Bad luck returns for Doomsday Dodgers

Aladdin was granted three wishes and he didn’t get it right until the third one.

The Dodgers made three trips in four years to the World Series and didn’t get it right until their third one.

This Dodgers team is playing like Aladdin without any more wishes. They are victims of chance, bad luck and circumstance.

After rattling off eight wins in a row and climbing back into contention for the National League West title, the Dodger lost four of six games last week and fell back solidly in third place behind the pesky San Diego Padres and surprising San Francisco Giants.

It was another rough week for a Dodgers team that has already gone through a 5-15 stretch this season.

They have shown signs of life -- their recent eight-game winning streak a great example -- but they also have a habit of going into slumps, blowing leads late in games, losing in extra innings and relying on home runs instead of timely hits to score runs.

Instead of riding a hot streak after making some moves to add Albert Pujols to the roster and taking Cody Bellinger off the injured list, the Dodgers slipped into another losing funk.

The bullpen continues to be a problem.

Injuries continue to be a problem.

Timely hitting continues to be a problem.

It’s not one thing, but a trio of troubles that plague this Dodgers team.

This Dodgers team plays more like the cursed Little Mermaid than Aladdin. It’s a team that made an unfortunate deal, like the Little Mermaid who traded her beautiful singing voice for a pair of legs so she could pursue the love of her life.

It’s like the Dodgers traded winning a World Series title for a bullpen full of minor league arms and a roster full of injured All Stars.

The good news is The Little Mermaid had a happy ending, once Ariel figured out how to escape from the horrible bargain she made with Ursula.

And Aladdin did the right thing by using his third wish to release the Genie.

But what will it take for the Dodgers to break the curse of 2021? 

(Bring back Farmer John Dodger Dogs)

Perhaps it will be the result of an earth-shattering trade. Or maybe the baseball gods will smile on the Dodgers and grant them a healthy roster before the season ends.

Whatever it is, it can’t come soon enough.

One Dodger who has escaped the team’s curse is Max Muncy. Is it too early to start talking about his case for MVP?

After Saturday’s game against the Giants, Muncy was the Dodgers leader in batting average (.282), home runs (12) and on-base percentage (.445). Those are impressive numbers from a team perspective. He hit the 100th home run of his career, and 13th of the season, in a losing effort against the Giants on Sunday. 

His .282 batting average is 14th in the National League. His 13 home runs are tied for third in the National League. His .445 on-base percentage leads the National League.

That should be enough to put him in the conversation for MVP.

This is where he goes over the top.

His OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) is .998, fourth best in the National League.

His .552 slugging percentage is fifth in the National League.

His WAR (wins above replacement, a new fangled stat all the kids are using to evaluate a player’s true worth) is 3.3, not only the best in the National League, but the best in the majors.

Even by sabremetric measures, Muncy is the best player in the National League, the most valuable to his team and the most valuable player for winning games.

But like all Dodgers in 2021, he just needs to stay healthy.

Dodgers starting pitchers power rankings:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. David Price
3. Trevor Bauer
4. Walker Buehler
5. Julio Urias

The Dodgers (31-22) start a four-game series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday and head out to Atlanta for a weekend series against the Braves, who are going through some things with their All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna. 

New faces lead to greener pastures for boys in blue

When Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer said, “I don’t like losing,” a few days ago, it apparently resonated with his teammates.

The Dodgers didn’t like losing much either. It led to a seven-game winning streak, knocking the San Francisco Giants out of first place in the National League West standings.

After suffering through a 2-8 stretch that saw the Dodgers drop out of first place in the NL West standings, the tides have turned. The Dodgers have won 11 of their past 12 games and shoved the Giants to third place in the standings after sweeping them in San Francisco.

Bauer’s words, “I don’t like losing. I want to win. That’s why I came here,” were first interpreted as a dig at how bad the Dodgers were playing. 

But they became a rallying cry for the Dodgers to start winning. It didn’t hurt that a cast of new faces played a part in the turnaround.

The most noticeable was Albert Pujols. He drove in a run in his first game with the Dodgers, a 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday. He hit his first home for the Dodgers in his fourth game with his new team on Thursday, a 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks to complete the sweep.

But Pujols might not be the most impactful new face on the Dodgers.

Reliever Nate Jones made his debut with the Dodgers on Friday in the series opener against the Giants. He pitched a perfect 1 ⅔ innings to bridge the gap between Bauer and closer Blake Treinen to preserve a 2-1 lead.

More importantly, Jones provided reliable relief for a team that has struggled out of the bullpen in the early weeks of the season.

Jones, who came over from the Atlanta Braves, has appeared in 13 games and has a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings pitched. Nothing too Earth-shattering there, but Jones doesn’t need to be exceptional, just effective. The Dodgers look like they have a major league arm to go with Victor Gonzalez, Kenley Jansen and Treinen in the bullpen. That has been hard for the Dodgers to find in the early part of the season.

