The Los Angeles Dodgers have gained the final two World Collection. In 2024, they took benefit of a clutch Freddie Freeman grand slam in Sport 1 and the Yankees’ defective protection in Sport 5 to win all of it. Final 12 months they hopped on the again of Yoshinobu Yamamoto to take Video games 6 and seven in Toronto to win an immediate traditional.
With the addition of Kyle Tucker within the low season for a file $60 million per 12 months (for 4 years) and nearer Edwin Díaz (three years, $69 million) many believed that the group was unstoppable and successfully broke baseball. That concept was solely bolstered after they traded for back-to-back American League Cy Younger Award-winner Tarik Skubal on the deadline.
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However with the canine days of August within the rearview mirror, and with September now upon us, the Dodgers have confirmed themselves to be eminently beatable. Positive, they’ve a 9.5 recreation lead within the Nationwide League West and have a 100% probability to make the playoffs (per FanGraphs), however they do not have one of the best file in both league, that means that the Milwaukee Brewers would (once more) have homefield benefit towards Los Angeles in the event that they meet within the playoffs, as would the Tampa Bay Rays in the event that they meet within the Fall Traditional. And the Dodgers simply sit half a recreation forward of the Atlanta Braves for the second-best file within the Nationwide League.
The Dodgers’ pitching – regardless of having practically their total beginning rotation on the injured listing at one time or one other, and regardless of sending River Ryan to Detroit within the aforementioned deal for Skubal, and regardless of Díaz having pitched simply 13-2/3 innings – has been their sturdy swimsuit. By means of August, Los Angeles had the fifth finest group ERA (3.62), however amongst these forward of them are these Brewers and Braves. They’ve given up the fourth fewest earned runs (however, once more, forward of them are the Braves and Brewers). This theme holds throughout practically all pitching classes.
The place the difficulty lies with this membership is with the offense. Getting into Tuesday night time, the Dodgers are second within the league in group batting (.258), third within the league with a .335 on-base proportion, and fourth within the league with 670 runs scored. And they’re doing this with practically everybody of their lineup having seasons beneath their profession averages, and with the group as a complete swinging pool noodles over the previous month.
The group hit .241 in August; their .689 OPS was 22nd within the league for the month; and their .378 slugging proportion was 23rd. Nobody appears to be hitting:
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Contents
Shohei Ohtani
In Ohtani’s final 15 video games coming into September, he slashed .197/.280/.426, with three homers (two in a single recreation) and 6 RBI. On Tuesday night time, he went 1-for-2 with a delicate single (78-mph off the bat) within the fifth inning.
Freddie Freeman
Freeman is a generational hitter who may roll away from bed and slap two balls to left. However he final left the yard on July 4th – 47 video games in the past. Since then, he’s hitting a strong .318, however is barely slugging .375 with ten doubles. Some within the Los Angeles media marvel if Freeman is injured, however you’ll by no means hear that from the primary baseman, who posts each day.
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Mookie Betts
In August of final season, Betts determined that his 12 months was misplaced from a statistical perspective, so he simply did no matter he may to assist the group win. This 12 months has been worse (.258/.326/.406 in 2025 vs. .239/.298/.404 in 2026). The transformed shortstop hit two house runs on July 20th, and simply three within the 36 video games since. On Tuesday night time he received a present within the third inning when his bloop to no man’s land in proper slipped out of Jordan Walker’s glove for a bases clearing three-run double. His double within the fifth inning was a lot cleaner, leaving the bat at 85-mph down the left area line.
Kyle Tucker
Kyle Tucker has had far more unhealthy at-bats than good ones this 12 months, particularly at Dodger Stadium. (Photograph by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Pictures)
The much less stated about Tucker’s season the higher. For the 12 months he’s slashing .227/.325/.355. In August he hit two house runs and drove in a complete of six. At house he’s beneath the Mendoza line (.189) and is slugging lower than .300 (.267). He has hit a complete of two house runs at Dodger Stadium all 12 months. And people stats have been earlier than his 0-for-3 on Tuesday night time.
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Teoscar Hernández
The Dodgers’ left fielder is slashing .249/.312/.395 for the season. Final month he hit three homers however had a 22-game drought between spherical trippers. He had eight RBI for the month and has discovered himself moved right down to eight-hole within the lineup. Hernández is able to carrying the group if and when he will get scorching. Sadly, he has not been scorching since Could, and isn’t giving the membership the manufacturing they want from considered one of their nook outfielders (particularly when the opposite nook outfielder will not be hitting). He did have a hard-hit single on Tuesday night time.
Max Muncy
Muncy was an All-Star this 12 months on the again of his 17 house runs and .488 slugging proportion within the first half. Whereas he’s nonetheless hitting some homers (9 over July and August), he’s hitting simply .225 on that span. He went 0-for-3 with one other strikeout on Tuesday night time.
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September
Possibly issues are trying up in September, because the Dodgers mustered eight runs on 9 hits of their sequence opener towards the Cardinals. That is an enchancment on their common of three.85 runs per recreation throughout August.
However earlier than you may get too excited, September began with an absolute stinker of a pitching efficiency. The visiting Cardinals put up 13 runs (on 13 hits, 5 of which left the yard). In baseball parlance, that is one the Dodgers simply want to clean and get again at it on Wednesday, as they hope to place collectively a string of strong video games on each side of the ball.
A drop right here, the width of a cleat there, and the Dodgers win neither of their earlier two World Collection. It stands to purpose that they might want to play even higher – and significantly higher than they’re taking part in proper now – in the event that they need to turn into the primary Nationwide League group to win a 3 in a row.
This text was initially printed on Forbes.com