The Los Angeles Dodgers are officially in a slump. Monday night’s 9-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks marked their fourth straight defeat, a concerning skid for a team expected to dominate the National League. Amid rising pressure, both Mookie Betts and Dave Roberts spoke out about the team’s struggles.
The Dodgers’ losing streak began with a shocking sweep by the last-place AL West Los Angeles Angels and continued as Arizona teed off early at Chavez Ravine Monday. L.A. fell behind 7-0 by the third inning and couldn’t recover, despite home runs from Betts and Shohei Ohtani. Fans booed as the game slipped away, a rare scene in Los Angeles.
Roberts, speaking to Jack Harris of the LA times, highlighted the team’s ongoing trend of falling behind early in games.
“It’s hard to start games behind before you take an at-bat,” Roberts said. “We’ve given up runs in the first inning. We got to put up that zero and kind of get a chance to get the game going.”
Pitching continues to be the root of the problem. Injuries to starters like Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell have forced the Dodgers into using rookie arms like Jack Dreyer and Landon Knack. That lack of depth showed Monday, as Dreyer surrendered three early runs and Knack gave up a pair of two-run homers in the third.
Despite the loss, Betts tried to remain optimistic, but acknowledged the toll injuries and inconsistency are taking on the clubhouse.
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“You go through certain situations like this, it’s just tough to find a way to get back healthy and get our guys back out there,” Betts said. “But we’re battling with what we got.”
The Dodgers pitching struggles are now glaring, with the team’s ERA ballooning to 4.28, 22nd in the league. For a club with champion aspirations, this stretch has raised urgent questions.
Los Angeles will look to stop the slide Tuesday night behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But if this Dodgers losing streak continues, patience among fans and leadership may start to fade fast.
