The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the midst of a 5-15 slide since starting the 2021 season off 13-2. The club has been struggling in all areas besides starting pitching over that time and have fallen to third place in the NL West at 18-17, behind the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres.
These struggles have been well documented, and pitcher Trevor Bauer voiced his frustration recently.
A significant reason for the team’s struggles is their difficulties at the plate. Aside from 16 and 14-run aberrations against the Brewers and Angels over this recent period, the offense has been largely stymied.
Luckily for the Boys in Blue, they have an opportunity to turn that around tonight against Yusei Kikuchi and the Seattle Mariners.
Toeing the rubber for the Dodgers will be Walker Buehler, who has largely been his usual reliable self this season — boasting a 3.13 ERA and .234 opponent batting average.
In his pregame press conference today, Dodger manager Dave Roberts praised Buehler for his performance, but also said that “we as a team need to pick him up as well.”
The Dodgers have a golden opportunity against the lefty hurler Kikuchi.
The three-year MLB veteran has a rather high 5.28 ERA against right-handed hitters, and the Dodgers will take to the diamond with a righty heavy lineup with one exception being shortstop Corey Seager, who’s hit an even .300 against southpaws this season.
All in all, all elements on paper add up to a decent chance for the Dodgers to start to break out of their offensive struggles tonight.
Time will tell if that happens though, and it will be intriguing to see whether the Dodgers can take Roberts’ acknowledgement of their recent problems at the plate and turn that into an explosion tonight.
Yes, the team has been hampered with injuries, but the team needs to start at least treading water in the interim until Cody Bellinger for instance can return.
Mariners vs. Dodgers: 7:10 PM PST on SportsNet LA.
Odds: Dodgers -220, Over/Under: 7 runs
