13, the Dodgers have dropped three consecutive series at Dodger Stadium.
It was the first time the Dodgers have lost all three series in a single homestand since 2005, which was Jim Tracy’s final year managing the team when they went 71-91. They also lost three home series in a row from Aug. 3-22, 2018, but that was across two homestands.
The team has struggled all around, both on offense and defense, and they have been unable to play a complete game.
Often, when the pitching is effective, the offense struggles, and when the offense is hitting, the pitching gives up the lead. That trend has also been noticed by Ohtani.
“I think the pitching and hitting, we haven’t quite been able to mix and match well,” Ohtani said. “But all the games are pretty close and we’re really working hard. I think we just have to keep plugging away and move on.”
The Dodgers are far too talented for this recent skid to go on for too long, and they are taking actions to address their issues, which included a team meeting.
“When we lose like this, with this many games, it’s not the best atmosphere,” Ohtani said. “But we’re doing our very best to make sure we move on and do our best in our next game. We did have team meetings to be able to address this.”
There is still a long season remaining, so the Dodgers have more than enough time to fix these issues. The one thing they can’t do is let it spiral out of control until the season becomes unsalvageable.
Frustration building for Dodgers
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also feels his club has only played a few complete games all season, when all areas of the team are working together well.
That frustration has been building up, but Roberts is confident the team is doing the work necessary to get back on track.
“Well, yeah, I think there’s certainly frustration because I know we’re a very talented team,” Roberts said.
“We’re certainly capable of playing a complete baseball game in all facets. So I think that we’re going to have to get back to work, which our guys do a great job of, and go out there and do it. But yeah, certainly frustrating. Losing doesn’t feel good.”
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