The L.A. Dodgers might be leading the NL West and look solid on paper. However, the scenarios are now changing faster than a 110mph fastball. The losses keep coming, and this time it’s to the lowly Pirates—of all teams. Game 1’s bullpen woes had fans calling for Shohei Ohtani’s magic on the mound. But then Roberts pulled a surprise—his reason? Pretty unsettling.

In Game 1, the bullpen fell apart and gave up five runs in four innings. In the sixth inning, Edgardo Henriquez walked two batters and gave up a single to put the other team ahead. Then Blake Treinen gave up a two-run double that changed the game in Pittsburgh’s favor. For Game 2, the Dodgerland was hoping for their two-way sensation to show his skills, but Roberts hit the brakes. He told everyone that Ohtani was feeling good enough to hit, but what about the pitch side session? Not really.

As reported by the Dodgers Nation, Roberts revealed the reason before the Wednesday game. He said Shohei Ohtani was feeling “under the weather.” “He felt good enough to hit but didn’t feel great pitching because of the illness. The tax of pitching in a game, it wasn’t worth it.” So, when will he pitch next? As Roberts said, “sometime this weekend.”

The illness effect rippled through Wednesday’s game. Not only could he not pitch, but his hitting also suffered. Well, he had a rough day at the plate, managing only 2 hits. Result? The Dodgers lost to Pittsburgh 3-0. They had 10 runners on base and couldn’t score a run, even though the bases were loaded with no outs. Their bats became silent, and timely hitting never happened.

The Dodgers are now in a tight spot, with the Padres breathing down their necks, just 2.5 games behind them in the division battle. What should have been a regular series versus Pittsburgh has morphed into a possible season-defining slump. And that weekend pitching guarantee from Roberts suddenly feels less like scheduling and more like desperation.

But Shohei Ohtani’s absence was just the beginning of the Dodgers’ Wednesday woes..

Dodgers under the weather—Now Will Smith takes a hit

The Dodgers’ problems aren’t going away, and now another important player might be out for a while. Shohei Ohtani didn’t pitch on Wednesday because he was sick, and now Will Smith, the dependable catcher, has been taken out of the game because a foul ball hit his hand. His leaving made things much more frustrating during an already messy time.

Smith got hit by a foul tip in the bottom of the second inning and had to brazen it out for the rest of the half-inning before trainers checked on him. Then, in the third, he was hauled out, and Dalton Rushing took his place. The Dodgers called it a “right hand contusion,” which means there is probably no fracture, but it’s still a worry.

The guys on the field aren’t healthy, the bullpen is tired, Ohtani couldn’t pitch, and now the catcher could have to miss some time. That kind of chain reaction may throw off a team’s flow, especially with the playoffs coming up. The Dodgers’ depth is being tested right now, and every little wobble matters.

Things are even worse for the Dodgers because they are barely hanging on to the lead in the division. Roberts is running out of time to find answers before October because injuries are piling up and the Padres are getting closer.