The Los Angeles Dodgers returned from a modest showing on their road trip to have a disappointing homestand that has seen them lose all three series.
It began with losing two of three to the San Diego Padres, followed by the same results against the Washington Nationals. Now the Dodgers enter play Sunday in danger of being swept by the New York Mets, who have not lost a series at Dodger Stadium since the 2021 season.
As has been the case throughout much of the seven losses in their last nine games, the Dodgers had plenty of opportunities on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re just kind of searching for the big hit right now,” Max Muncy said after the 6-4 loss. “We haven’t had that. A big hit could just be a single, it could be a blooper, it could be a home run, it could be anything. We just haven’t been able to put that together in the moments that we need it.”
The Dodgers went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base. They finished just 1-for-8 with six strikeouts with the bases loaded, which they had on four separate occasions.
Their lone hit in that scenario was Freddie Freeman’s two-run single in the sixth inning. Freeman is looking to emerge from a personal slump that’s been part of the Dodgers’ overall slide this week.
“Yeah, a little bit,” answered Muncy when asked if players in the lineup are pressing to have good results. “You start worrying about it, but we’ve got to keep going out there and play our game.
“I feel like right now we’re beating ourselves more than anything else. We’ve just got to dial it back a little bit and get back into our approach.”
Dodgers losing streak
Along with being on a three-game losing streak, the Dodgers have dropped three series in a row.
It’s the first time they have lost three consecutive series since June 2-11 of the 2023 season, and prior to the current stretch, the Dodgers had not dropped three series in a row at Dodger Stadium since Aug. 3-22, 2018, which was across multiple homestands.
“We’ve continued to give ourselves opportunities at any point in every game. We’ve just got to pull through. It’s part of the learning process when you have a team starting the year,” Muncy said.
“To be honest, as long as I’ve been here, I don’t know if we’ve ever played great in April. It’s just one of those things that you’ve got to weather the storm, grind through it and know that in the end we’re going to be just fine. Like I said, half the battle is just giving ourselves the opportunity.
“We’re doing that. Now we’ve just got to capitalize on the other part.”
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