The Los Angeles Dodgers are in a full-blown crisis, having just dropped their sixth consecutive game to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday in a brutal 7-6 loss. This is their longest losing streak of the season, and it officially knocked them off their perch as the best team in baseball. The Milwaukee Brewers, sitting at 70-43, have now snatched the top spot for both the National League and all of MLB, leaving the Dodgers (69-46) looking up. This isn’t just a blip; it’s a full-blown alarm. They even lost Tarik Skubal’s debut in Dodger blue on Tuesday night, and they’ve now dropped a staggering 15 of their last 25 games.
The Wheels Are Falling Off in La La Land
What in the world is going on in Hollywood? Pundit Colin Cowherd didn’t pull any punches, declaring on “The Herd” that “Stop staring at the paint job. Look under the hood: the Dodgers are a mess.” He didn’t see the Skubal acquisition as adding “a helipad to the yacht,” but rather as “much more life-raft.” Cowherd’s take? The club is riddled with “bullpen issues and age issues.” And honestly, looking at the numbers, it’s hard to argue. This isn’t the invincible squad we’ve watched in recent memory.
Batting Blues and Bullpen Blunders
The Dodgers’ struggles are everywhere. Star shortstop Mookie Betts is having what’s arguably the worst offensive year of his MLB career, walking into Wednesday with a .223/.280/.390 slash line. Kyle Tucker, who landed a four-year, $240 million deal in the offseason, is hitting career-lows in batting average (.243), slugging percentage (.381), and OPS+ (101). And remember Andy Pages? He started hot with 10 dingers, 39 RBI, and a .304/.357/.530 slash over his first 46 games, but over his last 67, that’s plummeted to a .245/.318/.405 line. Over the last 30 days, their offense is sputtering: 20th in MLB in runs (93), tied for 21st in on-base percentage (.306), tied for 17th in home runs (26), tied for 15th in slugging percentage (.399), and 12th in hits (196).
It gets worse on the mound. Blake Snell has just one start thanks to shoulder and elbow injuries, while Tyler Glasnow is limited to seven starts with a back issue. Second-year starter Roki Sasaki has a 4.64 ERA and 89 ERA+, struggling to close out hitters. And the bullpen? Woof. Closer Edwin Díaz just returned from a three-month absence after elbow surgery, but collectively, the bullpen’s 4.08 ERA ranks 16th in the sport, and they’ve blown 16 save opportunities. Cowherd put it bluntly: “This team is winning on the margins the last two years, and now they’re broken.”
A Three-Peat Dream in Peril
This team, which was “just the third seed in the NL playoffs last season” and mounted an epic comeback against the Toronto Blue Jays, trailing 3-2 in the World Series and 3-1 in the eighth inning of Game Seven before winning it all, is now chasing history. They want to be the first MLB team to three-peat since the Yankees did it from 1998-2000. But with their current form, falling off the top spot, and core players struggling, that dream is looking further away than ever. They’ve got some serious work ahead to turn this ship around and get back on track for a historic season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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