The visiting dugouts in Milwaukee offer plenty of space for observation. That’s where Dave Roberts spent most of Wednesday. It’s where the Los Angeles Dodgers manager has spent the last few days of what is the longest losing streak the franchise has seen in six years.
But he stood on the lip of the dugout when the Brewers’ Andruw Monasterio stepped up in the ninth inning, with the Dodgers’ hopes of snapping a six-game losing streak put on pause and their one-run lead gone. He wanted his infielders to be mindful of the threat of a game-sealing bunt. He stood again an inning later as Jackson Chourio swung away to continue the Dodgers’ misery, punching through a walk-off single in a 3-2 loss.
Very little has gone well for the Dodgers over the last week, leading to something that hasn’t been seen in years. They hadn’t lost six in a row since 2019. They hadn’t been swept by Milwaukee since 2014.
The most encouraging sign of Tyler Glasnow’s return to the mound came when his second pitch registered at 97.7 mph — harder than any pitch he’d thrown since his season-opening start against the Atlanta Braves.
Glasnow’s mechanics have been an adventure this year. Every tweak he made twisted himself further into a knot with little way to untie it. He feels the changes he made this offseason to stay healthy led to his shoulder flaring up in late April.
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That delivery looked more fluid in his return from the injured list Wednesday. The velocity that followed signaled that the shoulder was responding. He’d averaged 95.2 mph on his four-seam fastball and sinker before going on the shelf. Wednesday, all but four of his fastballs and sinkers exceeded that velocity.
Tyler Glasnow looked rusty, but the Dodgers will undoubtedly be pleased with him allowing just one unearned run in five innings. (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
His outing wasn’t perfect, though the Dodgers will undoubtedly be pleased with him allowing just one unearned run in five innings. He looked rusty with his off-speed stuff. His curveball repeatedly popped out of his hand whenever he reached back for it to put away hitters. While his slider at times looked sharp, it often missed location over the middle of the plate.
That led him to trouble in his second inning of work. Christian Yelich fixated and jumped on a first-pitch fastball for a hit. Glasnow couldn’t go to a two-strike breaking ball and walked Isaac Collins. After getting a lineout, Glasnow couldn’t put Caleb Durbin away. The Brewers infielder saw six two-strike offerings, and none got a swing and miss. The last was a curveball that popped out of Glasnow’s hand and walked the bases loaded.
Glasnow rallied to get out of the inning scoreless, with another positive sign: earlier in the inning, he’d hit 99.5 mph when trying to blow a fastball past Brice Turang. It was the hardest he had thrown a pitch in a Dodgers uniform.
It was more than just The Miz. Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski earned name recognition from Clayton Kershaw and others with his electric and dominant outing on Tuesday night, but the Dodgers’ recent offensive woes go deeper than that.
Misiorowski and the rest of the Brewers’ pitching staff bullied the Dodgers with velocity, firing 52 pitches that registered at 98 mph or harder. The Dodgers have handled velocity well this season, ranking second in batting average (.277) and first in slugging percentage (.465) on pitches 95 mph or harder. However, that doesn’t make it any more pleasant an at-bat when you’re scuffling. And the Dodgers really are scuffling.
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They aren’t healthy. Their hottest hitter, Max Muncy, is out for weeks with a bone bruise in his knee. Teoscar Hernández emerged off the bench Wednesday and drew a walk, but still hasn’t returned to the lineup since fouling a ball off his left foot on Saturday. Tommy Edman returned to starting action on Wednesday but is playing through a fractured pinky toe. Kiké Hernández finally went on the injured list after dealing with a painful left elbow for a month.
Their stars also just aren’t performing, save for Will Smith. From June 1 through Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández have combined to hit .225/.294/.379, good for an 86 wRC+. Wednesday, they combined to go hitless in 11 at-bats but drove in both runs on an Ohtani walk and a Betts sacrifice fly.
The two runs were their second-most in a game in this losing stretch.
They need their lineup to carry them until their pitching gets healthy. And they need their stars to carry the lineup.
Wednesday’s production followed a similar script as the night before, except for the velocity. Jose Quintana didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning, when it took a questionable check-swing call on James Outman and an even more questionable four-pitch walk to Ohtani to squeeze across a run. He didn’t throw anything harder than 91.9 mph.
The Dodgers have largely hit their starters fine. Their .755 OPS against them entering the day ranked seventh in baseball. Only one team had scored more runs in the first inning than the Dodgers’ 67.
However, that might still be the lower end of the team’s overall production. A lot of that damage against starters has had to wait until the third time through the order, where their .867 OPS is the game’s best. Their .822 OPS against relievers also leads the majors.
Perhaps the most telling stat of all on Wednesday: They wrapped up their series against the Brewers going a combined 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
The most surprising development in the Dodgers’ pitching struggles this season isn’t hard to find.
“I think the things that stand out, I would say, are the slug that we’re giving up, the hard contact that we’re giving up,” Roberts said a month ago.
It’s still an issue. The Dodgers’ pitching staff hasn’t performed as expected. Their 4.35 ERA (23rd) and 4.32 FIP (24th) are rather damning given the investment in the position and the pedigree they’ve supposedly had with their depth. A large part of that is health. They’ve had to call on 35 pitchers already this season, second-most in baseball and already fourth-most of any season in Dodgers franchise history.
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They aren’t keeping the ball in the ballpark either. They entered Wednesday ranked 23rd in baseball in slugging percentage allowed (.421). They’re allowing 1.30 home runs per nine innings, also 23rd.
The Astros entered last weekend’s series ranking 14th in slugging percentage (.402). The Brewers entered Monday ranking 22nd (.381). The Dodgers got outscored in both series, 44-9, allowing 12 home runs in the process.
It could be as simple as the Dodgers trotting out a bunch of arms they didn’t expect to rely on this year. But it’s not just that. Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates were the Dodgers’ marquee bullpen additions after standout 2024 campaigns. Both have already allowed more homers this season than they did a year ago — Scott’s allowed seven in 42 innings (after three all last year), and Yates has allowed five in 27 2/3 innings after allowing three in 61 2/3 innings with Texas last year.
(Top photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
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