Heading into the beginning of the current road trip in Cincinnati, most fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers would have never presumed there was even a slight chance of being swept by the Reds. After all, Cincinnati was 18-30 at the beginning of the series, well-cemented in the bottom of the National League Central.
The problem for the Dodgers was that hardly anything clicked against the Reds. Although there seemed to be enough offense in Friday’s opener, a normally reliable James Paxton gave up five earned runs over 4-2/3 innings and Yohan Ramirez followed by surrendering three earned runs without recording an out.
In contrast, the pitching was half decent on Saturday and Sunday, but the Dodgers scored just two runs over those final two games with the offense being almost non-existent.
Still, there were several big hits for the Dodgers over those final two games. Teoscar Hernandez slugged a pair of doubles in Sunday’s contest, and Freddie Freeman recorded a double in each game. Freeman’s double on Sunday was responsible for the only run in the finale, plating Shohei Ohtani after a one-out single in the ninth inning.
The most startling statistic in the final two games was that the team was a combined 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. What stood out even more was that the six through nine-hole hitters went 0-for-22 in both of those games.
After the dust settled on Sunday’s 4-1 loss, the Dodgers find themselves amid a frustrating five-game losing streak.
We’ve been talking all year long about how the bottom third of the order could conceivably be one of the worst in baseball as far as offense goes. The team has no kind of consistent offensive threat after the first five hitters in the lineup.
Of course, Max Muncy is on the injured list with an oblique strain, but we’ve seen the team struggle when he’s in the lineup. While Freeman, Ohtani and Mookie Betts are synonymous with the word consistency, it seems like the club has zero chance of winning if the trio collectively has a day off.
Los Angeles was hoping for a spark with the return of Jason Heyward, but the veteran is hitting just .177 (3-for-17) since his return on May 17. More significantly, nobody past the five hole in Sunday’s lineup had an average over .206.
As far as records go, the New York Mets are nearly identical to the Reds. As the Dodgers arrive in New York ahead of Monday’s opener, the Mets are 22-30, a whopping 15 games behind division leader Philadelphia.
The Mets are 10th in the NL in team ERA, which might open a door for the Dodgers if a handful of players can step up their games on offense.
Lining up to start for the Dodgers in New York’s three-game set are Gavin Stone, Tyler Glasnow and Paxton, respectively.
Monday’s first pitch is slated for 1:10 p.m. Los Angeles time.
