LOS ANGELES — The refrain from Dodger fans these days, I’m sure, is pretty consistent: “They’ve slumped before and come out of it … they struggled through August and early September last year and won the World Series … they’ll be fine.”
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There are two words that, in a lifetime of watching sports, I’ve learned are essential guides: Never assume.
Sure, go ahead and make that case. In 2024 the Dodgers had an 8-11 stretch in July and an 11-10 stretch in September (and, remember, were one game away from elimination going into Game 4 in San Diego in the National League Division Series) but vanquished the Mets and the Yankees in the last two rounds. In 2025 a 22-34 stretch from July into September – with 15 losses from July 9 to the end of the season that were directly attributable to the bullpen – dropped them into the Wild Card round, but they won 13 of 17 games in October and another ring.
“I think that you can look back to the last couple years in August,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s sort of shown itself again and we have gotten to the other side. Never feels good when you’re in it, but I do feel that we have the players that can turn this thing around.”
There are two possibilities here. Either the Dodgers are setting themselves up for another inspirational finish, or their luck may be about to run out.
I’m not going to predict, but … well, consider the term that Roberts uses in discussing a player’s resume, the “back of the baseball card.” The guys who make up the core of these back-to-back champions have all sorts of impressive numbers on their baseball cards, but they’ve also logged a lot of seasons.
Fifteen of them are thirty-somethings, including infielder Miguel Rojas (37), first baseman Freddie Freeman (who turns 37 on Sept. 12), third baseman Max Muncy (36), utility man Kiké Hernandez (35), shortstop Mookie Betts (who turns 34 on Oct. 7), and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (34 on Oct. 15). Relief pitcher Blake Treinen, who came off the injured list on Wednesday, is 38, starting pitchers Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are 33 and injured (and ineffective) closer Edwin Díaz is 32.
Shohei Ohtani is also 32 and has been dealing with enough nagging maladies (including the knee issue that has kept him from resuming two-way duties) that Roberts said after Wednesday night’s 10-inning, 8-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals that he would have a conversation with Shohei to determine if he might need some time off.
One possible clue as to how that conversation went: Ohtani was not in Thursday’s lineup against the Cardinals.
“I saw his shaking of the arm,” Roberts said, referring to Ohtani’s 10th-inning strikeout, his fourth straight on a night when the Dodgers went 1 for 18 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base. “I saw that wincing and clearly the swings aren’t who he is. And so obviously there’s some compensation (in his swing).
“It won’t be an IL … unless it is,” he added.
Yes, that sounded funny. But Roberts knew that Shohei would probably try to talk him out of any sort of rest, much less an injured list stint. Nor would it be a surprise if Shohei tried to convince the manager that he’s healthy enough to pitch.
Roberts’ job at this point is to remind him of the importance of October. The view from here: At this point, Ohtani on the mound is a luxury the Dodgers don’t need and in fact can’t afford if it affects his offense. And if a few days off now mean a healthy and productive Ohtani in October, why, that’s no choice at all.
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“I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup,” Roberts said. “And if he’s upright, he should play. I respect that. But if he is feeling the way that (he) visibly looks, then he’s really not helping anyone.”
Anyway, consider those ages noted above. And consider, as well, that the Dodgers have played more games than anyone else over the past two years – 178 with 16 postseason games in 2024, and 179 with 17 playoff games in 2025. Father Time remains unbeaten, and long seasons ultimately do take their toll.
But age also brings experience and a certain amount of wisdom, and maybe hones the ability to ride out a rough few weeks and get to the other side.
“I wish I could give you guys the clear-cut answer of why we’re not getting hits with runners in scoring position, but there is no clear-cut answer,” Freeman said. “It’s just kind of how it goes. When you’re going through it as a group, you seem to get those opportunities and you don’t get the big hits.
“You do have to take a step back. We are 25-plus games over 500. We are back-to-back World Series champions. We are a great team. Great teams go through it, and we’ll be all right.”
Still, best not to wait too long.
Even with a secure division lead, the Dodgers entered Thursday’s schedule third among the NL division leaders, which would put them in the wild card round again if the season ends that way.
Then again, Freeman noted, “That’s why you play 162 games, that’s why we got off to a great start to manage these stretches throughout the course of the season. … We’ve been through everything, we’ve seen everything, had our backs against the wall and had to win games when we needed to and it’s a very resilient group. And you’re starting to see some life out of the offense, so I think good things are ahead.”
But here are numbers that should give everyone pause: Since July 8 – the start of the three-game sweep by Arizona at Dodger Stadium right before the All-Star break that began this rough patch – the Dodgers are 6-19 against teams over .500 and averaging 3.1 runs per game in those games. They’re 15-5 against teams under .500 – and losses in the first two games of the St. Louis series this week boosted the Cardinals to exactly .500 at 70-70. So go figure.
If you wish to argue that the regular season is borderline irrelevant, there are numbers to back your case. The Dodgers won more than 100 games in 2021, 2022 and 2023, didn’t get to the World Series in any of those years and went out in the NLDS in ’22 (Padres in four) and ’23 (Diamondbacks in three).
The last two years, they won 98 and 93 games in the regular season and ended up with an on-field dogpile each time.
Going into Thursday they were on a pace for 96 victories this season. But there’s another little tradition that could factor in: In 2024 they were 11-3 over the final two weeks of the regular season, and in ’25 they were 15-5 over the final three weeks.
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They need to start that finishing kick sooner rather than later.