Another new face that has yet to produce many dividends is Yoshi Tsutsugo, who came over from the Tampa Rays last week. The power hitter from the Japanese leagues has struggled in the majors. But he drove in his first run and scored his first run with the Dodgers in Sunday’s 11-5 win over the Giants. Maybe it’s a sign of things to come.

Perhaps the biggest surprise came from a familiar face in the Dodgers circle. Gavin Lux has been giving the Dodgers a life of luxury in recent games.

He hit his first grand slam of his career in Tuesday’s 9-1 win over the Diamondbacks. He hit his second career grand slam in Sunday’s win over the Giants. Seeing Lux swing the bat with such success has been worth the wait.

Here are the Dodgers starting pitcher power rankings:

1. Trevor Bauer
2. Julio Urias
3. Walker Buehler
4. Clayton Kershaw
5. David Price

The Dodgers are 29-19 and trail the pesky San Diego Padres, winners of nine in a row, by one game in the NL West standings.

Next up for the Dodgers are the stinky, cheating Houston Astros on Tuesday for a short two-game series before heading home for a weekend series against the Giants.

Dodgers change course, head in different direction

Perhaps reports of the Dodgers demise were premature.

After going through a 2-8 stretch and dropping to third place in the National League West standings, the Dodgers won four games in a row, four of their past five games, and seem to have turned things around.

What changed?

Max Muncy got hot for one. 

The human walk machine started swinging the bat last week and hit three home runs. He was the toughest out in the lineup, going 9-for-21 in the two series against the Seattle Mariners and Miami Marlins. That’s a .428 batting average if you’re keeping score at home. He also drew five walks and has a .442 on-base percentage.

Muncy started feasting on opposing pitching.

Fans feasted on new food in the stands.

Shake Shack opened at Dodger Stadium. When it was revealed that Dodgers Dogs were no longer made by Farmer John, the Dodgers went into a slump. They couldn’t hit. The bullpen couldn’t hold a lead. Players were landing on the injured list on a daily basis it seemed. It was bad.

But ever since Shake Shack opened at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, the Dodgers fortunes changed for the better. It’s not the same as bringing Farmer John back at the concession stands, but it has made a difference on the field. Give Shake Shack some credit for the Dodgers recent winning ways.

Reinforcements are on the way.

Albert Pujols joined the Dodgers. The three-time National League MVP was unceremoniously released by the Los Angeles Angels before joining the Dodgers. How big a role he will play on the Dodgers has yet to be determined. But even if it’s a chance for Pujols to chase another World Series championship, it is a constructive move. Any Dodgers story that ends with a World Series title is worth exploring. If Pujols is part of the story, there won’t be many complaints.

In another not-so-celebrated move, the Dodgers acquired Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, an infielder from the Tampa Rays. The 29-year-old hit 44 home runs in 133 games playing for Yokohama in the Japan Central League in 2016. His numbers with the Rays are not as impressive. He was hitting .167 in 23 games with Tampa before getting traded. 

Perhaps Tsutsugo will have better results with the Dodgers.

But it wasn’t all good news for the Dodgers last week. Corey Seager broke his hand when he was hit by a pitch on Saturday against the Marlins. He will be out at least a month, creating an ever-growing gaping hole in the Dodgers lineup.

He joins Cody Bellinger, AJ Pollock and Zack McKinstry on the injured list. And that’s only the hitters. Pitchers Dustin May, Scott Alexander, David Price, Tony Gonsolin and Brusdar Graterol have spent time or are on the injured list.

Here are the Dodgers starting pitching power rankings:

1. Trevor Bauer
2. Clayton Kershaw
3. Walker Buehler
4. Julio Urias
5. Jimmy Nelson

After Sunday’s loss to the Marlins, the Dodgers are in third place in the NL West, at 22-18, and two games behind the San Francisco Giants. 

The Dodgers wrap up their homestand with a four-game series against the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks before heading on the road for a weekend series against the Giants.

Slumping Dodgers seeing season slipping away

What is wrong with the Dodgers?

They went 2-8 on their latest road trip. They lost three straight game to the Cubs in Chicago, losing both games of a doubleheader to start the sweep. 

They are 18-17, tied for second place in the National League West standings and 2.5 games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants. 

The Dodgers showed signs of life on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Angels, winning 14-11 and building a 13-0 lead at one point.

It was the lone bright spot during one of the roughest stretches in recent memory for the Dodgers. To be honest, it was more of a candle than a bonfire.

Clayton Kershaw had one of his best starts of the season tossing five shutout innings on three-days rest and striking out five. It came after one of the worst starts of his career, when he pitched only one inning in a 7-1 loss to the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday. He gave up four runs on four hits and two walks. 

Embarrassing.

As humiliating as that loss to the Cubs was, it wasn't nearly as bad as the 14-11 win over the Angels.

