Dodgers' Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw Get Brutally Honest About Team's Struggles

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts and starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw both shared their frustrations after the Milwaukee Brewers completed the season sweep over them on Sunday.

The Dodgers have lost 10 of their last 12, and six of those losses came against their opponents over the weekend.

“I’m frustrated. We’re all frustrated. I don’t know how else to say it,” Kershaw said. “We didn’t win a game. No excuses. We’ve just got to play better. I don’t have much to say. I’m going to get myself in trouble. So let’s just call it.”

Opposing teams have swept the Dodgers three times this month, which has allowed a nearly insurmountable nine-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West to slip to just 3.5 games. Betts has especially struggled as of late, and is batting .189 in July with a sub-.700 OPS on the season.

“We’ve got to figure it out,” Betts said. "We’ve got to play better."

Since the beginning of this Dodgers slump, which began against the Houston Astros on July 4, they have the third-worst batting average and fourth-highest strikeout rate in MLB. They have scored less runs than everyone except the Pittsburgh Pirates in that time frame, and have a team wRC+ of just 67, well below league average.

Miguel Rojas has been a surprise bat in the Dodgers lineup during their tumultuous stretch, and has three home runs in the last 12 games as he fills in for third baseman Max Muncy. He has an OPS higher than 1.000 and the highest wRC+ on the team in that stretch. The Dodgers will hope the rest of the lineup can catch up and begin producing so they can maintain their spot at the top of the NL West.

The Dodgers definitely need to turn things around in the final series of their six-game homestand against the Minnesota Twins, as the Padres' bats have begun to wake up in the second half and are rapidly closing in on the top spot in the division. Shohei Ohtani will start for the Dodgers on Monday at 7:10 p.m. PT.