Baseball loves its headline moments, but box scores don’t award style points for cinematic showdowns. Shohei Ohtani may keep striking Mike Trout out like it’s scripted, but the Dodgers keep tripping over the Angels. In Anaheim, brilliance on the mound turned into a footnote, and the scoreboard showed why. You can’t win the war when the rest of your army keeps losing battles.

The supposed “villains” of MLB have not been having a good time for the past month. And the series against the supposed “Fake LA” team, the Angels, proves why they are having a rough time, even with a star-studded squad. With Shohei Ohtani on the mound and with Mike Trout on the other team, fire was expected, but so was a win.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels met for a 3-game series, and nothing went the way the Dodgers expected it to go. And the feeling with the fans is not great after the big slump the Dodgers have hit this season. In a recent video on the Locked on Dodgers YouTube channel, they said, “That was everything the TV executives were dreaming of… both times, Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout… But winning the battle isn’t good enough… You need to win the war. To win the war, you need an army. You need everybody to be on the same page. And even Show Otani had his flaws on Wednesday night.”

In the past two Freeway Series, the Angels swept the Dodgers in each season’s meeting. Their latest 6-5 victory completed a perfect six-game sweep, an unexpected and historically notable outcome. Dodgers fans watched late-inning rallies and bullpen implosions produce the identical, painful finale twice. Now, this is the first season in which the Dodgers have lost 6-0 to their crosstown rivals. The fact that these back-to-back results (not in the Dodgers’ favor) arrive amid worrying managerial decisions and personnel is not great, either.

More alarming than singular defeats has been the bullpen’s recurring inability to protect narrow leads. Late-game misfires from Wrobleski, Henriquez, and overused veterans extended innings into costly meltdowns again. Manager Dave Roberts often reached for thin options, exposing roster construction that now looks fragile. Bullpen failures have erased starts and rallies, turning routine leads into demoralizing losses almost nightly.

Critics point to an underwhelming trade deadline, where the Dodgers prioritized farm depth over bullpen reinforcements. Meanwhile, San Diego aggressively added high-leverage pieces like Mason Miller, converting momentum into standings gains. That contrast has made the trade deadline a plausible inflection point for how seasons unfold. If the bullpen remains shaky, critics will label deadline choices as the pivotal, season-defining mistakes.

The next ten days, featuring six games against the Padres, could very well determine postseason trajectories. Andrew Friedman insists reinforcements like Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates could stabilize late-inning chaos soon. Yet health risks and inconsistent recent performances make such optimistic timelines precarious and uncertain, indeed. Ultimately, unless the bullpen metamorphoses quickly, those trade deadline decisions may haunt Los Angeles for months.

The LA Dodgers didn’t just lose to the Los Angeles Angels; they managed to turn every Trout strikeout into wasted art. Ohtani may own the highlight reel, but his team currently rents space in Anaheim’s win column. With the Padres circling and the bullpen leaking like a bad plumbing job, the so-called villains of MLB look more like comic relief. Unless Los Angeles patches the holes fast, October might arrive without them on the guest list.

Amid losses, Dave Roberts talks about the need for Shohei Ohtani on the mound.

In baseball, there’s a fine line between relying on your ace and leaning on him until he buckles. Dave Roberts seems perfectly content to walk it in cleats, knowing Shohei Ohtani’s arm is both lifeline and marketing gold. The Dodgers keep stumbling, yet the solution sounds suspiciously like “more Ohtani, please.” It’s a plan, though not necessarily one built for October’s unforgiving spotlight.

Dodgers’ pitching depth has dwindled under a parade of injuries, exposing their bullpen’s fragile seams. Recent IL moves and shaky late-inning performances have intensified calls for sturdier, dependable arms now. Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching return has provided quality innings and strikeouts, stabilising starts amid uncertainty recently. Manager Dave Roberts insists Ohtani must eat innings to help secure a championship, rather than closing.

Building on that realism, Ohtani’s competitive mindset and team-first attitude mean he’ll accept any role. He has shown clutch composure internationally and domestically, suggesting high-leverage innings suit his temperament consistently. Yet depth is not optional; beleaguered relievers must rebound, sharpen repertory, and shoulder more late-game responsibility. If bullpen arms answer the call, Ohtani can remain a rotation engine rather than an overused closer.

And that’s the catch — the Los Angeles Dodgers can’t pitch October like it’s the Shohei Ohtani Show. Roberts may crave more innings from his superstar, but even aces can’t bail water forever. Unless the bullpen stops leaking like a cut-price garden hose, Ohtani’s brilliance risks being squandered. Championships aren’t won by leaning on one golden arm; they’re built when the whole staff starts pulling weight.