The Los Angeles Dodgers just wrapped up a winning week, but don’t let that fool you for a second: their offense has been stuck in neutral for nearly two months now, and it’s dragging the entire team down. They’re sitting at a dismal 5-10 record through 15 games in August, putting up a pathetic average of just 3.33 runs per game during that stretch. This ain’t good, folks.
The Offense Is Flat-Out Missing
Seriously, what is going on with this lineup? Last week, they averaged under four runs per game. Even their sweep of the last-place Kansas City Royals was underwhelming, needing extra innings to get a fifth run across on Tuesday, after scoring six and five in the first two games. Against the Milwaukee Brewers, the best team in the NL, they topped out at four runs while dropping three of four games. It’s not just last week either. Since July 1, this offense has been an absolute mess, averaging 3.97 runs per game, which puts them 22nd in all of MLB. Their 91 wRC+ also ranks 22nd. You can’t expect to win games when your bats are this cold for this long.
Blowouts Are Gone, Stability Is Just “Fine”
While the offense flounders, the starting pitching has been… fine. Perfectly fine, even. Last week saw six starts of at least six innings, with a collective 3.05 ERA. Tarik Skubal was the only starter to go under six innings on Monday, and he knows it’s not good enough, saying Sunday of his three starts with the Dodgers, “It’s not acceptable, it’s not the standard of what I think I’m capable of in this league. I just need to be better.” They could have split the series with the Brewers and secured a season tiebreaker if Edwin Díaz hadn’t blown a save on Thursday. This team isn’t playing well enough, and they aren’t scoring enough to give the pitching any margin for error. They rack up blowout wins, with 27 on the season, only one less than the Cubs for most in MLB. But here’s the kicker: only one of those blowout wins has happened since July 3! Every other MLB team has multiple blowout wins since then, averaging five per team, while the Dodgers have that single paltry victory in their last 37 games. And to make it worse, they’ve *lost* five blowouts during that same span. Great teams blow out other teams; this team hasn’t been great, or even good, going 18-21 since July 1.
Muncy’s Big Swings Can’t Carry This Team
Amidst all the struggles, Max Muncy actually had himself a week at the plate. He was opportunistic, driving in eight runs. His three-run double helped turn Monday’s game around, and he delivered a walk-off single on Tuesday. Then, on Thursday, his pinch-hit home run was his 131st career bomb at Dodger Stadium, breaking Eric Karros’s regular season record in the ballpark’s 65-year history. That’s a huge individual accomplishment! But even with Muncy crushing it, the team still couldn’t find enough offense to win consistently.
This team needs a serious wake-up call. They’ve got six more weeks to figure out how to score runs consistently, or they’re looking at way more free time in October than anyone in LA planned for. The season is far from over, but the clock is definitely ticking.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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