Dodgers’ offense wakes up too late as losing streak continues

ST. LOUIS — Roki Sasaki might’ve finally turned a corner from his recent struggles Saturday night.

Too bad the Dodgers’ offense took too long to do the same.

Despite a season-best six-inning, three-run start from Sasaki, the Dodgers remained mired in their recently maddening slump during a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. 

In their latest sign of futility, they entered the ninth inning with as many hits as double plays (four each). Then, despite some good batted-ball luck that keyed a last-gasp rally, they fittingly ended the game by stranding the tying and go-ahead runners on base.

Saturday followed what has become an uncomfortably common script for the Dodgers (20-13) in recent days. They couldn’t generate power, failing to hit a home run for a fifth straight game (the longest drought for the club since 2015). They couldn’t take advantage of situational opportunities, either, going hitless with runners in scoring position until their short-lived comeback attempt in the top of the ninth.

That inning was keyed by three two-out singles that all deflected off the glove of a Cardinals fielder. Andy Pages then snuck a seeing-eye grounder through the infield to cut the deficit to one.

Alas, Dalton Rushing struck out as a pinch-hitter to end the game and send the Dodgers to a fourth straight defeat.

They somehow stranded six runners, even with all of their double plays.

In the first inning, Will Smith hit an inning-ending double-play grounder to short. In the third, Alex Freeland got doubled off after an overly aggressive jump on a lineout to second from Shohei Ohtani. Another double play ended the fourth, when Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt made a spinning turn at second on a ground ball from Teoscar Hernández. Then in the fifth, Hyeseong Kim couldn’t leg out a tap back to the mound that was turned for two.

That meant, when Sasaki stumbled in a three-run third inning, the 3-0 deficit might as well have felt like 30.

Even some fortunate bounces at the end weren’t enough to snap their recent skid.

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What it means

The Dodgers continue to look for answers to their offensive shortcomings.

Before the game, manager Dave Roberts pointed to what he said was “passivity” from his hitters, who were either not attacking or not punishing mistakes made over the plate. He also noted that an illness has been sweeping through the clubhouse in recent weeks, coinciding with the start of what is now a 5-9 slide over their last 14 games.

Still, Roberts downplayed that dynamic as an excuse.

He tried to remain optimistic the tide would turn Saturday.

“Today’s the day,” he said. “I’m the eternal optimist.”

Hours later, the team’s problems had only gotten worse.

Who’s hot

Sasaki … at least by the end of the night.

After drastically changing his signature splitter last week — abandoning his traditional forkball grip for a more prototypical splitter release — the right-hander used both variations of the pitch Saturday. It led to varying degrees of success.

Early on, Sasaki had his usual command problems, walking two batters and hitting another in his first two innings. Then in the third, the Cardinals finally got to him. Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson hit back-to-back doubles off his fastball. Jordan Walker got a hanging forkball in an 0-2 count that he belted for a two-run blast.

Just like that, it was 3-0 with no outs in the inning.

Another disastrous performance seemed to be at hand.

The one thing Sasaki has done well this season, however, is bounce back from such adversity. And over the rest of Saturday night, he provided his best example yet. The 24-year-old retired 12 of his final 13 batters to complete six innings for the first time this year. He also recorded only his second “quality start” (at least six innings, no more than three earned runs) in 14 career starting performances in the majors. 

There’s still a long way to go in his development. But the trend line finally appears to be pointing up. 

Who’s not

Of the many, many hitters who don’t look right in the Dodgers’ lineup, no one’s slump has been more consequential than Ohtani’s.

After his ice-cold batting, the rest of the offense seemed to follow suit.

On Saturday, the two-way star went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. In this series, he has now made an out in all nine trips to the plate. Overall, Ohtani hasn’t recorded a hit since Monday. And after it seemed like he was getting back on track last week, his season batting average is back down to .252 and his OPS is down to .835.

When Ohtani last spoke to reporters Tuesday, he framed his slow start as nothing out of the ordinary, saying it usually takes until May for him to typically find his swing. However, he also acknowledged that, when his hitting mechanics are off, his two-way duties can make it more difficult (or at least take longer) to get his swing synced back up.

Case in point: He has just one home run in his last 18 games and only two extra-base hits in his last 12.

Up next

The Dodgers will try to avoid getting swept for the first time this season Sunday, when Justin Wrobleski (4-0, 1.50 ERA) will face off against ex-Dodger Dustin May (3-2, 5.28 ERA).

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com