The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped two games against the Philadelphia Phillies as their pitching woes continue.
With the additions of Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw, LA looked rock solid in hopes of protecting their NL West lead. The teams’ aces, though, are one of the problems as they still struggle to go deep in many games. Kershaw and Gavin Stone only made it through four-and-two-thirds innings before being pulled in Games 2 and 3, while the only win saw Glasnow go six innings.
LA’s issue right now is that Kershaw is not performing like he used to. With Father Time against him, the 16-year Dodger is showing cracks that the opposition has been exposing. His four-seam fastball is not fast enough to fool any batters, and other pitches do not have enough movement to force a swing. After another surgery this past season, Kershaw needs to find his groove or think about hanging up the cleats on a Hall-of-Fame career.
In his first return to the mound, Brusdar Graterol threw eight pitches before being escorted off the field. The promising return of a powerful relief pitcher spelled great things for the Dodgers, but yet another injury to the lineup keeps holding the team back. Manager Dave Roberts reported that Graterol has a grade 1 hamstring strain, meaning he will likely return to the lineup later this season.
The only victory for LA in the series was during Game 1 when Freddie Freeman made his emotional return to the lineup after his son was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. He was awarded a standing ovation from the fans and opposition alike during his first at-bat of the game and hit a single later in the third inning of the game. The Dodgers put up four runs during the third and rode the wave to a 5-3 win.
The Phillies came out swinging during Game 2, recording 14 hits in a 6-2 LA loss. Teoscar Hernández tallied his 25th home run of the season, but it was not enough as Philadelphia ran away with the game in the top of the ninth inning. Phillies second-baseman Edmundo Sosa and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber smashed back-to-back home runs, thoroughly putting the game out of reach for the Dodgers.
Game 3 was another slugfest for the Phillies as they scored nine unanswered runs to take the series. Schwarber had a career night, going four-for-four with three homers and seven RBIs. LA was destroyed once again in hitting, giving up 23 total bases compared to their nine. The Dodgers also left seven runners on base, an anomaly for a high-scoring squad.
The motto, “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear,” is a statement LA needs to take to heart.
As the Dodgers keep dropping games, a blistering-hot San Diego Padres squad is flying toward the top of the NL West. The Padres are 13-3 in their past 16 games, while the Dodgers are a meager 8-8. What was initially a stable lead has quickly become a race that the Dodgers could very well lose.
With its talented roster, LA cannot afford to be first-round exits, or worse, miss the playoffs entirely due to a lapse in focus late in the season.