Yes, scoring 14 runs and winning a baseball game can be shrouded in shame.

The Angels crawled back in the game, scoring seven runs in the seventh inning to cut the lead to three runs after taking Mike Trout and Justin Upton out of the game.

The Dodgers’ comfortable 13-0 lead turned into a save situation in four innings. When Kenley Jansen factors into the Dodgers fate, anything is possible.

Thankfully, Jansen didn’t factor into the game. Blake Treinen recorded the final three outs and earned his first save of the season.

Still, it was too close for comfort for a baseball team that had a two-touchdown lead.

Who’s to blame?

Some want to blame manager Dave Roberts. This is the same manager who’s won eight National League West titles in a row. He took the Dodgers to three straight World Series and won the last World Series. Roberts can only play the players he has. He is not the problem.

The offense is struggling. Mookie Betts and Corey Seager are the slumpiest of the slumping Dodgers. Cody Bellinger is still recovering from a broken leg. The clutch factor is not even in the Dodgers equation. Despite losing eight of their past 10 games, the Dodgers are averaging 4.9 runs per game over that stretch. Granted they scored 16 runs in one game and 14 in another, but still, the Dodgers can score runs when they want to. They can also score one run in a game when they want to. They did that four times in the past 10 games.

The bullpen sucks. If anyone deserves blame for the Dodgers slump, it’s the bullpen. The only reliable arms in the pen are the ones attached to Victor Gonzalez, Treinen and Jansen. The Dodgers keep asking minor league relievers to hold major league leads. Clearly Garrett Cleavinger, Mitch White and Dennis Santana are not up to the task.

Dodgers starting pitching power rankings:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Walker Buehler
3. Trevor Bauer
4. Julio Urias

The Dodgers start a two-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Chavez Ravine on Tuesday. They have a three-game weekend series against the Miami Marlins starting on Friday.  

May Dodgers pitchers recover quickly

Pitchers break.

It’s a general rule of baseball. Teams can never have enough pitching depth. The Dodgers are experiencing an epidemic of injured pitchers and it has led to a stretch of bad losses. The Dodgers are 2-5 on their current road trip, and have lost six of their last eight games.

The Dodgers bullpen is partially to blame. 

It was most evident in Saturday’s extra-inning loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Dodgers and Brewers were tied, 2-2, after nine innings. The Dodgers took the lead in the 10th inning. But Alex Vesia came out of the bullpen and surrendered the tying run in the bottom of the 10th. 

The Dodgers took the lead again, scoring two runs in the top of the 11th inning. But Vesia went out to start the bottom of the 11th inning, loaded the bases and was pulled for Mitch White.

White promptly gave up three runs and the Brewers won the game on an RBI single by Travis Shaw.

The Dodgers bullpen blew it big time. 

It doesn’t help that Joe Kelly, Corey Knebel, Brusdar Graterol, David Price and Tony Gonsolin are on the injured list. Starter Dustin May is the most recent Dodgers pitcher to land on the IL after injuring his pitching arm in the second inning of Saturday’s game against the Brewers. 

Even though Kenley Jansen has not spent any time on the injured list, some of his outings have been painful to watch. 

The Dodgers pitching staff is like having a first-generation iPod. Sure it works and plays songs that remind fans of better times. But it can be glitchy. Some songs don’t play. Some songs don’t sound the same way fans remember them. Some songs are past their prime and probably need to be retired.

It’s hard to update an iPod. It’s better to switch to Spotify and explore other options that are available.

Right now, the best options for the Dodgers are Vesia and White, the Milli Vanilli of relief pitchers. Too bad the Dodgers can’t blame it on the rain.

Another reason for the Dodgers woes is that they are not hitting. Not enough anyway. 

Slumps end.

They are hard to explain and even harder to fix. All players go through them. All teams go through them.

It seems all the Dodgers are in a slump at the same time. That makes it harder to break out of. It’s contagious.

But it’s also probably something a healthy Cody Bellinger couldn’t fix.

The Dodgers looked like they broke out of their slump on Sunday. At least AJ Pollock and Matt Beaty showed some signs of life.

Pollock went 3-for-6 and drove in eight runs. Beaty was 4-for-6 and drove in seven runs. The Dodgers hit two grand slams, one by Pollock and the other by Beaty, and won 16-4 avoiding the sweep and snapping a three-game losing streak.

The one bright spot for the Dodgers through all this mess has been the starting pitching. Here are the Dodger starting pitching power rankings:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Julio Urias
3. Trevor Bauer
4. Walker Buehler
5. Dustin May

The Dodgers start a three-game series in Chicago against the Cubs on Monday. They have a three-game weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels starting on Friday. 

For the first time since opening day, the Dodgers are not in first place in the National League West standings. They are 17-12 and in second place, a half-game behind the San Francisco Giants.

This might be a good time to point out that the San Diego Padres are 16-13, in third place and 1.5 games out of first.