PHILADELPHIA — James Outman took one step, then two, then a third before realizing his folly. When the Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder finally got a hold of Nick Castellanos’ ball, it was already plummeting toward the grass for a single. The next batter made the mistake, and the next batter put another game out of reach.
Over the three nights against the Philadelphia Phillies, a dichotomy formed. The Dodgers are one of the most successful clubs in the sport, but there is also this mediocre version of the Dodgers that has revealed itself in recent months.
“It’s clear they’re playing a lot better baseball than we are,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the Phillies. “It’s clear they’re a better team than we are right now.”
The Phillies’ 5-1 victory Thursday capped a convincing series sweep of a Dodgers team that is struggling toward the All-Star break.
The Dodgers haven’t been doing so well lately. Over their last 50 games, they’re 26-24. It’s an unwatchable brand of baseball: weak pitching, a lineup with a lot of players at the top, and a tendency to make errors that seemed uncommon compared to years past.
The Dodgers lost 5-1. They are now 55-39 after being swept by the Phillies.
They are now 26-24 in their last 50 games.
Playing time: 2:43.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 12, 2024
Outman’s error in center field sparked the Phillies’ fifth-inning comeback Thursday night. Andy Pages’ misstep in center field that same inning Wednesday allowed Whit Merrifield to reach base on a leadoff triple and spark the Phillies’ game-changing comeback. Outman’s decision Wednesday to square up to bunt not once, but twice in a two-run game with a runner in left field confused manager Roberts in his postgame comments.
The errors weighed down the Dodgers like cement blocks.
“We don’t have a lot of room for error,” Roberts said. “I hate to say you have to play perfect baseball to win, but it seems that way.”
The Dodgers are searching for answers, and the looming All-Star break doesn’t offer much respite. Their rotation remains in flux, with their most effective pitcher (Tyler Glasnow), most expensive pitcher (Yoshinobu Yamamoto), most promising pitcher (Bobby Miller) and most experienced postseason pitchers (Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler) all injured, ineffective or both.
“If you would have told us in spring training that we would be where we are with the depth of our starting pitching, I would have doubted it,” Roberts said Thursday afternoon. “But we are.”
The lineup is suffering from the absence of Mookie Betts and Max Muncy. The Dodgers managed to score just five runs in the three games. This month’s trade deadline offers potential solutions, but it will be a matter of plugging those holes before another one appears.
The Dodgers’ logic in using a starter Thursday was sound. Instead of having rookie right-hander Landon Knack (making his eighth career appearance) face lefties Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper three times, Roberts opted to use left-hander Anthony Banda. Banda retired both but allowed a solo homer up the middle to right-hander Trea Turner to give the Dodgers another deficit. They trailed in 26 of the 27 innings they played at Citizens Bank Park.
With the Dodgers in the game, thanks in part to Gavin Lux’s solo homer and a stretch in which Knack retired 11 straight Phillies, more trouble ensued. Outman’s poor read allowed Castellanos to reach safely. Castellanos scored a batter later on Brandon Marsh’s triple as part of a two-run inning to extend the Phillies’ lead. It was one of several productive stretches from the back of the Phillies’ lineup in the series.
Los Angeles rallied twice to load the bases, but couldn’t get anything going. Shohei Ohtani struck out and Will Smith grounded out to end a second-inning threat. When Harper’s error opened the door for the Dodgers to score the go-ahead run in the eighth, the door closed immediately: Miguel Rojas lined out to second baseman Bryson Stott, who turned and threw to second to double off Teoscar Hernandez.
“I think those guys took advantage of every opportunity they had,” Roberts said. “They took advantage of the mistakes and the errors we made defensively.”
This resulted in a fight that felt rather lopsided, leaving little doubt as to which club has been the best in the sport and which has been stuck in it for the best part of two months.
“We didn’t play very well in that series,” Freddie Freeman said. “There’s nothing that makes it look any different. We’re still a top team. We’re still a team that plays very good baseball. But sometimes opportunities come at good times. Let’s finish off the series with a good win in Detroit and play better baseball. Then it’ll be a good time for a break.”
(Photo by Miguel Rojas: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
